Getting Sick?

November 1, 2021 | Body Care, Learning, Nutrition | 0 comments | Author: Ashley Dance

It’s that time of the year again. I’m not exactly talking about the holidays; I mean that time of year when everyone gets sick. Sometimes even when you are eating well and exercising and doing all the things you should for a healthy lifestyle, you can still catch that winter bug. So what do you do about it when you feel puny?

First things first, eliminate all refined and questionable sugar. Sugar feeds anything that’s in your body making you feel bad. Don’t fuel its fire. Similarly, avoid or at least reduce grains. Grains and specifically wheat are inflammatory foods—meaning they cause inflammation in your body. Diseases can be caused by chronic inflammation. Inflammation in your body is a signal that something isn’t right and your body is having a reaction to try and right the wrong. It’s amazing what your body can do to heal itself, and it will if you just let it. Your body will need to focus most of its energy on healing, so don’t give it foods that are hard to digest and take away energy from the healing process. The next logical solution for conserving energy is sleep. You need to rest to recover. Your body does all kinds of restorative things while you are snoozing- so let it.

You probably heard your mom tell you to drink plenty of fluids when you were a kid, and she was right. Make sure you are drinking things that will improve your health though, not sugary sodas or sports drinks. You want to drink green and white tea for the antioxidants. Taking tea a step further is Kombucha, which is fermented tea. This creates a tasty beverage that houses billions of probiotics. Probiotics are essential in healing. They make digestion easier, so you free up energy for healing. They also help fight the bad bacteria in your system. Coconut water is excellent for proper hydration, and it can take the place of the sports drink many think they need. It contains electrolytes, which help balance the fluid in your cells. Orange juice, if freshly squeezed, is a great way to get vitamin C. You don’t have to have a juicer to get fresh vegetable and fruit juices for your health. Turnip Truck and Whole Foods have juice bars. One of my favorite green juices is kale, spinach, lemon, ginger, apple and cucumber.

Next, what are the foods that are beneficial to eat? Again you want to eat things that are easy to digest and nutritionally dense. Dark leafy greens and berries are a great place to start. Berries have the highest antioxidants and lowest sugar content of fruits. Kale is the most nutrient dense vegetable per calorie. Garlic does wonder for your immune system, preferably raw. It’s easily thrown into juices and smoothies raw. You can add it to guacamole raw and not even notice it. Ginger is great for anti-nausea. It’s probably easiest to put it into a juice or smoothie as well, although I use it frequently in Asian style meals. Sprouts (like broccoli sprouts) are another immune booster. You should increase your coconut oil consumption at the first sign of a bug because it’s antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal. There are countless herbs that help fight infection and disease, but one of the most versatile and potent is oregano. Oregano oil is known as nature’s antibiotic. It kills harmful bacteria, fungus, yeast, parasites and fungus, and is a powerful antihistamine. It most often comes in a bottle with a dropper. You can add it to water or directly under your tongue. Be careful though, it burns your mouth. It’s a pretty substantial burn so, really, be cautious.

As soon as you get the sniffles grab a Kombucha. When you’re feeling worn out, down some (greener is better!) vegetable juice. Let green tea wake you up in the morning. Then have a smoothie with kale and coconut oil in it. Get plenty of sleep and let your body do its healing thing!

Here’s a quick list and overview:

1. Stick to ONLY the easiest to digest foods—fruits and vegetables and even better if they are in liquid form (juice or smoothies). Homemade bone broth is also an option, but avoid the grains, noodles, and meat!

2. Add herbs known to assist the body both with elimination, restoring the body, and fighting illness such as clove, eucalyptus, rosemary, Echinacea, garlic, turmeric, oregano, olive leaf, astragalus, comfrey, lobelia, goldenseal, etc.

3. Antioxidants from berries, teas (white, green, herbal, and kombucha), and broccoli sprouts are great!

4. Essential oils such as oregano, lemon, orange, clove, peppermint, cinnamon, rosemary can all help speed up healing and fight infection.

5. Energetic proprieties (frequency imprinted water) can also speed up recovery and healing.