Healing and Recovery
From the Cold and Flu Series

Drink plenty of fluids to flush the 'toxins' from your body as quickly and efficiently as possible. The best liquids are water and fresh fruit juice and herbal teas. Avoid drinks that have diuretic (fluid-eliminating) properties, such as tea and coffee that are loaded with caffeine. 

It is best to avoid milk and dairy products at this time as well. I've read that there is a compound in milk that triggers the release of histamine, the chemical that contributes to runny nose and nasal congestion which can in turn make chest, sinus, and nasal congestion worse. Better safe than sorry. I'm not a doctor, so I'm simply not willing to take chances.

What I am sure of is though a fever can sour milk or dairy products on one's stomach and cause vomiting. This is not somewhere I want to go.

Avoid alcoholic drinks such as liquor, wine and beer or ale, as these are dehydrating. and the rob the body of vitamin C, and puts extra strain on the liver, which already has enough to do trying to rid your body of the virus.

If you don't feel like eating, don't eat. But do NOT STOP DRINKING. If you feel up to eating foods should be as light and easy on the digestion and your stomach, preferably vegetable soups, broths, salads and lightly cooked fish or chicken, toast and crackers in small quantities. 

Avoid high-fat, hard to digest foods such as cheese, red meats and pastries.

Avoid going from one temperature extreme to another. Inside to outside, hot to cold etc... a consistent environment makes it easier for your body to do it's work.

Grapefruit is a great food for fighting a cold. It is high in vitamin C. It also helps purify the liver. The liver is your front line player when it comes to your immune system, and when immunity is impaired, you need something that’s alkaline and not acidic to cleanse it. All citrus fruits become alkaline when digested, and oranges are really too sweet to be of much use here other than for their vitamin C content. Remember we're trying to avoid sugar during our recovery.

A person with a cold may want to use the following vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements to help shorten the duration of the cold and reduce the severity of symptoms:

To clear up nasal congestion and stuffiness, use a vaporizer with eucalyptus oil added to the water.

If your cold is accompanied by a fever and chills, a warm bath can work wonders! Yes you heard/read right.

Soak for about 15 minutes. Dry off well and jump into a warm bed and stay there! Use this treatment one to three times every day until your symptoms subside but keep your head dry. To wet your head at this time only invites head congestion.

Herbal steam treatments are a soothing way to treat the head congestion that can come with a cold. Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Then remove it from the heat source and drip a few drops of essential oil into it. (Eucalyptus, sage and balsam are particularly good for cold congestion.) Drape a bath towel over your head and breathe deeply for five to ten minutes. Do this two or three times a day until your symptoms subside.

Different herbal teas have different healing and soothing properties. You can find diet and herbal recipes here to help speed your recover and to make you more comfortable during your healing.