5 Fave Proven Cold & Flu Fighters // Immune Builders

As uncomfortable as cold and flu symptoms can be: stuffy nose, achy throat, coughing so bad that it keeps you up all night... they are the body’s brilliant ways of letting us know it is in distress and that our immune system is working overtime. So taking medications to relieve these symptoms is not a solution because they only address the symptoms leaving the underlying causes in our body to potentially create longer term health issues. 


Worse, because meds allow us to ignore our body’s SOS signals telling us it’s out of balance, rather than resting and taking care of ourselves, we’re able to push ahead, get further run down and extend the life of the cold.  And because meds are toxic, they cause gut/GI health disturbances which can contribute to a further weakened immune system. It’s ironic, isn’t it, that those things we take to make us feel better can increase the likelihood of us getting sick and even sicker in the future?  

Here are my 5 fave natural ways to manage cold and flu symptoms and reduce the severity and duration of your cold or flu once it’s come to roost. And the best part? These same suggestions strengthen your immune system and can reduce or eliminate the likelihood of getting sick in the future. 
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• Short on time? Speed read for the basics in bold.
• Don’t have a spare minute? Click HERE for a one-page printable checklist.
• Click on bolded, green links to explore more. ​

 1 Chiropractic Care


During the 1918 flu epidemic, flu patients that received chiropractic care survived much more readily than those that didn’t.
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Matthew McCoy, chiropractic journal editor says, “These results are not so surprising given what we now know about the interaction between the nervous system and the immune system. We know that chiropractic has beneficial effects on immunoglobulins, B-lymphocytes (white blood cells), pulmonary function and other immune system processes.”

 In 2005, a landmark study published in the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation (JVSR) found evidence that chiropractic care can reduce oxidative stress in the body.
Oxidative stress is the damage that occurs when free radicals outnumber the body’s antioxidants. Oxidative stress damages all body cell components: proteins, lipids and DNA


Magen’s Reco:
Find someone you trust and see them 1-2x a month until you’re feeling well. Shoot to get in for a tune up every 4-6 weeks minimum for maintaining optimal spinal health.
Not for you, or isn’t affordable? Do 1-3 Yin Yoga stretches daily to maintain spinal health and overall health. Follow this simple routine for 30 days.  Then repeat.

2 Hydrate with Nutrient Dense Liquids


Fluid helps your body to flush bacteria and viruses from your system.In addition, when properly hydrated, you’re less likely to crave processed food and sugar, which weakens the immune system and helps bacteria grow.  There are many benefits to a three day “fast” or, as I like to recommend, a mostly liquid protocol to help the body get, and stay, well.   

Magen’s Reco:
Spring water or Reverse osmosis filtered water  


Make a powerful, tasty tonic to stave off the carb cravings and satisfy the sweet tooth. Here’s how:  add 2-3 drops of Peppermint Essential Oil and 2-3 drops of chocolate stevia to (tea temp) water. 


Green, black or herbal teas (no caffeine after 11AM please) - “Both green and black tea are rich in antioxidants, including the immune-boosting antioxidant L-theanine. Cardiff University researchers also found that hot drinks (and especially chicken bone broth*) can ease sneezing, sore throats, chills, and tiredness.” -Dr. Axe  Fav black tea, Organic Puerh


Organic Green Juices - 16-24 oz per day of low sugar (less than 7 grams per juice) fresh, raw, green juices with kale, spinach, lemon, ginger… DIY or Grab n’ Go.


Organic bone broth:  Research shows chicken soup calms congestion and mucous. Thank cysteine, an amino acid in chicken that helps thin mucous in the lungs to calm your cough and stuffed up nose. Bonus: A study published in the journal Chest shows that the soup doesn't have to be homemade to be effective: supermarket brands work too.”   Add your fav veggies, fresh herbs and clean, humanely raised protein for a perfect hearty soup. Or get the outstanding healthy benefits of bone broth by adding bone broth protein powder to your AM breakfast shake. 

