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Simple Natural Remedies to Help You Combat the Flu

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By Heidi Kristoffer
Posted Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 12:24pm EDT

The flu season is upon us again and there are a number of ways to keep your family healthy. While the flu vaccine is usually touted as your best defense, the flu shot alone is not enough to help keep your family healthy, and many people wonder if it does anything at all.

Hydrate

What can you do? Well, at the onset of first symptoms, it is important to hydrate! Drink a lot of water; up to a gallon and a half a day! Any hot liquid will do really, hot tea or even homemade bone broth or soup broth will stimulate the immune system and stop the proliferation of the flu virus in the body.

You can also continuously sip hot herbal teas, hot water lemon and honey, and of course, sip chicken soup–always good for what ails you.

Add More Vitamin C

We have all heard the old adage, ‘Vitamin C staves off the flu.’ Well, it turns out it is true. Studies have shown that vitamin C can help get rid of the flu and a number of other viruses better than any over the counter medication.

At the first sign of the flu, taking a 500 mg supplement each day can help.

Get More Sun

Vitamin D can boost your immune system, too. Eating too much sugar can devastate your immune system and wipe out your vitamin D supplies, and heading outside can replenish them much better than popping a supplement can. Vitamin D deficiency is most common in winter months, when colds and flu and more prevalent, and research has confirmed that catching a cold or flu from someone actually has a lot to do with having a depleted store of vitamin D. So, head outside and catch some sunshine! (Of course, remember you can still grab that important vitamin D even with your sunscreen on, so be safe!)

Other Natural Remedies for Fighting the Flu

Other things you can do at home to prevent, or get rid of the flu include adding Oil of Oregano to your water. Oil of Oregano has both antibiotic and antiviral properties that can help stave off a number of ailments. You can add one drop to your water several times a day.

Adding organic apple cider vinegar to your glass of water can alkalize the body and reset your PH levels. This will kill any yeast that has been feeding your infection. You will need to add a full tablespoon to a glass of water. If you cannot stand the taste, you can add it to a glass of herbal or green tea to mask the taste a bit.

To really expedite the process, you will want to get rid of all carbohydrates in your diet. Eat healthy! Carbohydrates, especially sugars, feed the infection in the body and allows it to spread.

And of course, get plenty of rest! Note that temperatures above 104 do need a trip to the doctor.

The Night Before Breakfast Idea: Coconut Blueberry Chia Pudding

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by Sheleana Jennings – Sep 20, 2014

If you have a busy morning schedule, breakfast can be the most insane part of your day, up until lunch that is! To bring a bit of systemization into your life, try creating breakfast solutions that can be made the night before or even a few nights in advance. While chia seeds can lower blood pressure and may not be the most optimal solution for daily consumption for certain people, they are generally a very healthy option that provide good fats as well as support in flushing the body and supporting a healthy digestive tract.

Do you ever find yourself constipated? Chia seeds are a pretty sure way to get things moving due to their fibre content and gel like texture. Feel free to get creative with this recipe and switch up some of the ingredients by adding alternative fruits or even spices to the mix.

Ingredients:

1 cup chia seeds (white or black)
1 cup full fat coconut milk (add more water if you need extra liquid)
2 tsp vanilla bean or extract
1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
3 tbsp shredded coconut
pinch of salt to taste

Instructions: Use a large glass jar to store your breakfast in or separate the mixture into smaller “to-go” jars that people can grab and go with. You’ll want to combine your ingredients in a larger bowl to start and let sit with the liquid for at least 5-10 minutes until the chia seeds have absorbed the liquid and begun to expand. You’ll be able to tell if you need to add more liquid if the mixture gets extremely dry and difficult to move around with a spoon. Once the mixture is finished, store for up to 4 days in the fridge without fruit, 3 with fruit. You can add a different fresh fruit topping each morning or go without.

