With the autumnal season arrival we are subjected to continuous temperature changes and here are the so-called "seasonal ailments" more commonly identified in a series of small annoying disorders such as colds, coughs and sore throats. If left out they can lead to different relapses or at worst, major complications such as sinusitis, bronchitis, pneumonia, etc...
With some precautions we can prevent these seasonal ailments, but if luck does not help us and we encounter a bad cold instead of immediately resorting to drugs and various medicines nature helps us with effective and natural remedies.
How to prevent seasonal ailments
You have to be smart!
To prevent flu is good to:
- Follow a healthy diet rich in vitamins C and D (lemons, oranges, mandarins, kiwis, broccoli, cauliflower) that increase our immune system;
- Maintain high hydration by drinking plenty of water or hot teas;
- Dress in layers so as to avoid sweating or getting cold (so change the wardrobe in time!);
- Wash your hands very often to avoid the spread of germs;
- Ventilate enclosed spaces such as home and office;
- Get enough sleep because a regular sleep cycle makes the body less vulnerable to external attacks.
7 natural remedies for seasonal ailments
Dried fruit and dark chocolate for tiredness and a sense of exhaustion
One of the factors for which we often feel tired and without energy is certainly the lack of magnesium, an essential element for the functioning of our body. It is involved in protein synthesis, in the transmission of nerve impulses, in the production of energy and in other processes in support of vital functions.
Failing to produce it alone we must necessarily take it from the outside through food or supplements. The daily magnesium requirement is around 300 mg so choose green leafy vegetables, dried fruit (especially peanuts and almonds) and ... yes, you can also treat yourself with dark chocolate!
Honey and cinnamon for coughs
Cough is probably the most annoying of seasonal ailments, it makes us impatient at night because we can't fall asleep, it embarrasses us when we are in the presence of other people and the only thing we want is for it to stop.
As also validated by the WHO (World Health Organization), to get a respite from the cough we can melt a teaspoon of honey (even better if propolis) in the mouth so that its emollient and anti-inflammatory action slowly relaxes and lubricates mucous membranes of pharynx and larynx.
We can also prepare an herbal tea with honey and cinnamon, a spice with antibiotic and antiseptic medicinal properties. The combination of honey and cinnamon for healing purposes is well known, since ancient times, from Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine.
The honey and cinnamon tea is easy to make, just boil hot water in a saucepan, turn off the heat as soon as it boils, then pour a piece of cinnamon into small pieces, leaving it to infuse for 3 or 4 minutes. Then strain everything into a tea cup so as to remove the pieces of cinnamon and add 1 teaspoon of honey.
As an alternative to herbal tea, we can add powdered cinnamon to honey and use the mixture, spreading it on bread.
Lemon, chamomile and honey for sore throat
Given that if the sore throat is strong or we are in the presence of plaques, we will still have to go to the doctor, but for milder problems we can rely on the disinfectant properties of lemon and the soothing properties of honey and chamomile.
Drinking hot water (or milk) and lemon, making a chamomile or other hot herbal teas adding a teaspoon of honey several times a day helps to reduce throat burning and to heal more quickly.
Onion, broth and fumigates for a stuffy nose
For a stuffy nose, try an onion! Once cut, the onion releases fumes containing ammonia and therefore causes tearing and drip of the nose, releasing it.
Another always effective remedy is to choose to consume hot soups and the classic boiling broth whose heat, relaxing the muscles of the oral cavity and freeing the airways is a panacea for countering the cold.
The fumigations are among the most effective grandmother's remedies used since ancient times. They consist in breathing hot water vapor with an open mouth that, combined with the action of herbs or essential oils, gives immediate benefits in opening the airways.
The procedure is very simple: boil two liters of water in a pot then pour in a couple of tablespoons of baking soda powder (which being effervescent amplifies the action of herbs and oils). Then add the oils or herbs you prefer such as: chamomile, lavender, cinnamon, mint, rosemary or tea tree oil.
Cover your head with a heavy sponge towel to avoid heat loss and breathe the exhaled steam deeply with your mouth open.
Ginger, honey and lemon tea for colds
Easy to make, the ginger, honey and lemon herbal tea combines the beneficial effects of these three ingredients and becomes a highly effective cocktail against colds.
Fresh ginger contains gingerol, a chemical compound with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, honey has balsamic properties (especially that of acacia or eucalyptus) and lemon, in addition to its disinfectant action, it is a bomb of vitamin C that increases the immune system.
To prepare the ginger, honey and lemon tea, bring some water to boil, then get yourself an organic lemon and fresh organic ginger (you can also use ginger in poor but the taste will be less intense). In a teacup, collect the juice of half a squeezed lemon and add 3 or 4 pieces of ginger root. Pour the boiling water and let it rest in infusion for a minute, then add a couple of teaspoons of acacia honey.
Thermotherapy for muscle and joint pain
In general, muscle and joint pains go away in a couple of days, but to alleviate them and avoid suffering unnecessary pains we can help by keeping the affected area "warm". In fact, heat does not promote muscle contraction and stiffness and consequently facilitates the weakening of pain.
Take the opportunity to give yourself a nice hot bath perhaps enriched with fragrant salts and medicinal herbs such as thyme (which has, among others, also pain-relieving properties) or, if you can, to stay at rest in bed or on the sofa. If, on the other hand, you can't afford the luxury of stopping, then apply self-heating strips located on the painful areas..
Water, food and vitamins for fever and flu states
Fever is the body's reaction to the ongoing war between our antibodies and the influenza virus. In this confrontation, medicines are not exactly helpful as they can only alleviate symptoms, but drinking plenty of water and eating as much as possible is the best strategy that can lead us to victory..
Water not only replenishes the fluids we lose with the sweating caused by fever, balancing the water balance of the cells again, but as we know, drinking so much water expels the toxins in the body.
The flu generally leads to loss of appetite and this causes a general weakening of the organism that does not help our immune defenses to win the battle against microbes.
Even if we can't eat very much, the important thing is to look for easily digestible foods and preferably containing vitamins.
For example, eating foods and herbal teas with lemon means not only exploiting the antiviral properties of this exceptional citrus fruit, but also introducing lots of vitamin C into the body thus weakening the influenza virus.