3 Be Sure To Get These Key Vitamins and Minerals

There are a number of vitamins, minerals and plants that will naturally boost your immune system. Keeping your immune system healthy is the most effective way to prevent or fight off a cold or flu.

• The best sources for many vitamins and minerals start with vegetables that are grown locally. In addition, include organically wild salmon and only organic grass fed meats. And don’t forget to include healthy oils.  My personal fav way to get the most nutrient, antioxidant-rich produce  everyday is add low sugar, organic green juices, with lemon and ginger, to your diet.

 

• When you choose nutritional supplements, be sure they’re high quality, bioavailable, and free of additives, fillers, and other synthetic ingredients. For a complete list of my fav brands and protocols go to…[insert link to my online dispensary/instructions for login]  

 

• Whenever possible, cut up your vegetables as close to the time of eating them as you can. I recommend you eat them raw, or saute lightly in grass-fed butter.  And steaming is always preferable to boiling. Most importantly however, is making sure you get your veggies.  If you are short on time,  wash, cut and pre-bag those veggies at the beginning of each week so they are definitely a part of your diet. .  

Here are my fave with when and how to’s:   

​Colloidal Silver

Next to Essential Oils, this is my latest fav tool in the natural healing toolbox.   

The below is an excerpt from a blog about Colloidal Silver from my fav and frequently quoted Dr. Axe:

By having a direct effect on cellular respiration, colloidal silver benefits the body in numerous ways. There are, however, eight proven healing properties that I consider to be particularly supported by the medical literature.

• Antibacterial First, colloidal silver’s ability to control antibiotic-resistant superbugs is astonishing. While employed at UCLA Medical School in the 1980s, Larry C. Ford, MD, documented over 650 different disease-causing pathogens that were destroyed in minutes when exposed to small amounts of silver. (6)

 

• Colloidal silver, unlike its modern prescription antibiotic counterpart, simply doesn’t create resistance or immunity in the organisms that are killed by it. This point cannot be emphasized enough, especially in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently reporting that more than 2 million people in the U.S. suffer illness every year as a result of antibiotic-resistant infections and 23,000 die from these infections. (7)

 

• Antiviral Colloidal silver benefits can be experienced as an anti-viral for HIV/AIDS, pneumonia, herpes, shingles and warts. Dr. Martin Hum, from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, lists colloidal silver as one of the natural remedies to stop viruses fast. (10) Colloidal silver suffocates the virus and can even reduce the activity of the HIV virus in AIDS patients. There are also numerous anecdotal accounts of colloidal silver’s efficacy against the hepatitis C virus.

 

• Anti-Inflammatory Colloidal silver is also a fantastic anti-inflammatory remedy. Case in point: Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studied the effects of inflammation after being treated by colloidal silver; they found that the inflamed skin of pigs treated with silver experienced near-normal skin after 72 hours, while other treatment groups not treated with silver remained inflamed. (11) Research is beginning to reflect what many people have already known anecdotally for years — that colloidal silver can reduce swelling, speed healing, and boosts cell recovery!

Magen’s Colloidal Silver Reco

• Adults:  1 teaspoon, place and hold under tongue for 30 seconds, then swallow.  Children 4 years & older: 1/2 teaspoon.  Guidelines:  Already feeling sick:  7x  daily. Symptoms first appearing: 3x daily Targeted immune building:  3x  daily. Good health maintenance: 1x daily.   ​

Garlic

• Garlic has antibiotic and antibacterial properties. In a recent study, people that took a garlic supplement for 12 weeks got, on average,  60% fewer colds than those who didn’t and they recovered faster if they did get a cold.
• Magen’s Reco: The most potent way to take garlic is to swallow a raw clove. I like to keep a bag of organic, peeled garlic cloves. They come in little pouches with 10 each so you can open one pouch a week. And they are just the right size cloves  to allow you to bite down (just once, to release the allicin,) then swallow with water, like a pill. Too stinky for you? Garlic capsules or tablets are fine too. :) And of course, add it liberally to any and all dishes! 
  