Natural Sun Protection From the Inside Out

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April 13, 2012 by Katie@wellnessmama

As summer approaches, sun-protection is definitely something that must be considered, but as with many other things Paleo, the best solution may not always be the conventional one.

If you’ve read this blog or others like it, I’m sure you are well aware that diet plays a pivotal role in overall health, energy levels, digestive health and weight. Logically, diet also is an influencing factor in skin health and sun protection.

The conventional method of sun protection is much like the conventional method of many types of illness: Treat the symptoms or prevent the symptoms from occurring.

In the case of sun exposure, the general idea is to prevent the sunburn (or all sun exposure) rather than address why the skin is burning in the first place.

In the paleo-sphere, we are well-aware of the importance of Vitamin D, and we are capable of producing the amounts our bodies need through our skin. Unfortunately, even low-SPF sunscreens can block almost all Vitamin D production.

As links have been found between low-vitamin D and skin cancer (among others), the cure may be more dangerous than the disease in this case!

It’s also interesting to note that while rates of sun exposure are decreasing, skin cancer rates are steadily rising and melanoma rates are getting worrisome.

There are theories that the chemicals in most sunscreens can be as damaging or more so than sun damage itself. Either way, I use the same rule with sunscreens as I do with foods and beauty products: If I can’t pronounce an ingredient or buy it without a chemical license, I don’t use it.

The Role of Diet:

Sunburn is a type of inflammation. It is caused by an external factor, but a lot of internal factors come into play as well.

Inflammatory foods like grains, sugars and vegetable oils (especially those!) can cause inflammation in the body and make the skin more prone to inflammation (burning) as well.

In the same way, anti-inflammatory foods can help prevent inflammation in the body or on the skin from sun exposure.

If you’ve been Paleo for a while, you might have already noticed an increased sun tolerance, or that you are tanning better. It isn’t your imagination. In fact, Mark’s Daily Apple addressed natural ways to prevent sunburn, and all of the suggestions were diet/supplement related.

The most problematic foods for your skin when it comes to sun-exposure are: processed foods, processed grains, sugars and vegetable oils (no surprise there!).

The most beneficial foods for your skin when it comes to sun exposure are: healthy saturated fats, green leafy vegetables, omega-3 rich foods like fish, and antioxidant containing foods like berries (and dark chocolate). No surprises there either!

I’ve also found that some key supplements can increase sun tolerance even more. The combination of these supplements (which I’d recommend anyway) and a Paleo diet let me go to the beach all day last summer without burning (a first) and come away with a golden tan (also a first!).

The Supplements:

Fermented Cod Liver Oil/High Vitamin Butter Oil Blend (also great for remineralizing teeth)-Probably the most important supplement for sun protection. I take double doses during the summer and the kids take it too. Since adding this and the coconut oil daily, none of us have burned. It’s also great for digestive and oral health. (Amazon finally has the capsules back in stock)
Vitamin D3 (I take about 5,000 IU/day)- Emerging evidence shows that optimizing blood levels of Vitamin D can have a protective effect against sunburn and skin cancer. I highly recommend getting your blood levels tested prior to beginning Vitamin D supplementation and talking to your doctor, as too much can also be a bad thing. Also, not needed if you are getting at least 30 minutes of sun a day.
Vitamin C (I take about 2,000 mg/day)- A potent anti-inflammatory, and it is good for the immune system too.
1/4 cup coconut oil melted in a cup of herbal tea per day- the Medium Chain Fatty Acids and saturated fat are easily utilized by the body for new skin formation and are protective against burning.
Astaxanthin- A highly potent antioxidant which research shows acts as an internal sunscreen. It’s also supposedly an anti-aging supplement. I don’t give this one to the kids though.

Natural Homemade Sunscreen:

I’m definitely not suggesting that you do anything that could lead to sunburn, which is harmful! For prolonged sun exposure past your sun-tolerance, protective clothing is best, but for times you’ll be out in the sun for long times and don’t want to wear long sleeves (the beach), you can make a natural homemade sunscreen that doesn’t have the chemicals of most sunscreens.

