How I Stopped “Catching” Colds & Flus
Seasonal sickness was a regular occurrence in my life. I never thought twice about being sick with a cold or flu, two sometimes even three times a year.
After my first year of Ayurvedic studies I finally realized why I was getting sick. I learned it had a lot to do with my eating and lifestyle habits.
For the past year and a half I have been cold and flu free and it’s all thanks to Ayurvedic Preventative Health.
Here are a few Ayurvedic tips for staying cold and flu free this year.
Eating Matters
Ayurveda teaches us that out of the three options of what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat, WHEN is the most important. Although it should noted that the other two options are still important.
How we space our meal times has a huge effect on our digestive system.
Digestion is an important factor in staying healthy and sickness free. The more we can do to keep our digestion strong, the less likely are we to fall ill.
Ayurvedically the best times for eating are:
BREAKFAST
- Ideally, 1 hour after waking up. (7-9am)
- This is the smallest meal of the day, but should still be nourishing.
- Breakfast is a important tool to help re-awaken our digestive system, which has been in low power mode over the course of the night to help us reserve energy.
- Breakfast helps power our digestion which helps power our overall immunity.
LUNCH
Ideally eaten mid-day, 12-1pm.
Lunch should be the biggest meal of the day because we have the most energy to expend at lunch.
This is because we’ve been awake since morning, will be awake until bed time, which means we need the most amount of food to help re-stock our energy reserve.
The sun is also at it’s strongest point, which helps us digest our food more easily.
Eating lunch prevents depleting the body and mind, which helps build a natural internal defense against bugs.
DINNER
Ideally eaten 3-4 hours before bedtime. (6-7pm)
Dinner should be a smaller version of lunch.
Giving your body enough time to digest before bed helps overall immunity and will give you a better rest.
Timing is everything when it comes to digestion.
Gross digestion, which takes about 3-4 hours helps us break down food material into assimilable energy that is absorbed by the bodily tissues.
If we eat our next meal before we’ve finished gross digestion, we will over-burden our body. Similarly if we don’t eat our meals on time, we’re now depleting our body, which decreases immunity and makes us more susceptible to catching colds and flus.
Lifestyle Matters
The most effective way to protect your immune system from seasonal sickness is to slow down, rest and take time for self care.
Generally nature gives us warning signs that we are about to get sick and the more tuned in to our bodies that we are, the better chance we have at preventing illness all together.
When we feel drained, have a body aches and chills, it’s a sign to slow down our lifestyle for the next couples of days to avoid progressing the cold or flu to a full blown sickness.
Here are a few preventative tips when feeling these warning signs:
BUNDLE UP
Keep the body temperature warm to kill off the bug before it gets a chance to set up home in the system. Put socks on, wear a warm hat, wear a scarf around the neck. It doesn’t matter the weather outside, simply get the body hot.
HOT BATH
Take a hot bath with epsom salt- This relaxes, cleanses and heats up the body. Afterwards get back into warm clothes. Make sure to keep the head dry and warm after all shower and baths to avoid head colds.
Ayurvedic teas
Drink simple Ayurvedic teas that boost immunity and work to clear the lungs and sinuses:
Tulsi Tea ( Holy Basil) : This works on the respiratory tract and the mind, promoting clear breath and preventing headaches.
CCFG Tea: This tea helps boost the digestive system, which helps to burn away any bugs that are attempting to breach your immunity.
- 1 tsp Coriander
- 1 tsp Dry Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Cardamom
- 1/2 tsp Fennel
- 2 c water
Blend herbs. Place in 2 c of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer. Cover with lid and let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Strain and drink.
HYDRATE
Stay properly hydrated. Avoid all cold and raw drinks when feeling the warning signs of a cold of flu.
- Avoid ice water, this dulls digestion
- Prefer hot drinks that are herbal (avoid caffein)
- Drink water with lemon to boost digestion
- Avoid drinking water 1 hour before or after meals, which dulls digestion
- Add electrolytes (diffused pink Himalayan salt) to water to stay hydrated
EAT SIMPLE MEALS
Eat very soupy, cooked, simple meals with good digestive spices. Try the following recipe:
GARLIC & HONEY
Take a simple home made blend of garlic and honey to kill the bug and boost immunity:
- Take 1/2 tsp honey with 1/2 tsp of crushed garlic.
- Take 1 teaspoon of the garlic/honey blend three times daily when you feel your immune system is starting to get taxed
TEQUILA
Turn high quality tequila into medicine:
- Take 1/2 a shot of high quality tequila first thing in the morning, when feeling the warning signs of a cold or flu. Follow this with hot warm with a squeeze of lemon. This helps to kill the bugs and strengthen digestion.
HERBAL MEDICINE
Take herbal medicine- When feeling the onset of a cold or flu, the following 2 herbal medicines are used in Ayurveda:
Amalaki: Known to have high concentrations of vitamin C, remove excess toxins from the body and promote health. This herb boosts the immune system.
- Try sourcing this herb through Kerala Ayurveda, a traditional Ayurvedic company
Maha Sudarshan: Composed of heating herbs, this blend is a guaranteed bug killer.
- Try sourcing this blend through the company Gary N Sun, a traditional Ayurvedic company
Hopefully you can take these tips and apply them to your life this winter season to avoid catching any pesky colds or flus.
Here’s to another day of balanced health!
Namaste,
Caylynn