At this time of the year many people suffer from ills and chills and tend to generally feel out-of-sorts and a little run down. Yet you don’t have to let the winter miseries take a hold of your life. You can keep up energy levels and help to keep cold and flu away with simple to make and use natural alternatives.
Garlic soup is a delicious and great way of coping with the onslaught of winter ills and chills. Using the benefits of garlic will help to strengthen the body’s immune system.
Garlic helps to prevent colds and expel catarrh from the chest, will soothe a nagging cough and relieves the symptoms of sinusitis.
To make garlic soup, peel eight garlic cloves and put them in a covered saucepan with two large new potatoes, skins on, and cut into small chunks. Add three to four cups of water, one bay leaf, and cook for 15 minutes. Cool and then add a few sprigs of fresh sage and thyme, finely cut. Sieve or blend, season and reheat to serve.
Jojoba oil can be used as a gentle lotion to soothe and repair chapped lips and damaged skin due to inclement weather conditions. Apply a few drops directly onto the affected spot and gently rub it in, repeating as required.
Adding one or two drops each of pure rosemary, peppermint and lavender oil to a bowl of hot water and inhaling can relieve nasal congestion. Cover your head with a towel large enough to form a tent and to prevent steam from escaping.
Keep your face about 30cm from the hot water and inhale no longer than 10 minutes. The inhalation process should not be used more than three times a day, and individuals with heart and blood pressure problems, asthma or other breathing difficulties, broken skin or visible veins, or dilated red veins should avoid steam inhalations, unless otherwise directed by their health practitioner.
A stuffy nose can be relieved with a portable inhalant!
Carry a handkerchief or tissue with you on which has been added one drop of each of the previous inhalant oils and inhale deeply whenever needed.
