When the end of summer and winter approach is when flu finds its way in. This time a year ago I had just finished the book I had been working on for the previous two years. I was burning the candle at both ends, I was spent and not taking care of my self at all well. I got a very debilitating dose of the beastly Australian flu that effected so many so badly. I have to say, I feared for my life, a first for me.This has made me much more conscious about doing better by myself this year. Here are a few things I am doing which may also be useful to you.
101 is of course to eat a wholesome wholefood diet, get plenty of rest and don’t overeat! This because, preventition is far preferable to the need for cure. If you have read my newsletter you will have seen that for the past month I have been following a program of intermittent fasting and I have been addressing getting more sleep of better quality. When I am eating, I am being conscious of eating mostly cooked wholefoods, from every food group but with an emphasis on dark leafy greens and lots of rainbow vegetables at every meal, fermented condiments and drinks three times a day and small amounts of wholegrains and legumes, which I am cooking in bone stocks. If eating proteins these will be cooked in or include animal fats from pasture raised animals to ensure adequate amounts of fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K. I am eating less added sugars and no refined carbohydrates to give my immune system the best chance to ward off what it may be exposed to. Plenty of garlic, ginger and a little fresh turmeric are appearing frequently too and as it is citrus season there is lemon or lime juice in abundance too. The jar above contains my umeboshi plums, which I made last year, they keep for years and are my first port of call if I feel a little under the weather. I use them to make am umeboshi kuzu drink, a Japanese remedy for any overly acidic condition, exhaustion, vagueness, a headache, nausea and that first sign of going down. There is a recipe for this in my first book Nourish, let me know if you’d like this recipe and I will post it here too.
If I feel the first inkling of a common cold, scratchy throat or sniffle. I reach for one of the supportive remedies below. I may gargle with a few drops of tincture of myrrh in warm water or 3 drops of oregano oil in warm water, the latter leaves me smelling like pizza butI find it incredibly useful and effective, neither are pleasant. Food grade oregano oil is quite dear too but a drop or two is all that is needed and a bottle this size may last me a few years. As it is an oil heat, light and oxygen will deteriorate it, so store it in a cool dark place. Armaforce tablets can also be very immune supportive but my go to most loved assistant is this Chinese herb preparation Yin Quao (yin chow), the same formula may be found in a health food dispensary under the name Clear the way. 5 pillules taken as soon as you feel the first influence of an intruder, followed by the same dose twice a day can be the difference between succumbing or not. This remedy may be both prophylactic and preventative, if taken soon enough.
If it is achyness and that dragging sensation that often precedes the flu that I feel, I reach for the wonderful French homeopathic remedy with the totally unpronounceable name seen below on the right. Follow directions for its use and again, for this to be effective you need to get it at the very first signs.
Stay well my friends and if not, my advice is to STOP, do nothing, stay cosy and say yes to whatever is offered to you by those that love you. Jude Blereau was staying with me when I got sick last year and it was her care that enabled me to attend my book launch. For which I am eternally grateful.
Nothing in this post is meant to replace professional medical advice.