Natural Remedies for Staying Healthy During Sick Season
My family and I never need a doctor
I want to share how my family and I literally NEVER have been sick enough with any fever, respiratory illness, or so-called "virus" that prompted any medical intervention whatsoever, including vaccinations, antibiotics, OTC fever reducers or cough/cold medicines---I mean it! Zero sick visits.
That means in the time since either of them have been born, now 8 and 11, any illness either of them have contracted have never risen to the level of requiring any medical care beyond what I have provided at home.
Natural immunity is indeed a thing, and it doesn't require exposure to the pathogen to work for perpetuity. My first born received her 2 month vaccines, which included D-Tap and rotavirus doses.
I had already been investigating whether or not I wanted to vaccinate by digging heavily into the research. In my heart, I didn't want to do it, but I definitely feared being judged by society and the medical community (I certainly wasn't wrong about that!).
I brought her home that day, over the next few days watched reactions I didn't like. Excessive silence and decreased movement, then weird, jerky arm movements, then a rash that broke out all over her face. (She was too young to note if there were irreversible personality or brain function effects, but it was clear by the time she was 3 that she was "neurotypical".)
My momma instincts kicked in and I knew that would be it for us and shots. My son never had a thing. And that kid is a literal ox.
The most consistent and effective intervention that my kids have been exposed to since birth (really, since gestation) is homeopathy.
Lots of folks trained in or loyal to conventional medicine will totally denigrate and denounce homeopathy's efficacy. Why?
Well, firstly there's no big pharma money behind it supporting the research that would support it. That doesn't mean there aren't studies, there are many and I will link them below.
Secondly, the way homeopathy works is challenging for anyone conventionally trained to accept: the physical elements of each remedy is diluted until there is nothing detectable left--only the energetic imprint of the original substance.
That means homeopathy is essentially energy healing. And because we have leaned so heavily into it for so long, my kids and I are already primed with a strong vital force with an affinity for self-healing.
For us, there is no argument against homeopathy that could hold water; it has never failed us. We are living, breathing testaments to its efficacy.
More on homeopathy later...
What qualifies me to advise anyone on how to stay healthy?
As a lifelong (and truly--since I was a child) health and fitness fanatic, finding ways to self-heal and repair the body from acute minor illnesses like colds and flu had become a sort of hobby by my early 20s.
Early on in my teens, I started learning about Traditional Chinese Medicine--the meridians in the body and how they correspond to our organ systems and life force--and ways to support the physical body during times of stress and illness.
This started out with simple things, and informed by the available pre-World Wide Web age of information, like qi-gong exercises (which I still am committed to!), food as medicine, breathing techniques, and herbal remedies.
Over the years, my knowledge base and experience has exponentially multiplied.
Formally, I pursued a Master's Degree in Applied Health Psychology. What was totally invaluable about that program for me was walking away with elite-level critical thinking skills and the ability to dissect and critique any research study (that isn't too heavy in niche-specific lingo anyway).
So, don't come at me with "but, science!".... Many of the studies out there that have been packaged, summarized, and promoted to the public touting safety and effectiveness are generally flawed at best, and egregiously motivated at worst.
The first thing I check for is the "Conflicts of Interest" statement. If there is a red flag to follow the money? Discard!
Additionally, when there is no apparently conflict of interest, there are study designs that are of varying power and validity; some of the most promoted products were approved under the weakest of study conditions.
Which makes even meta-analyses of the body of evidence on a particular subject also suspect. This may not apply to every area of research or scientific exploration, but, if an industry stands to benefit or be harmed by a certain outcome, you should be viewing the results with an extremely critical lens, otherwise, you're being willfully ignorant.
But I digress...
With regard to expanding my repertoire of self-healing modalities, much of what I have gleaned has been a culmination of trial and error, coaching others on health and wellness, and voracious reading of books, articles, and research on what works and what doesn't.
Yes, much of what I have learned has been anecdotally supported by life experience. I always say, the proof is in the pudding! I and my kids are living, breathing proof that what I am outlining here really works! I just want everyone who is open to listening to have the benefit of experiencing that reality.
