A HOME REMEDY RESOURCE

for boosting immunity & treating colds, fevers & infections

My son had a fever last week…started with a sore throat for a day, low in energy that afternoon/ evening (so I ramped up a few of my go-to remedies) and an intense fever developed overnight which thankfully he kicked by the morning. Phew.

It was a reminder that at anytime of the year, these ailments can arise especially for our young peeps.

Also, changeable weather patterns, typically lowers our resilience.

Our body works well with REGULARITY & ROUTINE…akin to a supportive daily lifeline for our nervous system!

Irregularity in all its manifestations (e.g. eating & sleeping times) weakens our systems and can lower our immune system.

Generally speaking, the common cold is often associated with an EXCESS of the cold, damp & heavy qualities of KAPHA DOSHA present and ‘ama’ (toxins), which causes symptoms such as nasal or chest congestion - low-energy & malaise - low appetite and sometimes mild to moderate fever.

First port of call is to start by BALANCING out the cold and heavy with warmth and simple, light food only when hungry.

DAILY TIPS

• REST - Lots of downtime to support elimination of ‘ama’ (toxins) and replenishing

• 30 minutes barefoot outside on the ground, grass, soil or sand EVERY DAY

• Plenty of warm fluids with as much RAW HONEY as it takes to entice them! Honey is drying and also helps liquefy the thick yucky mucous to expel. Add the honey after it’s cooled a little so not to ‘cook’ it so the honey becomes thick and congesting and without all it’s nutrients.

• KID-friendly TEAS:

1. LEMON GINGER HONEY - anti-inflammatory, detoxing & enkindles ‘agni’ digestive fire

2. TULSI/ HOLY BASIL - works wonders for soothing coughs, decongesting the lungs & sinuses & lowering fever

3. LIQUORICE ROOT & GINGER. Honey optional, sweet already - helps liquefy and eliminate phlegm

• Quality zinc drops; 5 hidden in orange juice is a general safe daily dose

• Lots of vitamin C

• COLDS/FLU - 2 drops of oregano or thyme essential oil in a little cold pressed sesame, almond or olive oil (warming energy) rubbed on the feet before bed.

• Chest Rub for colds & flu symptoms:

In a small bottle, mix 50ml Cold-pressed sesame or olive oil (heating quality) with 5 drops of tea-tree, eucalyptus & 7 drops of lavender essential oils. Rub broadly over the chest morning and night.

• In the diffuser: warming, spicy essential oils such as Doterra’s Easy Air Respiratory blend, On Guard Immunity boost, Young Living Thieves, cinnamon, tulsi, basil or clove

• FEVER - 2 drops of peppermint oil in some cooling coconut oil mixed in your palm rubbed on the feet before bed.

• EARLY night to bed goes without saying

DIET TIPS

1. Warm, soft, light wholefoods as much as possible so gut is not overworked; minimise raw food/ salad items, nothing from a packet e.g dairy-free porridge with cinnamon & cardamom

2. Add a little digestive spice to help the gut metabolise when weak. Warming garam masala is an excellent option for kids. 1/4 tsp per child in their meal.

3. Lots of warm BROTH organic chicken or veggie

4. No dairy, soy, bananas - mucus producing food.

5. No meat (especially heavy red meat or any meat from the supermarket), hard cheese, bread or refined white flour - acid producing and can lead to excess mucous production, frequent colds, flu & other infections

6. NOTHING COLD in the belly; no cold drinks, salads or foods straight from the fridge

7. Increase antioxidant ALKALINE FOODS, minimise acidity (e.g. meat, hard cheese, processed food)

8. HIGH Alkaline foods: green vegetables, broccoli, cauli, root veg, onions (expel mucous), apples, cucumber, avocado & also sultanas, medjool dates & almonds as a snack, honey or rapadura sugar as a sweetener over refined sugar

9. FEVER - drink pomegranate or sweet orange juice, but not cold from the fridge. Warm it up with a splash of boiled hot water

AYURVEDIC REMEDIES

• Detox tonic: LEMON GINGER & raw honey tea - as many as possible

• CINNAMON CARDAMOM LICK for coughs;

Mix: 1 teaspoon of both cinnamon and cardamom to 1 Tab. of honey and get your child to lick a teaspoon a few times daily.

• Turmeric Lick

½ tsp turmeric paste with ½ tsp raw honey, followed by warm water

• Turmeric Paste and mix ½ tsp with 1 tsp raw honey. Recipe here in an earlier blog. Use this paste to make an awesome immune boosting tonic.

• Ginger juice with enough honey to make it palatable for children

• Chyawanprash - popular ayurvedic IMMUNITY BOOSTER jam. Available at Ayu Ayurveda clinic.

• SITOPALADI powder - classic ayurvedic formula for all respiratory conditions, made from cardamom, long pepper & bambusa vulgaris (inner white part of this bamboo tree). Tasty medicine. ¼ tsp mixed with honey, followed by warm water 3x daily. Available at Ayu Ayurveda clinic.

So mamas & papas of kids at home I hope you find this immune boosting NATURAL HOME REMEDY RESOURCE useful whenever run down or someone in the family is sick.

It’s easy to forget a lot of remedies when we need them, so I suggest you write some of these and favourite ones down or print this off & keep this RESOURCE handy stuck up on the inside of a kitchen cupboard.

Keep well & warm!