If your gut isn’t healthy, neither are you! We pack in doses and doses of antibiotics in an effort to kill off the germs, but we also annihilate our gut, which in turn annihilates our immune system, which in turn makes us vulnerable to germs. See what is happening here? Around and around we go and with each dose of antibiotics we build up a resilience to it, so when and IF we really really need it, the body is so accustomed to getting it that is does absolutely NOTHING to help!
We need to take a step back, and left. Left and back..away from the chemicals, unless you absolutely have NO CHOICE! We need to learn to not immediately run to the PHARmacy but rather the FARMacy and use what nature has provided us with.
In comes mother nature, who has so cleverly armed us with an entire arsenal of ‘farm-aceuticals’ right at your fingertips. Please note, I am absolutely NOT a medical practitioner and this is in no way a means to step into the position of your medical practitioner, it is just an avenue to teach you that there are other ways to assist your body other than taking the chemical route first!
Lets just set a few things straight though. Sometimes, the symptoms you experience are there for a reason. They are an indication that the body is in fact managing to fight the germ that has invaded.
A fever for example, is necessary for the body in order to cause a hotter than normal environment in order to kill off the virus! Also, there are germ killing proteins in your blood that are shuffled around faster when you have a fever, so you actually get better quicker! Kill the fever and slow everything down! We’re talking moderate fever here, nothing above 41 degrees of course!
Coughing is the body’s way of keeping the airways clear of gunk, and expelling mucus and phlegm. So the body actually knows what it is doing, we just need to help it along!
Nature’s farmacy has the full spectrum of ‘meds’ to help you treat the symptoms, as well as fight the cause of the symptoms, which is actually what we should all be doing! It doesn’t help you just keep masking the symptoms, if your immune system is weak you will just keep getting sick. Its the immune system we need to start with and he immune system we need to boost! Starting with the gut!
Lets start there and work our way around the body! Sticking to basics!
How to fix your gut and improve your immune system?
- Avoid unhealthy foods that attack the immune system. Sugar, processed foods, cooldrinks, excess caffeine, smoking and alcohol. Start there. Remove these and you are already on your way to making an improvement.
- Eat foods that promote healthy gut. Natural, whole foods out of a garden. Veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds. These make a potent basis for a healthy daily intake. Add to that fish, organic chicken and voila happiness is. Sauerkraut and other naturally fermented foods help the gut as well.
- A plain, unsweetened YOGHURT that contains live cultures! It will say so on the tub. Look for lactobacillus or something remotely resembling that name. Don’t panic because it is unsweetened this is where fresh fruit, cinnamon and raw honey get to step in! Use em!
- Kombucha! A high probiotic in the form of a fermented tea! Read up about it, make your own or buy! Its worth it! http://danielarogers.co.za/kombucha-kombuc-huh/ for some info and how to make your own!
- A very good quality PROBIOTIC is essential! I like to recommend acidophilus. My favourite brand is SOLGAR acidophilus because of the high percentage of uptake, in other words, you pay more because more is absorbed by your body. Cheaper brands have a lower uptake, so you pay less because you get less. Easy huh
SOLGAR
SOLAL
ORFOOD state 
.
For kiddies you can look out for:
RAWbiotics 
Animal parade acidophilus for kids 
or the ‘mother load’ ANimal parade immune booster (my favourite!) 
- Olive leaf extract
a potent natural anti biotic and immune booster! The animal parade immune booster for kids already has this!
Its easy to look at these products and say ‘I won’t pay that, look at the price!’ but all you have to do is add up your medical bills when illness does strike and you should have your answer right there! Small amounts to help your body fight off disease VS large amounts to treat the illness once it hits.
Its an easy one for me!
Now onto treating the body IF and WHEN a bug strikes:
There are a cluster of natural superfoods that are just essential to your FARMacy. I always have them in our home and they are a staple on my grocery list! They are
- Turmeric (root or powder)- portion for kids is roughly 1/4-1/2 tsp daily.
- Fresh garlic
- Raw honey
- Cinnamon
- Fresh lemons
- Thyme!
- Rosemary
- fresh pineapple (seasonally available naturally)
- Coconut oil
- Epsom salts
- OLBAS essential oil
- Rosemary/thyme essential oil
- Vaporiser or infuser.
