I personally have not been sick in a while. Every so often when I don't get enough sleep I get that run down I'm-about-to-get-sick feeling. Usually I just whole up and sleep it off , but if that is not an option I have a solution that may possibly work for you. I became aware of Dr. John Douillard a few weeks ago when I listened to one of his lectures on Ayurveda. He is big into living in conjunction with nature and using everything that is available from nature to cure sickness.
Here is his explanation of why cold and flu season occurs during winter months:
"In the winter, temperatures drop and the air dries out. The further we go into winter, the drier the air becomes. Even the rain dries out and becomes snow. For ourselves, we further aggravate these dry conditions by pumping dry heat into our homes and offices to stay warm.
"In the case of the common cold, this dryness has become overwhelming to the body. When we become excessively dry, the dryness extends to the mucus membranes in the sinuses and gut. The respiratory tract is lined with ciliated epithelium, skin covered with sweepers called cilia that house part of the immune system. These cilia, much like the villi of the gut, sweep toxins, bacteria and viruses through respiratory mucus membranes into the Mucus Associated Lymphatic Tissue, or MALT, where they are neutralized by the white-blood-cell-rich lymph nodes.
Nature’s prescription for all this dryness is the seasonal harvest. The winter harvest consists of high-fat, high-protein, insulating foods that antidote the harshness of winter. Think of squirrels eating nuts when the weather begins to cool. See my Winter Tips & Grocery List, which explains how to prevent systemic dehydration and other winter imbalances with seasonal foods.
He is proposing that to stop a cold from fully forming, you can take a combination of
- Trikatu: an Ayurvedic spice combination made from ginger, black pepper and long pepper that thins mucus, stimulates circulation to the respiratory tract and cervical lymph.
- Sitopladi: is a traditional Ayurvedic combination of herbs that opens airways and heals and decongests mucus membranes of the sinuses, bronchioles and lungs.
- Turmeric: is an Indian spice that has many medicinal uses including thins mucus, moves lymph, boosts immunity and heals the mucus membranes.
I know. I was like "what they hell is trikatu, I can't even pronounce it, and where the hell do I get that? Well, Dr. Douillard conveniently sells this stuff on his website which you can find by clicking here. I am buying this stuff and am going to use it as a preventative measure as I'm sure taking a little bit of these spices everyday could not hurt (I will let you know if it does).
SIDE TRACK: Some of you may have read my post on being anti-vitamin (which I still am) and are confused because these are clearly supplements. Let me explain. These are not individual vitamins that have been plucked from the original source (or synthesized). These are herbs and spices that in their whole form are medicinal to the body. There I said it. I am against taking individual vitamins and minerals, and a multi-vitamin in that case. We don't know what vitamins and minerals our bodies need. Scientists think they know, but we are learning more and more each day about the nutrients in food and I know scientists are not even close to having the complete picture. In my humble opinion it is best to just eat whole foods to get your nutrition.
What is your view on vitamins & supplements? Yay or nay?
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