WHAT'S THE ONE SUPER-INGREDIENT FOR STAYING HEALTHY?
What works BEST to support your health?
Let's get down to it!
What is the true "special sauce" of self-healing? What is the singular component that is absolutely critically necessary to stay healthy and recover quickly from all illnesses?
It's not what you probably would guess...It's your belief that you can.
Belief is perhaps not even the right word. What drives my ability to heal goes deeper than that. It's an innate knowing. Some of us have always possessed this inner knowing. But more of us have long ago given away our own agency over our health and our bodies, trusting instead that someone else, an "expert" in something, will give us a quick fix to make the yuck-yucks go away.
That's right. There's no magic supplement, special food, or healing herb that works universally 100% of the time for everyone.
The one thing we self-healers share, and I include my kids in this population, is the absence of fear around getting ill and an understanding that the body is well-equipped to heal itself, with just a little bit of help, but probably more work, intention, and effort than most people are willing to put in.
If you're here reading this, the chances are you're already open to this notion, but maybe you're not "all in" just yet.
It's unlikely my singular account will fully convince you, but perhaps you can even think of people in your life who seem to never get sick, and don't even subscribe to a natural healing philosophy. They just refuse to succumb to illness on the mental level.
What I can share from my own experience is that absence of fear around illness for myself and my children not only will directly influence how your physiology responds to stress, but it also has functionally transferred to my children: they ALSO do not fear coughs, colds, or sore throats.
If we rewind five and a half years to the onset of COVID lockdown, we can all remember the very dichotomous reactions we all observed in everyone we knew:
either absolute terror or dismissiveness.
I was firmly in the latter category.
Not that I was dismissive of the topic, only of my susceptibility to getting sick. I researched a lot during those years and tried to assuage the populous fear with information. (Check out my comprehensive blog on Immune System Biohacks). My body was strong and healthy, and from what I read about the illness from the start, it was only deadly in the sick and elderly. Kids were basically immune.
I had nothing to fear.
And none of us ever got COVID. There were a few times when a whisper of it appeared to threaten, but I put the "protocol" into action, and none of us ever suffered a day during that time.
My kids? They stayed in school--Preschool through 1st grade. They masked only when required. I did not avoid interactions or friend meetups with anyone who was okay with it like we were.
There were those nightmare weeks where "contact tracing" caused their classrooms to shut down for a week or two at a time, clearly indicating that someone had it in their classrooms.
Guys, I'm telling you, they never even got a minor cold, let alone full-blown, quarantine COVID cough hell, the entire time. True story.
Believe me? Read on.
What about diet and supplements?
The physical stuff matters too, doesn't?
Yes it sure does!
I didn't bring you all this way just to tell you it's all in your head! (It's just mostly in your head!)
Our "terrain"--the body--needs to be well-balanced and harmonious to fend off pathogens easily.
Just don't dismiss how that physical manifestation of balance and harmony is VERY much influenced by your emotional state and thoughts. The depth of which I can dive on this topic is far too deep for this blog, but if you sign up for my course "Total Health and Self Upgrade", you will learn exactly how the complex dynamics of our human existence overlap to dictate our wellness.
That said (because it needed to be said!), that's a long-haul road to travel and sometimes we just need to feel better today.
Here are the pillars of physical health we must be supported by in order to stay healthy during sick and flu season:
Nutrition
Herbal and Homeopathic Support
Physical Activity
Rest
That's the crux of it. Now let's get specific.
Nutrition
Eating a nutrient-dense, mineral-rich diet is paramount for a strong terrain.
Every single body has different needs based on genetic factors, environmental factors, and stress response.
Suffice it to say, eating a whole foods diet with enough variety and macronutrient balance is a pretty universal principle to adhere to.
That means prioritizing:
▢ clean, filtered water
▢ high-value proteins
▢ polyunsaturated and medium-chain fats
▢ vitamin and mineral-rich fruits and vegetables
▢ reduction or elimination of all added sugars and processed foods
There should be no surprises here, yet some folks really struggle with these basic recommendations. My UNsick protocol goes into specific suggestions about superfoods and dietary additions that will support the body in the healing process.
