Natural Remedies for Colds and Flus: Our Personal Protocols

You know the feeling. A tickle in your throat, a wave of exhaustion, or waking up with a stuffy nose. Then the sinking in your stomach as you realize you’re getting sick. (This just happened to me yesterday!)

What’s the first thing you do when you feel like you’re coming down with something? Do you reach for your Emergen-C, or take a nap, or rush around to get everything done before you fall flat on your back in bed? :)

Read on to discover what the Perennial Health team does when we feel that tickle in our throat. We each have our own take on how to support our bodies, and we hope that these ideas will help you find wellness this winter. Read on to discover the lifestyle tips, supplements, herbs, and natural remedies we turn to in sickness.

Lifestyle Changes for Colds and Flus

For us, supporting our body through sickness involves two things: lifestyle changes and using supportive herbs and nutrients. While it's easy to simply reach for the supplement bottle, if it's not paired with a healing way of life, it won't do you much good.

When it comes to lifestyle changes, Jodel, Shena, and I (Sarah) all focus on four lifestyle changes. Our take on them may be a little different but at the core they are the same: light, nutritious meals, rest, and time in nature. 

1. Light. We all use light to help us heal in one form or another. It is a powerful, yet under-utilized ally that can be incorporated in a variety of ways.

   1. Sunlight. Jodel, Shena, and I all prioritize time in natural sunlight when fighting off a bug. Sunlight stimulates and increases the pathogen-killers in our body, plus it reduces inflammation and gives energy to our mitochondria. Learn more about the health benefits of sunlight here.

   2. Firefly Light Therapy. Another way we use light is through Firefly Light Therapy. When they are able, Jodel and Shena go into the clinic and use the F-scan to find what pathogen they're fighting against and then use the Firefly Light Therapy wand over their sinuses to kill the intruders.

   3. Red Light Devices. Red light devices are another way to use light when facing sickness. Red light is extremely supportive of your body when you're fighting off an illness because it gives your cells more energy, increases the efficiency of your immune cells, reduces inflammation, and helps your body repair cellular damage more quickly. Jodel uses an infrared sauna at home. Sarah loves her red light wand and that can be put in your nose and throat to get light directly into the sinuses. Shena uses her red light pad on her chest, lungs, and spine to promote healing.

Check out our favorite red light products here in our recommended product guide.

2. A healing diet. While we're fighting off a sickness, we focus on eating soup-like meals and bone broth, which are full of immune boosting amino acids, as well as minerals and antioxidants. We avoid things like sugar and cow dairy which cause inflammation, increase mucus, and keep us from healing as quickly.

3. Rest. Sleeping longer and take naps are another way we support our body. If we're unable to get more sleep we try to keep our schedule lighter when possible and change our focus from accomplishing to healing.

4. Nature. Grounding and taking a walk outside is another huge way we heal. Grounding, like sunlight, reduces inflammation, increases antioxidant levels, and modulates the immune system. When the weather makes it hard to ground we use devices like grounding sheets and mats. In addition to grounding, breathing fresh air increases oxygen levels in white blood cells, and even the sounds of nature are shown to reduce stress and improve blood pressure levels.

Natural Remedies for Colds and Flus

In addition to making these lifestyle changes, we also each have our own little “apothecary” we reach for when we feel ourselves coming down with something. We use a combination of herbs, supplements, and other remedies to give our bodies everything they need to fight off sickness and heal well.

Jodel's Personal Protocol

1. Vitamin C. Jodel aims for 1g 3x/day for adults while fighting a bug.

2. Zinc (with copper). Up to 50mg/day is great for supporting your body during sickness. Be sure to get a zinc supplement with copper in it, as too much zinc alone can cause mineral imbalances in your body. (link balanced zinc product, equi.life)

3. Xlear Rescue nasal spray. This improved nasal spray with XYLITOL reduces tissue inflammation and naturally opens airways. With added herbal ingredients such as Pau d’Arco, and essential oils like oregano, parsley, eucalyptus, and tea tree, the nasal decongestant spray may provide relief from bacterial, viral and fungal pathogens.

4. Supremplex for lots of immune-boosting, anti-viral amino acids.

5. Proteolytic Enzymes by Equi.Life. Proteolytic enzymes support healthy circulation, which is a key component of a health immune system. It also reduces inflammation and improves sinus health.

6. Sinus Support  by Equi.Life. Full of herbs and nutrients like turmeric, thyme, and andrographis that boost the immune system and help clear nasal passages while boosting the immune system.

7. Nutribiotic Throat Spray with Zinc. This soothes sore throats with a touch of menthol while also providing your body with immune support.

