Natural Healing Cold Remedy

A gentle healing remedy to support your body's repair system to remove unwanted invaders and toxins

Hi, I’m Sue and I write about the beauty and ingenuity of Nature, and how we can deepen our connection for our optimum health and wellbeing. Discover more Nature-inspired content on Spiral Leaf, Twitter and my video Nature Channel.

This is the time of year when you may be caught by surprise in 'catching a cold' as the cold season (eventually) comes to an end and your body starts to naturally cleanse itself from any unwanted invaders accumulated in the darker and more inactive Winter months.

At this time of year, our body's repair system is naturally depleted having been without sunshine for such a long time and ptentially lacking in the essential nutrients needed for general cleansing and an uptake in vitality.

Colds and flu often occur when we have not been providing our body with a regular cleansing and fortifying organic diet with extra natural supplements taken as required. This is made worse when are bodies are continually bombarded with man-made processed foods, substances and other environmental toxins, and when we are deprived of daylight which is needed for our body to produce healing Vitamin D from cholesterol which is vital for good health.

With so many factors involved, our bodies can stuggle to do the work needed to keep flushing through our digestive system and keeping our vital organs working efficiently.

This is why Winter is the time when colds and flu are most promenant and this can carry over to early Spring if we haven’t treated ourselves to a natural Spring Clean. Now is the time to go outside to take in lots of natural daylight through your eyes and to start a herbal detox to support your body to carry out the healing or maintenance work required.

Supporting your body

If you have any existing conditions or are taking any pharmaceutical medications always seek medical advice. Finding a trusted natural healer, naturopath, homeopath or doctor who advocates natural healing is always a good idea if you need specialist advice and support.

Our bodies are capable of healing themselves if we understand what the causes of dis-ease are and when we give ourselves the right support, positive affirmations, natural protocols and organic nourishment.

My Natural Cold Remedy is based on the idea of the homeopathic remedy Allium Cepa (small onion) which helps in building immunity by easing cold-like symptoms. Other ingredients are specific to alieviating the same in order to provide a variety of options for the body to work with (see below).

Ingredients

2 x large White Onions

2 x Lemons

2 x large sprigs Rosemary

1 x Whole Garlic

3 x dried Cinnamon Sticks

2 tbs x dried Star Anise

1 x large root of Ginger (fresh)

1 x medium root of Tumeric (fresh)

2 x tbs Black, Green and Red Peppercorns

Filtered water (enough to fill the pan)

1 x tsp Raw Honey (to taste)

Cooking preparations

Prepare all the ingredients before adding to the pan as follows:

1) Peel and chop the onions into rough pieces.

2) Thoroughly wash and slice the lemons. Save a few slices to add to the drink when serving.

3) Peel and slice the Garlic Cloves and crush slightly with the flat of a knife.

4) Peel and slice the fresh Ginger and crush slightly with the flat of a knife.

5) Peel and slice the fresh Tumeric and crush slightly with the flat of a knife. (Note that Tumeric juice will stain your fingers bright orange and anything else it comes in contact with).

6) Wash the fresh Rosemary and strip the leaves from the stalks.

7) Gather together other dried ingredients to add to the pan.

Cooking instructions

1) Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan and fill the pan to the top with clean filtered water.

2) Bring to the boil and turn down immediately to a gentle simmer.

3) Place the lid on the pan and do not remove until the remedy is cooked and cooled so that none of the essential nutrients are lost.

4) Strain the mixture through a seive into a large jug and discard all the ingredients.

5) Serve immediately warm with a slice of fresh Lemon and a large spoon of Raw Honey (and 11 drops of Raw Propolis Tincture for hayfever if required - see below).

6) Cool and store the rest of the brew in a large container or jug in the fridge.

7) Drink a small cup of the mixture several times a day (warmed through) until symptoms start to subside. (Do not use a microwave as this disturbs the molecular structure and composition of the ingredients).

8) You can add the remedy to your regular herbal tea if you have one in the morning.

Essential ingredients

This recipe contains all the greats - ingredients that have been used to boost repair systems through the colder months over centuries.

White onion has a host of medicinal properties including Vitamin C, Folate, Biotin, Chromium and Calcium. They are the richest food source for Quercitin which is a potent antioxidant shown to help in preventing blood clots, asthma, sinus infections and bronchitis, 

I have talked about lemons, ginger, garlic and star anise in my Citrus Metal Detox Remedy recipe and about Raw Honey and other helpful cleansing herbs in my Cleansing Lemon and Ginger Herbal Tea recipe. Here we introduce a few other spices that are particularly helpful in giving us a boost during and after the cold Winter months.

Garlic is a life-changing food with plenty of reasons to include it in your regular diet says Medical Medium Anthony Williams.

Garlic is antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal (including anti-mold), anti-parasitic, and rich in the phytochemical allicin, a sulfur compound that prevents disease.

Garlic kills off pathogens and unproductive bacteria, which are behind so many mystery and chronic illnesses and symptoms.