My favorite is a nutrient dense soup replete with alliums, leafy greens, bone broth, potatoes, and chicken or beef that I make in my instant pot in a large batch and have ready for lunch for the entire week.
Herbal and Homeopathic Support
Being attuned to your body is so incredibly important for a lot of reasons, but a high degree of vigilance in specific changes to your physiology will prepare you to take action right away when illness starts to set in.
Tune in to these signs:
▢ Are you sleeping longer?
▢ More tired when you wake up or don't want to get out of bed? (unusually so)
▢ Feel hot or chilled?
▢ Sense a little "something" brewing in the back of your throat?
▢ Starting to cough, sneeze, or sniffle?
The second any of these become apparent to me I get right "on it". My kids are trained to do the same.
"Mom, I think my throat hurts."
Kicking into gear for us includes starting with homeopathy right away.
Aconite Napellus is the generic first line of defense when symptoms first appear. The sooner you do this, the more effective it is. I dose this three times in an hour. After that, homeopathic prescription requires a lot more knowledge, expertise, and experience than I can explain here.
Depending on the symptoms, but let's go with sore throat for now, I will also begin natural remedies:
▢ Sea salt gargle
▢ Elderberry tincture and syrup (I grow and make my own, but plenty of prepare products are on the market)
▢ Herbal tea with local, raw honey
▢ Propolis throat spray
▢ Extra zinc
▢ Extra vitamin C
▢ And perhaps Vitamin D3 if it's fall/winter and you know you are deficient. (Note that even if you are deficient, over-supplementing with D3 without knowing your magnesium & calcium status can backfire. So I've stopped recommending this without that information. Vitamin D is fat soluble, which means overdoing it is potentially harmful)
For diet, I remove all added sugars, reduce dairy, and increase fruits and vegetables. My kids are still "kids" so they aren't super amenable to hearty soups, but I'm working on it!
If symptoms persist or change, I will reassess homeopathic remedies.
For when they get temperatures, which happens maybe twice a year, I lean into homeopathy, rest, and fluids. They've never had a temperature that lasted more than 48 hours, and usually they're only running hot for one day.
Additionally, I perform Reiki healing on myself or my kids if we're feeling under the weather and carefully select healing crystals that match well with their physical symptoms. The book Crystal Prescriptions is my main guide, but I have several crystal books for deeper descriptions and explanations on the stones than this particular book provides. It's really just a reference book.
FAQs: Common Supplement Recommendations to Reverse Illness
Ascorbic Acid: This most common synthetic form of vitamin C in its pure, acidic form. It is perfectly bioavailable and acceptable for daily use to meet minimum RDA requirements, but may cause GI distress when taken in high doses.
Sodium Ascorbate: Also a synthetic form of Vitamin C is that is buffered and non-acidic, ideal for those with sensitive stomachs. Since it contains sodium, this should be taken into consideration for those on low-sodium diets.
Food-Based Supplements: Camu camu and acerola cherries are common forms of food-based vitamin C. They are not more bioavailable than the synthetic forms of vitamin C, but are the preferred choice when an individual is detoxing from mold/mycotoxins or has oxalate tolerance issues. Accessible options
Food Sources:
Guava: Contains about 125mg of per piece
Acerola Cherries: A half cup provides around 1650 mg
Chili Peppers: A green chili pepper contains about 109 mg
Red and green bell peppers: Raw red bell peppers have about 128 mg per 100g
Yellow bell peppers have 183 mg per 100g.
Strawberries: One cup of strawberries has around 119mg
Kiwi fruit: A medium kiwi has about 64mg
Oranges: A medium orange contains about 70mg
Broccoli: Has about 90 mg of vitamin C per 100g
Kale: Has about 120 mg of vitamin C per 100g
Brussels Sprouts: One cup of fresh sprouts can provide over 100mg
Rose Hips: contains about 426mg per 100g
When it comes to supplemental Vitamin C, sodium ascorbate is most gentle on the stomach and digestive system in high doses making it the ideal form of vitamin C when boosting the immune system and fighting off illness.
