Immune Pushups for the Winter

Immune Pushups for the Winter

After being sick for six weeks with the flu and then bronchitis and then a sinus infection, I've been gathering lots of information about healing and prevention that I wanted to share. Especially since when I went to the doctor he said that the flu season has not yet officially begun; its cycle is December/January, and this is only the first wave!

The best thing we can do to avoid the flu is simple prevention measures, as outlined below. And I also added good support for if you do get a virus this winter.

One thing I loved about being sick is that is helped me slow down, and I got to see that illness no longer makes me suffer (okay, just a bit of whining here and there!) My body was tired and icky, but I stayed happy most of the way through.

And I got to connect with so many people sending me healing wishes, their stories, and remedies... What a great web we are all weaving on the internet.

ELDEBERRY

From a friend of a friend:

I'm not sure how much flu concern is in your world, but there's plenty happening here in Austin.  I just received this information today, so i thought I'd pass it along in case any of you are immersed in germs or the public or exposed to flu. Apparently elderberry is an excellent natural flu preventative and if used for flu treatment, can reduce the intensity and length of the related symptoms significantly...and its not hard to find.

...from the last sentence of the study: "The H1N1 inhibition activities of the elderberry flavonoids compare favorably to the known anti-influenza activities of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu; 0.32 microM) and Amantadine (27 microM)."

A former classmate of mine now studying at bastyr passed this along today (please) - http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/1146/

Here is a link to diff brands: http://www.iherb.com/Elderberry-Sambucus -

Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 inf...[Phytochemistry. 2009] - PubMed Result

Source: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

H1N1 AND ALL FLU  PREVENTION

From Gini Gentry:

Dr. Vinay Goyal is an MBBS,DRM,DNB (Intensivist and Thyroid specialist) having clinical experience of over 20 years. He has worked in institutions like Hinduja Hospital , Bombay Hospital , Saifee Hospital , Tata Memorial etc..     

The only portals of entry are the nostrils and mouth/throat. In a global epidemic of this nature, it's almost impossible to avoid coming into contact with H1N1 in spite of all precautions. Contact with H1N1 is not so much of a problem as proliferation is.  

While you are still healthy and not showing any symptoms of H1N1 infection, in order to prevent proliferation, aggravation of symptoms and development of secondary infections, some very simple steps, not fully highlighted in most official communications, can be practiced (instead of focusing on how to stock N95 or Tamiflu):   

1. Frequent hand-washing (well highlighted in all official communications). Carry hand sanitizer with you when you go out into the world and use after all interactions.

2.  "Hands-off-the-face" approach. Resist all temptations to touch any part of face (except to eat or bathe).

3. *Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you don't trust salt). *H1N1 takes 2-3 days after initial infection in the throat/ nasal cavity to proliferate and show characteristic symptoms. gargling prevents proliferation. In a way, gargling with salt water has the same effect on a healthy individual that Tamiflu has on an infected o ne. Don't underestimate this simple, inexpensive and powerful preventative method.

4. Similar to 3 above, *clean your nostrils at least once every day with warm salt water. *Not everybody may be good at using a Neti pot to clean nasal cavities, but *blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water is very effective in bringing down viral population.*

5.. *Boost your natural immunity with foods that are rich in Vitamin C (Amla and other citrus fruits). *If you have to supplement with Vitamin C tablets, make sure that it also has Zinc to boost absorption.             

6. *Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, etc) as you can. *Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive, proliferate or do any harm.

       

ESSENTIAL OILS

From Robin Karlstedt via facebook

"i am way into aromatic botanical medicine and peppermint oil clove oil cinnamon oil tea tree are all great to inhale mix in a little lemon or rosemary to protect your liver .mix a few drops of each and rub them on the soles of your feet and palms then inhale / every three hours blessings"

And from Celena Kuhlman

Rub together juniper and lavender? and inhale deeply. I think Celena said lavender, I'll check and get back to you! Rhonda recommended rosemary oil as well...

