My Regiment of {Natural} Remedies

I’ve been battling a cold for over a week now. It is finally starting to clear up! ‘Tis the season - not for Christmas, but for colds and flu!

The last two winters I have really had an issue with head colds. I don’t remember ever being sick so often in my life! Every few weeks it seems I am coming down with another head cold or nasty, bad cough.

This time around, I decided to attack that cold with a vengeance. Well, not really attack it..just arm myself to try to beat that thang and build my system up.

I dislike taking any type of pills or medications. Namely, I never take any. So I’ve made some attempts in the last two weeks to start a regiment of natural solutions.

The first is Apple Cider Vinegar in water {known as ACV water}. I’ve taken this off and on in the past, and it does seem to help. It boots your immune system and also helps balance your pH levels. We’ve normally taken a small amount each morning and evening, but there are some who drink ACV water all day long. {You can add a small amount of natural sweetener to it as well, to help make the taste more bearable!} {here is a great post if you want to read up on that!}

Lately, I have been finding that the ACV water gives me canker sores in my mouth...I guess my pH levels don’t need balancing! So I’ve cut back on my usage and have just taken small amounts at a time. It really helps clear up the mucous in my mouth and throat, which was a huge blessing when I was trying to sleep! {Hacking up a lung is not very conducive to sleeping. FYI.}

So instead of ACV water, I’ve been drinking lemon water all the live long day. I just squeeze the juice from half a lemon into a pitcher of water {about a liter?} and drink several glasses throughout the day. This is also supposed to boost your immune system. {here is a great post that mentions lemon water and some other natural remedies}

Normally I have a hard, hard time drinking water during the winter. I know I have to, and I force some down my throat each day, but I’d rather wrap myself around a mug of some steamy hotness during the winter months. {And besides, coffee and tea are mostly water...so it counts, right?} But since I started drinking the lemon water, I’ve been drinking WAY more water in a day. In fact, I want to drink more! I really don’t know why, because it isn’t like it is that good or anything special, but it has really helped me. Just getting more water into me is probably going to help quite a bit, lemon or no!

Since I’ve been drinking more, I’ve seen an increase in my energy level...even though I wasn’t feeling well. I still felt somewhat chipper and alert even though I was barking like a seal. {And blowing my nose like...well, we won’t say what like. :) } Water is so, so good for you!

I mixed some honey and lemon juice to help reduce the coughing, especially at night. {Taking a sip of the ACV water helped this too, as I mentioned.} Just mix enough lemon juice to thin the consistency of the honey somewhat...and this really helps! I did have some Vitamin C cough drops, but I found they were not touching this cough at all. The honey and lemon, however, was a bit help. I just took a spoonful or two whenever I woke up in the night...so every couple of hours or so.

I also would fix an old fashioned cup of tea to sip before bed, and added honey and some fresh lemon to that as well. If nothing else it was very soothing. :) Plus the honey and lemon were helping the cough.

So...now to see if these things work for the long haul. :) I definitely started seeing improvements once I started this regiment of remedies, and I’m hoping that all the lemon water will help support my immune system so I do not catch another cold so easily! We’ll see what happens!!

I’d love to hear what works for you in the way of natural remedies...what else could I try? Are you prone to get colds and flu in the winter months? How do you battle it?

Update: Want to see how these remedies worked after experimenting for a couple of months? Click here for an update post!


Note: I’m certainly no doctor, and I don’t even know much about natural remedies {although I’d love to know more and am trying to learn!} I am just a girl that got tired of barking like a seal all winter and decided to try some things. These remedies are not meant to cure any of your ailments, so don’t bank on my advice. Consult your doctor {or at least someone smarter than I am} to learn what you should do in your situation.