  
• Cold coming on? Take up to three raw cloves or six capsules a day. Bite into the cloves and then swallow whole. For a healthy immune system take one clove or two capsules regularly.​

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​Oregano Oil

• 2-3x  day put 4 drops in small shot glass of water or take 2 capsules 2-3x per day. See below for how to use in my cold care shot. ​

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​Baking Soda

• Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is derived from a naturally-occurring mineral. It may be used to combat a whole host of disorders and works by decreasing acidosis in the body.  
• In the early 1900’s, Dr. Volney Cheney found that baking soda helped reduce flu symptoms and greatly reduced the risk of contracting the flu to begin with. He began using bicarbonate of soda to treat colds and flu and found that “in many,  many instances, within 36 hours the symptoms would have entirely abated.”

 

• Cheney also claimed that those who took daily doses of baking soda on his advisement reported that they were among the few that didn’t get the flu when it rampaged through their schools.​
• Dr. Walter Bastedo reported that sodium bicarbonate soothes mucous membranes and dissolves thick mucus​.​
• To treat cold or flu, dissolve ½ teaspoon of baking soda in water 6x   day on the first day symptoms present, 4x  day the second, and 2x on the third.

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​​Vitamin C  

​It has long been understood that vitamin C benefits your immune system and plays a large role in your body’s ability to fight off colds and viruses.

• Foods: Kale 1 cup: 80 mg (134% DV): Brussels sprouts ½ cup cooked: 48 mg (80% DV): Broccoli ½ cup cooked: 51 mg (107% DV)

 

• Supplement form: Take 1000 mg of Vitamin C 3 x day to fight a cold

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​Vitamin D

• “Vitamin D is produced in the body by sunlight and regulates the expression of over 2,000 genes, including those of the immune system. Recent research has found that low vitamin D levels are linked to higher rates of cold, flu and respiratory infections.​ ​Most MD's will include a Vitamin D level test with your blood work. Make sure you know where you stand before going into the Winter season.” - Dr. Axe  
• Many physicians believe that current recommended daily amounts of vitamin D are far too low, and that ​up to ​​5,000-10,000 ​per day is good. Be sure your D has Vitamin K for max absorption. ​​

 

• To treat cold or flu, take 2,000 units per kilogram of body weight once a day for 3 days.

 

• For maintenance, I recommend 2,000 IU 2 x daily.

 
Get outside in the sun and fresh air for 20 minutes daily or buy a high tech sun lamp for your desk. Especially good if you suffer from mild or severe depression.

4 Essential Oils
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Magen’s Reco:
Thieves is my fav go-to for shielding me from germs - especially on planes, subways and other confined spaces. I keep a bottle in my bag at all times and apply directly to my hands then raise towards my face and take three deep breaths. Safe for kiddos as well. If you only get one essential oil, get THIS one.

• Clove – Clove is an antibacterial, antifungal, anti-infectious, and antiparasitic.It’s also a strong antiseptic, antiviral, and an immune stimulant.

• Lemon – Lemon promotes health, healing, physical energy, and purification. It is an antiseptic and it is great for the respiratory system
• Cinnamon Bark – Cinnamon is a powerful purifier and oxygenator, and it has been shown to enhance the action and activity of other oils.  It is antibacterial, antifungal, anti-infectious, anti –inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, antiseptic, antispasmodic, antiviral, and an immune stimulant.
• Eucalyptus Radiata – There are many types of Eucalyptus oil (that’s why it’s always helpful to be familiar with the Latin names of the oils- so you can be sure you are getting the right oil you need), but this one has a strong antiviral effect on the respiratory system, as well as having antibacterial, anticatarrhal, and antiseptic properties.
• Rosemary Cineol – Rosemary is antiseptic and anti-infectious