MASTER CLEANSE

A great way to clear out your system.... lots of information on the internet, just google "master cleanse:

To make a gallon (recommend amount to drink per day while fasting...)

1 make 10 oz of lemon juice and pour that into a empty 1 gallon jug.

then i measure out 10 oz of maple syrup and pour that in..

far as cayenne pepper goes i mix it in per glass as i find it i put it directly into the 1 gallon jug it just all settles to the bottom anyway.

Feel free to send in more ideas!

Bypassing the Flu to talk about Food and Gardening....

I was going to write about having the flu for the past month:

For the past month I've been the reluctant host to an influenza 
virus that moved in and metaphorically cleaned out my refrigerator 
and then invited another unwelcome guest, bronchitis, to move in 
and start rearranging the furniture.

The good news is that while influenza and bronchitis where 
partying it up, I got to rest.

But I just realized I'm tired of giving the flu attention. I'd rather
write about my garden and food : )

The greens I planted last month are already three times the
size and ready to be harvested. I planted more greens after
clearing out six large bushes of basil; and now we have jars
of pesto lining the freezer, along with canned tomatoes from
the local farm.

Raven and I have shifted our diet, and we are mainly eating
vegetables and organic, grass-finished meats (which means
the animals are either wild or spend their entire lives out to
pasture and are not fed grain). There is interesting research
around eating a diet that is free of grains, dairy, and legumes....
For more info check out: http://www.paleodiet.com/

This weekend we had fresh venison, shot with a bow and
arrow by my friend T's cousin. Blessings to that beautiful
critter that nourished us on Saturday night.

I'm also experimenting with raw food recipes from a Gabriel
Cousins book. Latest creation: cashew cream with cinnamon
and agave nectar, yum! Today I am soaking oat groats to
make Raven raw cookies.

I was also inspired by reading Barbara Kingsolver's book
Animal Vegetable Miracle, which describes the adventures
of Barbara, her husband and two daughters living only on
food grown within a 100 mile radius from their home. So
I'm also focusing on buying as much local, organic produce
as possible. I've loved talking to the farmer's who grow the
food (we have a wonderful farm just down the road from us.)
We are also part of a cooperative that buys produce and
meats from local farmers; we get an order from them every
two weeks. It is a joy to go online (www.bountifulsprout.com)
and order what is fresh from the local farmers, then pick it up
in a large bushel basket on Wednesdays.

Raven still drinks milk in his tea, and I still love rice, we are
still eating bananas from Puerto Rico, and it has been fun to
incorporate more mindfulness and new habits into our world.

One other thing I just did that is making me very happy is to buy
a bunch of glass canning jars to store food in, rather than using
plastic. I can then also fill these directly at the store from the bulk
bins, saving on plastic bags (if you do this make sure to weigh
themfirst and write down the tare, so it can be subtracted from the
totalweight.) I also just bought a $12 bottle of cheap wine just for
theglass bottle! So now I can keep this bottle in my car, refill it
easilyat Whole Foods, and use it to top off my smaller glass
water bottlesthat I'm carrying around. Less plastic makes me
VERY happy!

Here are some photos of the growing garden and of T and my
canningproject this weekend. Regular canned tomatoes, italian
stewed tomatoes(garlic, onions, tomatoes and basil basil basil!)
mexican stewed tomatoes(with HOT jalapenos), and four types of
pesto: regular, jalapeno, magic (jalapenos and homemade
sundried tomatoes) and vegan pesto.

The garden photos are taken near dusk.... my favorite time to garden!

Stay healthy this flu season! Probiotics, Wellness Formula or AirBorne, Colloidial Silver, and eating healthy will help keep your immune system strong. And respect the flu virus. It has the capacity to travel by air (when someone near you coughs or sneezes) and can also live from 2 to 8 hours on surfaces. So wash those hands, give coughing and sneezing people a wide berth (and your love!) and be mindful.

Blessings!