Ask The Herbalist: Colds / Flu
By Chris Lewis, MH, CMT
Q. Is there a cure for the common cold?
A. Yes.
NOTE: The following recommendations for preventing and curing the common cold also apply to the flu (influenza) and to many other common (and uncommon) infectious diseases as well.
1) The Common Cold is caused by a virus, so the first thing that needs to be done is to stop feeding the virus. Viruses feed on toxins, waste products, and thick mucus that hasn’t been eliminated from the body. So, to stop feeding the virus you must thoroughly cleanse your body. If you’d like a few quick cleansing techniques to get you started, click here, but remember not to stop there, go on and read the book and cleanse your body completely.
Complete detailed step-by-step instructions for cleaning out all the parasites, parasite eggs, disease germs, old fecal matter, the gum you swallowed when you were five, and everything else that is stuck in your colon and poisoning you right now are in my book “The Foundational Cleansing and Nourishing Program.” This wonderfully useful book also reveals how to clean stones, fat, cholesterol, and toxic buildup out of your liver and get your kidneys working like they did when you were 16!
The other thing that absolutely must be done is this: you must stop eating foods that cause your body to produce that thick sticky mucus that viruses (and all other infectious organisms) live in and feed on. These include: all meats, including poultry and fish, all dairy products, eggs in any form, cooked flour products (especially white bread), and anything containing refined sugar. These “foods” do exactly the same kind and amount of damage to the immune cells in your lungs that smoking does!
If you just can’t bring yourself to eliminate these things 100%, then eliminate at least 90% of them from your food program; your results won’t be quite as fast or as good as if you had eliminated them completely, but it will make a tremendous difference in your health. There is absolutely no nutritional benefit in any of these things that cannot be gotten from plant foods, so don’t worry about eliminating them from your diet; you will only get better.
2) In many people, stress will bring on a bout with the cold or flu because stress (that is, a constant stress for which you do not have a regular frequently used escape route) significantly weakens the immune system. So find a good way to get away from your stressors like running, boating, other outdoor sports, reading a novel, spending at least a 1/2 hour or so in a hammock every day, visiting with friends, listening to your favorite music etc. Pick the one that works best for you and do it, at least a little bit, every single day.
3) Take herbs to strengthen your immune system like: echinacea, astragalus, garlic, marigold (calendula), various mushrooms (e.g., shiitake, maitake, etc.), and whatever others you have access to. It is best to prepare these herbs yourself, but you can also buy preparations of them. I recommend the companies mentioned in my free e-book as I have had experience with them and I know their products are of excellent quality. You can download this e-book when you sign up for my free e-mail course.
4) Use herbs that kill the virus directly, like: garlic (the superstar), basil (yes, the common spice), cloves, astragalus, St. John’s Wort, elder berries, Schizandra, licorice root, ginger, oregano, cloves, and lemons, limes, oranges and other vitamin C rich foods. GSE (Grapefruit Seed Extract) is also remarkable effective for getting rid of viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc. You can find it online or at your local health food store.
5) Take herbs that are used specifically to treat colds and their symptoms: Drink several cups of sage tea. Sage is famous as a decongestant and for alleviating the symptoms of colds. Peppermint, elder flowers, catnip, eucalyptus (inhale the essential oil), elecampane, turmeric, osha root (drink tea and sniff powder), and myrrh (tincture orally and plaster on chest), are also used with great success in treating colds. There is also an organic tea made by Wisdom of the Ancients called Symfre that is supposed to be remarkably effective at getting rid of colds fast. I have tried it and it works. The earlier you use it, the better it works, so have a few cups and see how it works for you. The tea contains: Azteca, licorice pepper, and stevia.
6) Drink lots of tea made from diaphoretic herbs (herbs that make you sweat). Some good diaphoretic herbs are: Yarrow, ginger, cayenne pepper, peppermint, anise, bayberry, blessed thistle, black cohosh, black pepper, mustard seed, chamomile, catnip, echinacea, fennel, horehound, horseradish, juniper berries, kava kava, lobelia, prickly ash, safflowers, sassafras, sarsaparilla, spearmint, thyme, valerian, vervain, wild lettuce, wild yam, and others. Pick the one that works best for you; if you have one of these growing near your house, so much the better.
This helps your body to cleanse, and remember that the reason you get colds is that your body is trying to cleanse, so this will help it to get its job done and over with a lot faster. This works even better if you drink about a quart of the tea while taking a very hot bath (as hot as you can stand it). No amount of internal heat will ever hurt you as long as you are getting plenty of fluids (i.e., water, fresh juices, and herbal tea; other beverages don’t count).
Never, EVER, EVER try to get rid of a fever with drugs or any other method. Stopping fevers can cause Reye’s syndrome, a potentially fatal condition involving swelling of the kidneys, liver, and brain; it is basically caused by not letting your body cleanse with the fever. In case of a fever, just take a hot bath (yes, a hot bath) and drink at least a quart or more of hot diaphoretic tea (children less according to weight). This is all you should need to do for any fever.
NOTE: If there has been a head injury, or if the fever look like it might go above 107º F, the control mechanism in the brain is damaged and you need to keep the fever under 107 by keeping the person in a warm bath just a little cooler than their body. A cold bath or shower will cause the body to react in the opposite way and drive the fever up further.
7) Exercise is extremely valuable for all infections of every kind. Get outside and run, participate in your favorite sport, whatever, but move your body and breath deeply. This will dramatically improve your condition if you already have a cold and does wonders as far as preventing it. Remember, if you rest (too much), you rust. Or as a friend of mine says, “Get ‘em out of bed or they’re dead!” It’s really that important, in any disease condition. Just start off with what you’re used to, whatever that is, and gradually increase over time.
================================================
Chris Lewis, MH Wellness Gardens
Start Getting Well Naturally Today!
Free Herbal E-mail Course and E-book download at:
http://www.chrislewismh.com/prod-free-ecourse.htm
================================================
Reprint Permission:
Copyright © 2002 – 2010 by Chris Lewis, MH: Permission is hereby granted to copy and publish this article in its entirety (including author’s name and contact information) in emails, web pages, e-zines, message boards, discussion groups, newsletters, bulletins, and other forms of literature available to the public and/or with non-paid subscriptions as long as the entire article, including this resource box remains unchanged. If the article is to be included in a medium with a paid subscription or to be sold for money, please contact the author for permission first.