Here’s the recipe I use. You can also use plain coconut oil on the skin for shorter times, especially if you’ve already built up a tan.

Your skin, like the rest of your body, will benefit from a healthy diet and a few key supplements. Rather than turning to chemical laden sunscreens- give the natural versions a try! You might be pleasantly surprised!

Toxic Taste

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Toxic Taste
CENTURIES AGO A THIRD OF EUROPE WAS WIPED OUT BY THE BLACK PLAGUE.
BY ROBERT LUSTIG | JUNE ’14

Today, half of America will be wiped out by a new plague—chronic metabolic disease—and Obamacare doesn’t address it.

FAST FOCUS
Today the diseases of metabolic syndrome generate close to 75% of the nation’s healthcare costs. Despite having the most expensive healthcare in the world, the United States remains among the least healthy nations.The current medical business model is unsustainable. Medicare is staring at bankruptcy in 12 years.

Processed Diets
The U.N. secretary-general announced in 2011 his plan to target tobacco, alcohol and “bad diet.” But what about our diet? What’s gone wrong? As the United States went low-fat in the 1980s, we opted for foods that cut the fat, which ushered in the processed food “Western diet,” which has rapidly spread across the planet to become the “industrial global diet.” This is an attractive diet for its stakeholders, due to convenience, palatability, lack of depreciation and cost. But it’s killing us.
There are (at least) eight things wrong with our processed food diet:

1. Too Little Fiber Fiber limits the blood glucose rise, which limits the insulin response, which limits how much energy is stored in fat cells and which reduces cell proliferation, which reduces blood pressure, heart disease and cancer.

2. Too Few Micronutrients Micronutrients include vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, all of which prevent cellular damage.

3.Too Few Omega-3 Fatty Acids Omega-3 fatty acids prevent inflammation, which drives chronic metabolic disease, and may limit risk for cognitive decline. Examples of foods containing these are wild fish and flax.

4. Too Many Omega-6 Fatty Acids Omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation and drive chronic metabolic disease. Nutritionists suggest that the optimal ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids should be about 1:1. Currently our ratio is about 25:1. Omega-6 fatty acids are found in seed oils, such as corn and canola.

5. Too Many Trans-Fats Trans-fats are synthetic fats that we can’t metabolize for energy. Thus, they line our livers and our arteries instead. Last November the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declared trans-fats were no longer “generally recognized as safe,” ensuring their eventual disappearance from the American food supply.

6. Too Many Branched-Chain Amino Acids Valine, leucine and isoleucine are essential amino acids that help build muscle protein. But excessive amounts turn into liver fat and impair insulin signaling, driving metabolic syndrome. These are found in abundance in any animal fed with corn—beef, chicken and fish (and that’s all commercially available protein).

7.Too Much Alcohol A little alcohol is good (one glass of red wine for women, two for men), but a lot is not. Alcohol’s effect on metabolic syndrome is dose-dependent. Excess alcohol is turned into liver fat, driving high blood triglycerides (which cause heart disease) and insulin resistance.

8.Too Much Added Sugar This is the most actionable component of our diet because it’s the one the food industry specifically adds for its own purposes. When the industry cut the fat, the food tasted like cardboard, so producers started adding the sugar. Of the 600,000 food items in the American grocery store, 80% are spiked with added sugar. Excess sugar is turned into liver fat, which also drives triglycerides and insulin resistance, and revs up the cellular aging reaction, further driving metabolic syndrome.

Can’t we just solve this with a pill? Can’t Big Pharma rescue us? We’ve got pills to treat hypertension, diabetes and heart disease (not so much for cancer and dementia). And Big Pharma loves nothing better than selling chronic therapies for chronic diseases. The medicines may slow the downward spiral, but we reach the abyss in any case. There’s only one way out. It’s called prevention—a one-word name for real food.

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