Essential Oil Cold Care Symptom Relief

• Migraine headache relief: Lavender oil and peppermint oil- combine 2 drops each of and apply to temples.
• Reduce cough or sinusitis: Eucalyptus oil- put a few drops into steaming hot water or a diffuser. Inhale to help clear the nasal passage.
• Improve digestion; Ginger oil, peppermint oil and fennel essential oil supports digestion, and helps heal a leaky gut.
• Bronchitis and asthma remedy: Make a homemade vapor rub by combining 2 drops each of eucalyptus and peppermint or 3 drops of  Living Young R.C. Oil and coconut oil. Rub on your chest and neck. Or diffuse 3 drops RC Oil.
• Improve concentration: Bergamot, grapefruit or peppermint oil. Inhale or put 1 drop of each in essential oil diffuser to increase concentration during the day.
• Energize your workout: Peppermint oil - 1-3 drops on tongue or inhale before a workout to reduce fatigue. Bonus:It freshens breath and reduces cravings!
• Reduce fever: Add 1-3 drops of eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender to a cool cloth and sponge the body.
• Boost immune system: 2-4 drops in a carrier oil and rub on the bottom of your feet before flying on a plane. And 1 drop in palms and rub hands together before using the loo.
• Achy muscle rub: R.C. Oil, 3-4 drops or mix eucalyptus, wintergreen and cypress with an unscented lotion or coconut oil and apply to muscles.
• Improve allergies: Rub frankincense and lavender on your palms and inhale deeply to relieve itchy eyes and throat.
• Reduce back and neck pain: R.C. Oil 3-5 drops + 1T coconut oil, or combine 2 drops each of peppermint, cypress and ginger oils with dash of cayenne pepper and 3 T coconut oil for a DIY rub.

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Combine Foods & EO’s with My Fav Cold Care Shot

• ¼ cup filtered water
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (vitamin C)  
• 1 clove garlic  
• ¼-½ piece of ginger (antibacterial. reduces inflammation, supports joints, improves digestion and relieves nausea) or 2 drops Ginger Oil
• 3  drops Oregano Oil
• 3 drops Frankincense Oil
• 1-3 drops of stevia
• Blend on high 30 seconds and shoot it back quickly.    

Take 3 x Day when feeling symptoms or sick. Note, do not ingest oregano and Frankincense oils for more than 30 days in a row. Use 1x day for healthy immune function.  

5 Manage Stress
The reason you see this listed in all my recommendations is because of how critical it is to your overall health. So here it is again.

• Breathe: Good news, the simplest relaxation has been found to increase immune system cells. And meditation has been found to improve immune function. Chronic stress, on the other hand, has been found to increase both the risk and duration of cold and flu substantially.  

Simple, six-count nasal breathing is still my fav,  most accessible meditation and what I use in my MInd Body RE BOOT Programs. Inhale and exhale six counts through your nose.

Working all day in an office, in front of a computer...simple as it soundsdo this:  commit to stepping outside for five each day. Set a timer and start deep breathing as you stroll around the block.

• Epsom Salts Baths

• Sleep

411 ON FLU SHOTS = NOT RECOMMENDED

Along with countless respected MD’s and holistic health care practitioners, I  do NOT recommend you get a flu shot as a preventative measure for the flu. And I quote one of my fav Functional Medicine doctors, Dr. Axe  “These vaccineseducate your immune system in an improper and unnatural manner and often contain dangerous chemicals and preservatives.”


Cold Care Checklist 

• Avoid Sugar
• Get rest/8-10 hours of sleep per night
• Clean Air: Hepa Air Filter  / Essential Oil Diffuser
• Full Spectrum Light:  Vitamin D Light Therapy Lamp Splurge = Sunlighten Sauna

• Appointment with osteopath or other fav body worker
• Appointment with Dr. to check your Vitamin D levels and key immune health tests.
• Selection of high quality teas for home, travel bag and office. MB Tea Selection
• Organic bone broth
• Daily Deep breathing
• Epsom Salts
• Essential Oils: Peppermint - Tea tree - Frankincense - Lavender - Lemon  OR  Essential Oils Starter Kit with Diffuser  
• Nutritional Supplements: Colloidal Silver Spray

Find my hand-picked, essential kit of Cold Care supplies HERE on Amazon.com.