Garlic helps fight colds, flus, strep throat, pneumonia-causing bacteria, and viral-related cancers.

Garlic extracts toxic heavy metals in the colon and gives you a powerful immune boost.

Cinnamon is a great source of vitamins A and B-complex and minerals such as Chromium, Iron, Zinc and Calcium. It is known to help prevent and shorten the duration of colds and flu as well help to eliminate congestion and mucus from the body. 

Tumeric has been used as a powerful anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiseptic and anti-depressant since ancient times. This brightly coloured root is also known to soothe respiratory ailments and decreases inflammation. It also stains everything bright yellow so be careful when peeling it and cooking with it.

Cloves are a highly prized medicinal spice used for centuries to treat digestive and respiratory conditions. They contain good amounts of Vitamins A, C, K, and B-complex as well as minerals such as Manganese, Iron, Selenium, Potassium and Magnesium.

Cloves also contain powerful antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and anesthetic properties making them tremendously useful in helping to heal a wide variety of illnesses and health conditions. 

Black Pepper provides an active compound known as 'piperine' which helps the body to effectively reduce inflammation.

Propolis Tincture - not an affiliate link

Bees make propolis by gathering resin from pine and other cone-producing evergreen trees.  They blend the resin with wax flakes and pollen then take it back to the hive. There they use the sticky mess to patch holes, seal cracks and build panels in the hive. 

The antimicrobial properties of Propolis protect the hive from viruses and bacteria. Researchers found that bees living in hives coated with Propolis have lower bacteria in their body and also stronger immune systems.

Propolis doesn't just benefit bees. For thousands of years, folk medicine practitioners have used Bee Glue to treat abscesses, heal wounds and fight infection. As such, Propolis was listed as an official drug in the London Pharmacopoeias of the 17th century.

Raw Artisan Honey - pure, raw and wholesome, 100% natural and free from additives.

A note about cold and flu

In recent years we have been led to believe that the 'cold’ or ‘flu' are some kind of virus rather than symptoms created by our bodies when our repair systems are working hard to remove unwanted invaders, toxins, unwanted waste and bacteria.

We are at our most vulnerable to these symtoms when we are feeling run down and when our bodies are lacking essential nutrients. We are also more prone to illness if our bodies, blood and vital organs are having to overwork themselves to process, store and remove artifical and accumulatively harmful additives, perfumes, chemical compounds, trace metals and other nasties on a daily basis.

Our bodies are designed to heal and do their absolute best to keep up. It’s a non-stop task with all the toxins we consume or are subjected to on a day-to-day basis whether knowingly or unknowingly.

This constant over-reach puts a strain on our blood, vital organs and digestive system. It makes us feel tired at best, or subject to migraines and worsening (often undiagnosed) symptoms at worse. When we have done too much and given our bodies too little, our body will eventually make us stop so that we are forced to take the rest needed and (hopefully) provide support for the necessary repair work to be done.

We do well to understand what harms can be caused by what and why. This gives us the best starting point to take back control as we reduce and elimate harmful man-made substances and increase or introduce more nutritious alternatives.

Nature’s store cupboard

There has never been any question that a daily healthy organic diet of mixed vegetables, fruits, herbs, wild foods, organic produce and other wholefoods is fundamental to good health and helps us to keep dis-ease at bay.

The beginning of Spring is the time of year when we need to be particularly generous with the goodness we feed into our bodies. It's the best way to build ourselves up after the long cold months when natural organic foods and gentle exercise in the fresh air exposed to daylight may have been in short supply.

Good food with exercise and the right amount of sleep and rest, generates the natural fuel and nutrients our body needs to cleanse and get ready for the more active Spring and Summer seasons coming up. 

Finding a reliable source of organic food and learning how to create tasty and nutritious recipes while drastically reducing processed foods from our diet is a great way to detox and build up our strength for the months ahead.

It's something we can turn our attention to knowing that establishing a healthy diet with daily activities outside in the fresh oxygenated air will get our bodies moving. It’s a great start from which we can continue to work on boosting our repair systems as a matter of course for our very best of health and wellbeing.

I hope you feel inspired to make this simple and handy cold remedy the next time you feel a sniffle coming on or perhaps suffer from hayfever. For this I encourage adding 11 drops of Raw Propolis Tincture (not an affiliate link) which cured my annual bouts of sneezes taken daily over the course of a few months.

This remedy is best served first thing in the morning before you have eaten anything, last thing before bed and during the day as required. Lemons especially are a great addition as they are alkaline and help with the cleansing and healing process.

I hope you enjoy making this gentle healing remedy and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Futher Reading

Cleansing Lemon and Ginger Herbal Tea by Sue Cartwright

Citrus Metal Detox Remedy by Sue Cartwright

A Powerful Boost of Turkey Tail Tea by Sue Cartwright

Going Organic is A Journey by Sue Cartwright

Cleanse to Heal by Anthony Williams, Medical Medium