by Svetlana Konnikova

Are you struggling with a cold and wish you had something tasty that would take soreness and sniffles away? There used to be a full range of hot toddies, milled ciders and meads that would have done the trick, but they seem to have disappeared over the years, replaced by a range of over-the counter concoctions like Vicks, Nyquil and a range of cold remedies hawked by the aspirin makers. 

Now you have a choice. Thanks to an endless treasure of natural healers coming from centuries of wisdom and good practices developed by our grandmothers and mothers who nursed us back from sickness. Thanks to many doctors who also used herbs, food and love as a remedy. Thanks to all people who acquired an authentic knowledge of natural pharmacy. Thanks to all curious minds around the world who did research  and brought to us this invaluable treasure. Thanks to all who have not forgotten that the simple things are at the center of soulful nurturing…

Treat your colds and other illnesses in a wise way without polluting your body with an endless flow of chemicals. By reading this blog and becoming a member of our Healthy Club, you get access to old Eastern European remedies again. These time-tested natural treatments worked for many generations and can help you to prevent your illnesses, to improve and maintain your health and happiness for many years to comeAt first, briefly about me. My name is Svetlana. I grew up in southeastern Europe in a home filled with dried herbs, potted plants, and fragrant sachets everywhere to keep air fresh with an energizing scent. Our kitchen was filled with numerous packets and glass jars of mixed herbs, nastoykas (infusions), juices, teas, and elixirs. Beginning with my great-great-grandmother, several generations of women in our family were fascinated with herbs and everything that Nature could provide us. Grandma planted herbs, flowers, and trees in her gardens and used them as natural healers in the preparation of homemade green medicines; cosmetics, and in cooking delicious vegetable meals, preserves, and jams.

All the women in our family learned how to use a green pharmacy. They acquired a broad range of knowledge of plants and used it to prevent and heal various ailments in their family members, patients and neighbors. I consider myself the lucky heir to their extensive knowledge and want to share it with people who are interested in natural, effective, and harmless methods of a green treatment.

Now let’s discuss what you can do to stop sneezes and sniffles and stifle a nasty cold. First of all, I must ask you to do me a favor. Before you will run to your doctor’s office for a magical precsription, just stop for a minute and think. Read here what no one doctor told you before.

First of all, relax and let your vital power work for you. When you get a cold, see it as a red flag that your body has accumulated too many toxins and lost its internal purity. Let a stuffy nose be a sign that it is time to take the “trash” out and to relax and nurture yourself.

Nature knows best how to rid the body of toxins. So, when you get a cold, Mother Nature will help you cleanse and purify your body. Allow your body’s defenses to restore it to health. Do not disturb the process. Whenever my sister and I were young (we grew up without extensive use of antibiotics and other drugs) and caught a cold, our Mama prescribed fasting. And, of course, we were to adhere to the following rules:

1. Put yourself (or your children) in a warm bed.

2. Go without food, including fruits and fruit juices.

3. Drink distilled water with organic raw honey and organic lemon and herbal teas.

4. Keep your bedroom refreshed and inviting.

5. Refrain from reading, watching TV, or listening to the radio.

6. Keep talking to a minimum.

7. Sleep as much as you can and relax during this cleansing process.

I call treating a cold “cleansing house.” Treatment usually lasts from one week to 10 days, regardless of the medicine you take. By following the simple methods that I mentioned above, it sometimes took my sister and me only three days to recover. Those days of relaxation and isolation restored our health and happiness (as Bernard Shaw said in Back to Methuselah, “ I enjoy convalescence. It is what makes the illness worthwhile.”) Most importantly we did not put any over-the-counter drugs into our body.

I used these simple remedies with my sons when we lived in southeastern Europe. The weather, with the exception of summer, was cold, windy, rainy and snowy (similar like now in Chicago, for example). My older son was a member of a professional junior water polo team. He began playing when he was in first grade and played year-round in an outdoor pool with heated water. Water polo players often suffer from nose and otitis-ear infections. I used the magic phrase, “Go without food!” with him many times. Fasting always helped to hasten his recovery.

Try to make the following infusions to rid the body of toxins.

a) Place one tablespoon of dried raspberies in eight ounces of boiling water. Steep for 20 minutes. Filter and drink one cup of hot raspberry tea twice daily–once before you go to bed.

b) Combine one teaspoon dried raspberies and one teaspoon peppermint leaves with one cup boiling water in a glass jar. Cover with a lid and steep for 20 minutes. Filter and drink one cup of hot tea before bedtime as a diaphoretic medicine.

c) Combine one tablespoon linden flowers and one tablespoon rose hips with one cup boiling water and boil five minutes. Filter and drink one cup before bedtime. This infusion is soothing for colds and flu, and it is a good treatment for rheumatism.

d) Red bilberries are popular in people’s medicine. This “mountain cranberry” is effective as a juice or tea to treat colds. Combine one tablespoon fresh red bilberries in a pot with one cup water. Boil, add honey, and drink one hot cup two to three times a day.

e) Eat two to three pieces of garlic every day as a preventative measure during flu season.

There was no end to the remedies we had available to us to stop sneeezes and sniffles and stifle a cold, as well as sore throats and stuffy noses, when I was growing up. Most of these natural cures take some preplanning so that you make them in advance and keep in your refrigerator or herbal medicine chest when you need them, but it is worth it.

Source: Remedies are adapted from Mama’s Home Remedies:Discover Time-Tested Secrets of Good Health and the Pleasures of Natural Living  Copyright 2008 All rights reserved.