8. Elderberry syrup 2-3x daily. Elderberry syrup (homemade with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and raw honey) is rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants, in addition to being an anti-viral herb.

9. Homeopathic remedies. Once symptoms are clear enough, Jodel starts to use homeopathic remedies that fit the symptoms to support more rapid healing.

Shena’s Personal Protocol

1. Zinc. Once again, an important player in the immune system that can get easily drained during times of sickness.

2. Vitamin C. This is an immune support powerhouse. Learn more about it here!

3. Multivitamins. Our body needs so many nutrients to fight off sickness. Shena makes sure to take multivitamin to have her bases covered.

4. Fermented honey and garlic. Garlic and honey are both great for the immune system. The fermentation adds even more health benefits. Shena recommends one tablespoon each night.  Get a recipe here!

5. Bee Keepers Propolis throat spray. Did you know that bees use propolis to keep germs out of the beehive? This product harnesses the power of propolis and gets it directly into your throat. It's chalk-full of immune boosting vitamins, polyphenols and flavonoids, and more.

Sarah’s Personal Protocol

1. Raw garlic. I will usually crush one clove and eat it with each meal. Garlic is a very strong antiviral and and anti-microbial. If you have a hard time eating it, try coating it with applesauce or yogurt and swallowing it down like a pill. Alternatively, buy some garlic capsules. Just don’t get the kind that aren’t supposed to stink…they’re not as potent.  In this case stinkier=better.

2. Thyme steam. This feels so good if you have sore throat or stuffy nose. While you're breathing in the steam, you're also getting all the anti-viral properties and expectorant properties of thyme into your sinuses and lungs.

   
   

3. Ginger or Thyme tea. Both are great antivirals. I tend to go for ginger if I’m feeling chilled or have stomach issues. If I’m feeling hot, I turn more towards thyme as it is less of a heating herb compared to ginger.

4. Extra vitamin C. I like this whole-foods based one.

5. Fire cider, if I have it around. This stuff is not for the faint hearted, but it is a strong anti-viral and kicks the congestion right out of you. Extra points for gargling before swallowing.

Helping Our Kids Fight Off Colds and Flus

When our kids get sick, we support them with much of the same things we do ourselves. An anti-inflammatory, broth-rich diet, light, time outside and rest. However, there are a few things we each do differently to make it kid-friendly, especially for our littlest ones.

Jodel’s Protocol for her kids

" When my kids are getting sick, I do the same as what I do for myself but swap out the Nutribioitic for Bee Keepers Natural throat spray. They each have a bottle for backpacks that they can use as soon as they feel like they’re coming down with something. I also love Bee Keepers Natural cough drops. I'm also a believer that a fever is good, its our bodies natural way to kill viral pathogens. We monitor closely and when needed rely on a homeopathic remedy for fevers."

Shena’s protocol for her kids

"For my kids I do the same things as I do for myself. They are not a fan of the taste of the honey and garlic but willingly take it because they notice how it helps them feel better. (Honestly I don’t love the taste either. Ha!) The Bee Keepers spray is a hit for them when they have a sore throat, they will pack it with them to school. They love the light therapy too."

Sarah’s protocol for her kids

"Since my kids are pretty young, I have a bit of a different routine for them. In addition to the lifestyle changes listed earlier, I use a few gentle herbs and supplements in child-friendly ways.

1. Cell salts + other homeopathic remedies. Cell salts are a great way to support your kid's bodies before the symptom picture is clear enough to choose a homeopathic remedy. Fer phos or a mix of all 12 cell salts is a great place to start. Once I see a clear picture of their symptoms I can move on to a more specific homeopathic remedy.

2. Thyme baths work well for my kids. It allows them to breath in the healing steam of thyme in a safe way, plus gives the added healing benefit of infrared light that comes from warm water. Check out the video above to watch me prepare a thyme bath for my kiddos!

3. Thyme tea. Another way to use this powerful yet gentle herb for my kids. They love it with raw honey mixed in! Check out the video about thyme to learn more.

4. Elderberry syrup 3-4x/day, for extra vitamin C and immune support. Added bonus: it's yummy! My kids sometimes try to pretend they're sick to get some. :D

5. Cuddles. Did you know that by cuddling with your kids, you give them healing infrared heat? If you are fully charged from grounding recently, you can also share your electrons through skin to skin contact with your kids, giving them energy they need to heal. How cool is that?"

Now it's your turn!

We hope this post gives you lots of ideas of how to support you and your kids next time sickness knocks on your door. Rather than using this as an overwhelming checklist, we encourage you to pick a few that fit best with your life-stage, capacity, and body's needs.

Let us know how it goes! We'd also love to hear your favorite ways to stave off sickness in the comments below!