How to Beat a Cold ASAP! Naturally.

Everyone and their brother has a cold remedy. Most of the time, they sound crazy and then don't work because they are taken with an over the counter cold medicine that suppresses the symptoms and makes the whole thing take WAY longer.

This isn't a remedy. At least not in the sense that I'm about to suggest taking this crazy thing because my grandmother's brother's wife's second cousin swears by it. This is giving your body everything it needs to kick that cold to the curb :-)

First of all, the immune system is pretty complex. It has a whole army whose sole job is to defend you from viruses and bacterial infections. The very first thing you need to do to get rid of your cold quick is to feed that army!

1 - Take a dose or two of Fermented Cod Liver Oil. I actually recommend the liquid - Cinnamon Tingle flavored, chased by milk - but as you'll see, the link is to capsules so that you don't have to taste something you think is going to be icky. This stuff is HIGH is vitamins A and D - and other fat soluable vitamins - that are vital to a healthy immune system.
2 - Take a spoonful of Acerola Cherry Powder. The Acerola Cherry is nature's most potent source of vitamin C, and we all know how important Vitamin C is when it comes to healing a cold.

If you are anything like me, you get frustrated easily when your nose runs and makes your throat sore. At this point, you might be VERY tempted to take a decongestant or other over the counter drug that suppresses your symptoms. RESIST THIS URGE! It will only make your body have to work that much harder and longer to fight off the virus or bacteria! If you must do something to clear your nose, try using a Neti Pot.

Instead, arm your army. Give your body the tools it needs to fight the cold/flu/sinus infection.

3 - Buy a bulb of garlic, preferably organic. If you can have sugar and prefer to drink a warm and soothing drink, make garlic lemonade. If you can't have sugar (which works better anyway), chop a clove of garlic up as finely as you can. If it's a small clove, chop two so that you have enough to fill a spoon. Insert the spoonful of garlic in your mouth and then immediately chase it with milk - preferably organic and whole, or better yet farm fresh - swallow the garlic like it's a pill. This gives your immune system nature's antibiotic, antiviral, and antimicrobial as a weapon it can use to kill the cold. It seriously works on any invaders, and better yet, it doesn't kill all the good guys (probiotics) that are trying to help your immune system. (You can also take some BioKult to give your body even more support in fighting the invader.)

If you don't like or are allergic to garlic, use ginger. Fresh, dried, or powdered. Swallow it like a pill like the chopped garlic - use it like the Acerola Cherry powder, or drink it like a tea. Combine it with raw honey and lemon for extra weapons in your arsenal :-)

Now that your body's army is fed and armed, take your temp. Are you running a fever? If yes, good! Cover up so that you are warm and comfortable and let the fever do it's job of killing off the infection. Seriously, viruses are picky about temperature. That's why a virus will make your nose run, give you a fever, and make you sweat. The body is responding to the threat by trying to kill it in an oven too hot for it to handle (and trying to get it out of your body as quickly as possible via your nose). Pick a temp you are comfortable with - such as 102 or 103 - and so long as you are under that temp, let the fever do it's job. Do NOT mess with it!

4 - If you are not running a fever, induce one. I did this by covering up with my blanket, layering my husband's blanket on top of mine, and then putting a heating pad under (actually between since I was laying on my side) my feet. It took a while, but when I first lay down, I felt miserable. I couldn't stop coughing and it was hard to breathe. The heat slowly cleared up the stuffiness in my nose, got rid of my headache, and stopped the coughing. After I started to sweat, I let it continue until I just couldn't take it any more! Now I'm cooling down as I write this blog, but I have not taken anything to lower my temp. I started with a fever of 99.6 - so it was very low grade - and after cooling down for an hour, my temp is only 100 degrees.

REMEMBER to keep hydrated! Drink plenty of water, especially once you start to sweat. If you happen to have on hand, or have the inclination to make some broth, drink the broth to give your body yet another weapon to use to fight the cold (flu, sinus infection, whatever you've got). If you don't have broth, stick with plain water. Anything with sugar in it is just going to feed the virus or bacteria and make it stronger. Seriously AVOID all sugar as much as possible!

To be honest, the fever is really all you need to get rid of a cold (or other invader). The fever kills it. End of story. Then the white blood cells come in and clean up the dead viruses or bacteria. Giving your white cells the food and weapons I mentioned simply makes them the strongest army they can be so that if any invaders survive, they can make short work of them.

I felt better in a matter of hours, but my body still has some work to do. Even so, clear sinuses and no coughing is the best progress ever! Good luck and hopefully you'll be feeling better in no time too :-)
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Lastly, while you are waiting for your fever to kill your cold, try reading up on why fevers are actually good for you. Here's a book that takes about one man's experiences running a clinic that used all natural healing - back before all natural healing was the latest trend, lol! It's called Back to Eden, and is very inspiring to read, even if it does advocate vegetarianism - which I don't.

Have a happy day :-)