Tis the season

And by season I mean the summer cold season. It's sunny out and there's no sunglasses dark enough. The air is fresh and it's making your sore throat worse. People are out laughing and talking into the late hours and making your headache worse. Ah yes, the summer cold turning your fun loving self into a curmudgeonly cantankerous old fart.

I've got some tips to shorten that cold and get you back on your feet with out over dosing in antibiotics and chemical laden cough syrup. Step #1 open your mind.

After this month of working over 12 hours a day 6 days a week I finally got a day off and crashed. My body knew it was getting a day off and boy did it take the day off. All those plans to catch up went straight out the window as I curled up in bed with the last two Harry Potter movies and an entire day of cold combat at the ready.

1. The first thing you should know is garlic.

Raw garlic is natures antibiotic. If you have an infection or better yet are getting the tale tell signs of a cold smash some garlic and let it sit 10 minutes. Then eat. On the first day of my cold with glands swollen so large I could see them I did this and then swallowed the cloves with vitamin C tablets and spirulina tablets. Just like any other pill. Over the course of the day I took 6 cloves of garlic like this. Before I even went to bed my glands had reduced in size and by the next morning no sore throat.

"A simple recipe is to juice four cloves of garlic, two tomatoes, and a lemon to make a delicious antibacterial and antiviral drink. If you don't have a juicer, simply toss the ingredients into a blender and make a tomato and garlic soup. To either, just add some sea salt; it'll be delicious. If you have an infection, you can enjoy several of these drinks or soups each day to battle it away without the use of chemical antibiotics that are known to destroy our protective healthy bacteria - often in one fell swoop."

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/029149_antibiotics_garlic.html#ixzz1yGO9kSq3

2. Salt water gargle.

Never underestimate the power of old remedies. This one works through osmosis.  Salt draws water out of things and during a cold your throat is storing bad bacteria and germs a warm salt water gargle draws it out of your throat exposing it to air and killing it. Yea!

3. Propolis

This stuff should always be in your medicine cabinet. This is a product of honey production by bees. It's the glue that holds the hives together and prevents mold, bacteria or other bad things from infecting the hive.

For us its:
Antibacterial
Anti fungal
Antioxidant and Immune system booster

However if you're allergic to bee's or honey this little guy most likely isn't for you

I get the spray, and follow the instructions.

4. Soup


You're body is busy fighting a cold. Don't stress it out by giving hard food, give it warm nutrient dense soups and let it focus on the fight!

A great nourishing soup is a stock of your choice ( I make chicken bone stock and keep it in the freezer) Dice up garlic, onions (spring onions work great!) and ginger. Simmer and drink like tea.

5. Tea


Tea is your friend. There are so many kinds out there and all of them have different ways to heal you. My favorite during a cold is Licorice tea. It eases coughs, soothes sore throats, helps colds and bronchitis by breaking down mucus and getting it out of the respiratory tract. It 'moves' digestion along helping the body release toxins and waste. It helps improve mood and reduce stress. I could keep going but that's enough for a cold!

The best part is you can't overdose on garlic and tea. Propolis won't destroy your good bacterial along with the bad, and there's nothing like a good bowl of soup when you're sick. So go ahead and start keeping other sick people awake with your fun!