Health and Wellness in the Colder Months
How to Stay Healthy When Everyone Around You is Sick!
Does it seem like the time of year when everyone around you is sick? Time to stock up on these essentials! Here are some natural ways to stay healthy this time of year.
1. Most importantly, take time to heal and be well. This is a step most of us skip. We often become more susceptible to germs when we are on the go all the time. Taking time to rest and sleep at least 8 hours a night helps keep your immune system working at full capacity so you can naturally deflect those incoming bugs.
2. Have these herbal remedies on hand, Cold Snap, Yin Qiao San, Gan Mao Ling. When you start to feel a throat tickle take all of these right away (use dose recommendations on the bottles). They are formulas designed to work with your body making it stronger against the incoming attack.
3. Take a hot bath then curl up in bed for a nap. This step is essential at the early stages of a cold or flu. The hot bath will open your pores letting the pathogen out and your sweat will handle the rest. You may want to put a fresh sheet around you to collect the sweat as you nap.
4. Foods play a big part in keeping you healthy. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and veggies. Make fresh veggie juice if you can. Carrots, celery and beet are a good start and you can add ginger if you feel cold and peppermint if you feel warm. Eat large salads for lunch with a protein and avoid heavy dinners. Especially avoid sugar. Sugar will only be feeding your cold and making the pathogens stronger.
5. Get some raw honey from a farmers market or local supplier. Honey will soothe your throat and should be the only “sugar” you eat while you are sick. Mix 1 tbsp. of lemon or apple cider vinegar with 1 tbsp. of honey in warm water and sip throughout the day.
6. Get plenty of vitamins from you food or whole food supplements. Double up on the Vit. C complex* and take plenty of zinc.
7. Get a massage, chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture to stay healthy. Massage works on loosening the muscles, chiropractic keeps your bones in alignment and acupuncture will keep the energy moving through your body. This prevents stagnation and helps to keep your body working properly so that any invasion can be easily eliminated.
8. Some herbs that help with colds and flu are, horehound, echinacea, peppermint, yarrow, slippery elm, ginger and elderberry. These are great in a tea with a little honey.
Of course this is in no way a complete list of ways to stay healthy, so feel free to call us if you have a specific questions or would like to learn more about how you can maintain your health and vitality this winter with herbs, acupuncture and natural medicine.
*We recommend Standard Process supplements. These are whole food and complete vitamins and supplements.
Elemental Acupuncture Clinic
789 Sherman St. Suite 105, Denver CO 80203
720-883-5209
