Favorite Remedies for the Flu
I greatly enjoyed the winter wonderland walk I took in the woods recently. There’s nothing like standing in a forest of trees with snow hanging from the branches and covering the ground. These walks remind me of the reason I enjoy the beauty of winter. With this season also comes the dreaded flu for many. The holiday sugary treats from October to March result in run-down immune systems and more suseptibility to illness. That’s why I make sure my cabinets and refrigerator are stocked with natural medicines and immune boosters we need for good health and healing.
Photo Credit: Matteo Bagnoli via Compfight cc
Here are some of my favorite remedies for the flu:
Elderberry Syrup {You can watch a video of me making this syrup here.}
I like to make elderberries into a syrup and keep it in the fridge all winter long. For centuries, elder has been used for its medicinal properties. According to PubMed.gov, elderberries contain Sambucol, an antiviral substance that is especially effective against different strains of flu.
Ingredients:
½ cup dried elderberries
3 cups water
1 cup raw honey
Place berries and water into a pan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and mash berries. Strain through a fine strainer. Stir in raw honey and pour syrup into a jar. This keeps in the refrigerator for 3 months.
Children – 1 tsp.
Adults – 1 tablespoon
To prevent the flu, take the dose daily. To treat the flu, take the dose hourly.
Echinacea
Flu symptoms can disappear quicker when echinacea is consumed. Echinacea significantly boosts the body’s immune system by producing white blood cells to fight the flu more effectively. Like elderberries, I would consume echinacea tea or tincture hourly if down with the flu.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint contains menthol, which helps to open air passages and relieve symptoms associated with the flu. This offers better breathing. Add 5 drops of peppermint oil to a tablespoon of olive oil {or another carrier oil}and mix well. Massage into temples, chest, stomach, or bottoms of the feet to relieve pain, congestion, nausea, and fever.
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea
Red raspberry is full of essential minerals and vitamins that aid the body in fighting illness and help shorten recovery time. Dr. John R. Christopher always recommended fasting on red raspberry tea by consuming quarts of this tea during illness. This cleanses and nourishes the body, allowing the body to focus on getting over the illness rather than working to digest food. He testifies that his patients recovered from the flu in a day or two. Simply add about 2 tablespoons of red raspberry leaf to a quart of boiling water. Remove from heat, cover, and steep for 20 minutes. Strain and drink. Drink as much red raspberry tea as can be handled throughout the day.
I’d love to hear your favorite remedies for the flu!
Great list! I love seeing holistic remedies for flu. There is no quick fix even though those chemical companies want us to believe there is. I use Elderberry too, plus megadoses of vitamin D. We do a lot of preventive stuff and immune boosting practices in my house, which contrary to popular belief, does not include things like the flu vaccine. So far….knock on wood….although we’ve been surrounded by tons of “positive” flu, my family has only had a very mild case of an illness. Can’t wait to see what you post next!
Thank you, Heather!
We have had one child with what seemed like the flu (we didn’t take him to get “swabbed” because we aren’t going to use Tamiflu, anyway) and I treated him with elderberry syrup (Jill’s recipe), Echinacea tea (from the health food store or in the health food section of some better grocery stores – I go to Kroger for mine), and Sovereign Silver nose spray. We always take vitamin D and probiotics, being especially careful to do so in the winter months. It is important to note that herbs/natural remedies don’t work as fast as prescription drugs do, but they support the body and help “teach” it to use its immune system more effectively. In my experience, we have been sick less often and less severely since we started using herbs, rather than pharmaceuticals, around 4 years ago. I have followed Jill for quite a while now (Hi, Jill! I think you’re great!) and I trust her knowledge. I’m really happy to see her contributing on this site!
Melissa, we are excited to have Jill writing for us as well! I also am trying to avoid the pharmaceutical industry as much as possible and am excited to have her join our team to teach us where to start! Thank you so much for commenting and being such an encouragement! We appreciate you being part of our community!
Hi, Melissa! Thank you for your kind words!
Great job on this post Jill! These are all great remedies to know–such great tid bits of information to. Ive heard of the Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, but its amazing to hear that it helped relieve some people so quickly. Echinacea has always really helped me in the healing process…. Thanks for reminding me about it, because Im all out right now. 🙂
Echinacea is a must to keep on hand for us! 🙂
Great list! I have not so pleasant memories of Red Raspberry Leaf tea from pregnancy but we try to take elderberry and astragalus drops on a daily basis along with a nice strong cup of peppermint tea. My midwife also recommended Vitamin D drops (though I think that was more for the multiple nasty coughs that have been circling our area!)
With all the red raspberry I’ve consumed during pregnancies, I’m surprised I don’t associate it with pregnancy woes too, Anna. 🙂 Love the astragalus for immune support – that’s a great one!
I’m trying onions on my feet in socks overnight tonight. My daughter brought me the flu.
Hope you feel better soon, Sharon!