At the first sign of a bug, when the snots, chills and coughs kick in you immediately head for THYME tea. Safe for adults and kids, not safe for pregnancy in high doses (more than 1/4 cup per day) so rather check with your OBGYN.
THYME tea: you’ll need
- 1 teaspoon of fresh or dried thyme
- 1 cup boiling water
steep for 5-10min, reheat, add honey if necessary and drink 2-3 x per day!
MAGIC stuff!
EPSOMSALTS bath to boost the body’s magnesium levels, treat sore body and help speed along detox and recovery.
- 2 cups of epsomsalts in a warm bath! Soak 20 minutes or until you have achieved raisin status.
Make a virgin HOT TODDY. Alcohol does harm so avoid the whisky part of the toddy.
- 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice.
- 1 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon sticks
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1-2 cups boiling water OR strong herbal tea
Boil in a pot on the stove until everything is well mixed and fragrant. Drink this hot! Multiple times a day!
Use GOLDEN MILK to treat flu and cold if the hot toddy isn’t your thing.
- 1 cup boiling milk (I like to stick to dairy free to reduce mucus, so I use almond milk or coconut.)
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 tsp coconut oil
- I add a teaspoon of raw cacao in so the kids think its hot chocolate, mooohahahah!
Mix well and drink immediately! While hot. YUM!
If COUGHING sets in:
Pineapple is your first and best bet! Fresh blocks or freshly juiced. It contains bromelain which cures coughing naturally!
Your next best attack on the cough is THYME tea AND/OR
- a mixture of raw honey with a sprinkle of cinnamon on the top (which you then mix in and feed to your kids or yourself on a tablespoon!). Both equally potent as expectorants and germ busting immune boosters!
- HOMEMADE cough syrup: – 1 tsp coconut oil, 1 tbsp raw honey, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1 tbsp fresh lemon or pineapple juice. bring to the boil and allow to melt and mix. cool down and drink 1 tsp at a time.
For SNOTS and mucus you have to drain the mucus. Blowing your nose often and well is the best way. Don’t blow your nose so hard your ears block. Close one nostril and gently blow out the other. If your little one is still too small to blow nose then invest in something called a ‘nasal aspirator’. I have used BABYVAC on both my kiddies and I must admit, at first it was daunting, you want me to attach a pipe to my vacuum cleaner and then stick said pipe up my kids nose? Brain sucking? It honestly works though, and it works gently! The sound can put them off but the speed at which those boogers come flying out, its worth those few minutes of potential screeching! The longer mucus and snots sit in the airways, the more chance of infection and growing germ count.
You can find your babyvac at local dischem, health stores will have different variations but they all do similar things! www.babyvac.co.za
LAstly, OLBAS. An oil that you can rub onto their chests (in a carrier oil like coconut or olive oil), under their feet or put in the vaporiser so they can breath a little easier through the night. I like to rub some under their feet and then put socks on. I drop a few drops on their pillow and voila! Open passageways. Puma balm under the feet and on the chest also works wonders!
I make my kiddo’s pineapple and rooibos jellies. These are super fun and an easy way to get Vitamin C and bromelain into them if they aren’t big on fresh fruit or juice. Check out the recipe on my recipes page.
http://danielarogers.co.za/pineapple-rooibos-cough-jellies/
And lastly, SOUP! SOUP! more SOUP! All the nutrients and none of the digestive effort, so you can nourish your body without taxing it!
Recipes coming soon on my recipe page!
Illness also takes route if you don’t fight it mentally. I know this sounds airy-fairy but your body hears what your mind tells it to. If you think sick, you will be sick. If you think healing, strong, immune system fighting off germs then your cells in your body will adapt and deploy stronger! Fact.
That, dear folks, is how we deal with winter! We show it a big, nasty toffie and tell it to buzz off!
Next time your body starts showing a few signs of colds or flu, don’t rush to the PHARmacy..turn to your FARMacy. It may take a touch longer to feel better but you will come out of it stronger than before, not weaker!
Live wholesome!
All of the above mentioned supplements are available at dischem stores or online at Faithful to nature. Link below on page.
