It is easy to avoid the flu this winter season with alternative medicine. Keeping your immune system healthy and keeping your space and your self sanitized naturally will help you avoid influenza, especially with the recent outbreaks of the swine flu. Avoid the swine flu vaccine and dodge the H1N1 virus naturally!
Immune System Boosters
Keeping your immune system healthy year round will help prevent illness. Try taking any of these herbal remedies and natural supplements or a combination of them to avoid influenza, colds and other sickness.
- Garlic is a powerful natural medicine and according to The Green Pharmacy, "one of the plant kingdom's most potent, broad-spectrum antibiotics." Garlic also has antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins A and C and selenium. Phyllis A. Balch, CNC in Prescription for Nutritional Healing said "Garlic is one of the most valuable foods on the planet," and that "it should be consumed daily." Garlic can be eaten raw or taken in supplement form. Leah Duke, WHP, recommends at least three cloves of raw garlic a day, and more at times when the immune system is under stress, such as during illness. For those worried about the smell of garlic breath, Kyolic is an odorless garlic product that can be taken and is available in tablet, capsule and oil extract forms.
- Echinacea can be taken in tea, tincture, or pill form. Any of these methods are effective in ingesting the herb. According to The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke, Ph. D, echinacea 'activates the part of the immune system responsible for increasing defense mechanisms against viruses and bacteria." However, Duke warns that there are studies which do not recommend taking echinacea every day but rather says it is more effective when taken during the very first onset of cold or flu symptoms. When taken this way it is very useful for activating the immune system and avoiding serious illness.
- Astragalus is an immune system stimulating herb from China. Prescription for Nutritional Healing states that astragalus acts as a tonic to promote healing, protect the immune system and provide energy to combat fatigue. When taken daily in tincture form this herb helps prevent illness.
- Kombucha Tea is often referred to as a mushroom but it is actually a mixture of many elements including bacteria, lechen and yeast. When fermented into a tea form it is a natural energy booster and detoxifier that contains a variety of different nutrients and other health-promoting substances. Leah Duke, WHP, recommends drinking Kombucha Tea every day for a healthy, functioning immune system and optimal health. Kombucha tea can be purchased at any health food store or brewed at home.
Natural Hand Sanitizer
Keeping your hands clean and sanitary is very important to avoiding the flu and other illness. Hand sanitizers with harsh alcohol and chemicals are sold in stores and promoted for their antibacterial properties, but there are natural solutions that are much safer and healthier for the body.
Eucalyptus, rosemary and tea tree oil all have natural antibacterial properties. For a holistic, alternative medicine approach to hand and home sanitizing try mixing these three oils together with a base oil such as jojoba or olive oil to create an efficient and natural antibacterial, antiviral and antiseptic hand moisturizer. It can also be used to rub on doorknobs and other surfaces that could have contagious viruses on them.
Avoid Influenza with Natural Medicine
Keeping your immune system functioning on a high level by taking natural supplements and keeping your hands and environment clean from a holistic approach will help you avoid the swine flu and any other type of contagious illness this winter season and all year round.
Elaena Stanitsas - My name is Elaena and I am a 22 year old recent graduate from The University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Sociology. I have ...