The short answer is that this water soluble vitamin can be taken in abundance to GI tolerance. Meaning you can take as much as you can tolerate without getting diarrhea. That amounts to servings starting at about 500mg every two hours for adults and 200 mg every two hours for children aged 2 to 12. The recommended daily value (RDA) of vitamin C ranges from 15mg to 120mg for everyone from babies to lactating mothers. However, this is the minimum of what someone should obtain on a good day. When you're under the weather and your immune system will blaze through the Vitamin C stores in the body more quickly. Anything your body doesn't need will be excreted. It's important to note that you should only dose this high while you are not feeling well and not permanently.
Choose a highly bioavailable form of zinc when supplementing to ensure your cells are able to properly utilize the mineral. The chelation process involves a chemically bonding a mineral ion to an organic molecule, such as an amino acid, making it easier on the digestive system and improving absorption.
Zinc diglycinate: A chelated form is bound to amino acids, which helps with absorption. It has shown the highest bioavailability in some studies.
Zinc picolinate: Zinc bound with picolinic acid, which is found naturally in the body. Demonstrates high absorption and easy on digestion.
Zinc citrate: Also highly bioavailable and gentle on the stomach.
Zinc gluconate: Often used in lozenges, it is well absorbed, though some studies suggest other chelated forms may be even better absorbed. This is a great option for children who won't swallow tablets.
Forms of Zinc with low bioavailability
Zinc oxide: This inorganic form is commonly found in supplements but has significantly lower absorption compared to organic forms listed above.
Zinc sulfate: This form has shown the lowest bioavailability.
Movement and rest
This should be intuitive, perhaps even a no-brainer, but in our overachieving society, we are penalized for sick days, sometimes even judged for taking time to rest. This doesn't seem to apply to children though---quite the opposite! Beware the wrath of the mother of UNsick kids exposed to SICK kids! Friendships are ruined over such instances.
Again, mindset is at the core here.
Note well--often respiratory or "infectious" illness is the physical manifestation of the inability to honor the body's needs. Namely, rest.
If you have not been sleeping well, been grinding at work, overscheduled, oversocialized, burnt out, what have you---your fixin' for a spell in bed for a week.
Likewise, if your general constitution is one of a couch potato, or if you have taken too much down time and your life is calling for you to step up and take action, that's what you're going to have to do. Your body is meant to move, your life is meant to be fulfilling. Your commitment to exercise and movement should be in balance with your lifestyle and needs.
I am one of those people, you know--lifetime fitness junkie--that absolutely overdid it for years. I really didn't think that I was. I genuinely enjoyed exercising. For the most part. But if I'm being honest, the times in my life when I pushed really hard, the times it felt like it hurt a little too much, that was more ego than balance. I wanted to be strong, seen as strong and elite, I wanted to attract clients with my strength. I wanted to make sure I stood out as the most fit, the fastest, the strongest in my fitness circles. (It was actually less about appearances for me than most ladies).
This ultimately caught up with me, but it took years to realize it. I had already depleted my body and had to take the time to slow down big time, especially after babies and chronic sleep deprivation. While I didn't get "ill" like we're talking about here, I was in severe pain. The message from my body was that I was pushing too hard. It kept trying to tell me and I kept looking for workarounds. The answer was ultimately that I just didn't have to work that hard anymore.
Your body is the mouthpiece for your soul. If you ignore it, or minimize its innate needs, you will suffer for it. It's only a matter of time. And then you get to conveniently blame the person who came into the meeting coughing rather than your own inability to slow down and rest.
Take accountability for the care you do or do not take of yourself---your body being only the most obvious component.
Your time, your peace, your independence, your values, your efforts---they should all be in alignment with your beliefs and actions. When you are out of alignment in any way and you are not willing to look honestly at that, your body will suffer the consequences.
Just Scratching the surface
This is a general overview of how we handle the onset of illness and of the general philosophy of healing that I am committed to. It has worked well for me and my family, and it can work well for you if you are willing to be honest with yourself and take deeper action than you have before.
If you would like the whole she-bang, all 14 pages with graphics, research links, and product links of my Get UNsick Protocol, click below and receive my treasure trove of illness-reversing practices and hacks right to your inbox!
