Seems the world has been taken over by colds, flu’s and strep throats.
Due to this overwhelming germ invasion, I decided to cut Matters of The Heart series short (we can always come back to interesting things like “ is cardio really healthy for my cardio vascular system?”) and focus on getting the snot out the door.
Here is a collection of proven – trusted, homemade remedies for all this upper respiratory un-rest (no, I didn’t concoct them myself – these come from Ayurvedic and Aromatherapy experts):
Aromatic Throat Gargle (from Chrissy Wildwood):
1 cup warm filtered water
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 drop lemon essential oil
1 drop eucalyptus essential oil
½ tsp honey
Put the cider vinegar into a teacup, then stir in the essential oils. Top up with warm water and stir in the honey. Use 2 – 3 times daily.
Note* I usually avoid honey and the gargle is still quite lovely+helpful without it.
Turmeric Tea (from the Chopra Center)
1 tsp of turmeric
1 cup of boiling water
Add boiling water to turmeric; you may wish to add a squeeze of lemon or some honey to taste. Turmeric has antiviral, antibacterial, anti fungal, and anti -inflammatory qualities.
Fenugreek Tea (from my years working at the Health Food store)
1 tsp of fenugreek seeds (can be purchased in bulk for health food stores)
1 cup of boiling water
Add boiling water to fenugreek seeds and steep for no longer than 5 minutes (the tea will become quite bitter after that). This tea is excellent for sinus congestion/ pain.
Finally, here is an introduction to a neti practice – a rather excellent way to dispel any nasal trouble brewing. And it is not that bad – I promise!
