Natural Cold Remedies

I have spent a lot of time over the past few years researching natural health alternatives and remedies. The first big change I implented was in our eating habits. We no longer eat processed "convenience" foods, except on very rare occasions, I cook 98% of all meals from scratch (our bodies and wallets have seen the benefits from this), and I try to limit white sugar and white flour as much as possible. I also try to incorporate helpful herbs and spices in our meals. (For example, cumin is supposed to help with joint and ligament pain, which my husband suffers from, so I use a LOT of cumin.) There are many other ways which we have worked these natural elements into our lives, and I will blog more about them in the future. However, we are currently enjoying the benefits of some natural cold remedies that I really want to share.

Eric is a wonderful supporter of my research, and a very willing participant of the wacky suggestions I propose to him. He is just getting over a sinus cold and just commented today on how this is the first cold he's had where he's used only 100% natural remedies. The benefits of this for him have been that he has not felt medicinally-induced grogginess or other OTC-related side effects. The two remedies he has used are sea salt water and apple cider vinegar. The sea salt water (about a tablespoon of sea salt per cup of water) has been used for nasal cleansing to ease sinus congestion. There are many methods which people use for nasal cleanses, including neti pots. Eric uses an unused peri bottle I brought home from the hospital after my last delivery. It works perfectly for this. Eric researched this on his own and definitely has the method down. The number one thing to do if you try this is to lean your head forward when doing the cleanse, as leaning your head back (which seems like it would be the natural method) opens your ear canal and could lead to flooding in the ear canal. The relief he gets from this is immediate, once the initial pain of feeling the solution move through his congested sinuses has worn off.

The apple cider vinegar is supposed to thin mucous secretions and lessen coughs. This was the first time we tried this remedy. It worked wonderfully. We drank a tablespoonful at a time, a couple of times a day, or as needed. I've also heard that you can rub it on your chest or the bottoms of your feet (which is especially a good method for young children with a cold), or you can put some in a vaporizer or humidifier. A cold is a cold, but using natural remedies sure seems to make the cold easier to manage.