Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sick. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

How I kicked the flu...naturally.

Just last week I wrote about a Sick Day.  I thought a good day or two of taking it slow and feeding myself the right things would make everything ok...but I had NO idea that I was up against the flu!  The evil flu that's been taking down everyone finally got me.  I blame no one but myself.  I was careless for weeks during the holidays allowing myself permission to skip workouts, miss yoga, eat too many goodies, drink alcohol, etc.  What did I expect?

After a few days of just not feeling right, having a heaviness in my chest and god-awful pain up my spine and neck, I finally surrendered to the virus when I realized I had a 101.2 fever.  It was time to use food as medicine to let the flu run it's course and get the hell outta me.  It was interesting how everyday I would feel a little different.  The nastiness began in my chest and each day made its way further up until finally I was just blowing my nose constantly, tissues everywhere!

Garlic. The ultimate boyfriend repellant, but killer flu-fighter!
I consumed a good 4-5 bulbs of these suckers while sick with my flu. 
My flu medicine:

Bulbs Of Garlic
Ginger
Ezekial Bread
Eggs
Miso Paste
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Spinach
Parsley
Lemon
Coconut Oil
Raw Honey
Turmeric Powder
Sea Salt
Cayenne Pepper Powder
Water


Other goodies that helped me get better:
Bedtime tea
ZAND Elderberry Zinc Lozenges
Probiotics (morning and night)
Epsom salts (for when I needed a bath to ease my aching body)
Phone calls/texts from friends and family
Cracking a window

Each day I would do (roughly) the same routine.  It goes a little something like below.  If you get sick and need some guidance as far as doing it on your own, check it out:

Sleep as late as you need to with an eye mask so that the light won't wake you up.  

Drink HUGE glass of water.  Take probiotic.  Take temperature.

Have hot water with 1/2 lemon, 2-3 dashes turmeric, dash of cayenne pepper.  This boosts immunity and aids in relieving congestion.  While in kitchen, thinly slice 2 cloves of garlic and muddle them with a tablespoon or so of extra virgin olive oil. Cover and save for later.  

Back to bed to rest, water at bedside.  Read.

Make a shake:  Spinach, water, 1/2 lemon, ginger, parsley, coconut oil, raw honey, hemp protein powder, 1/2 banana.  Not the tastiest, but certainly good for you.  It floods your system with green power, protein (from the hemp), healthy fat from the coconut oil, water for hydration, honey for a sore throat or cough.  

Back to bed to rest, water at bedside.  Take bath if needed.  Nap.  Take temperature.

Afternoon soup:  A cup or two of water on the stove.  Add a pinch of sea salt and while the water is heating thinly slice a few cloves of garlic and add to water.  When water comes to a low boil, crack an egg and whisk it well into saucepan.  Cook for a minute or two (you'll notice when egg is cooked).  Turn off stove, add a dash of turmeric and add in a tablespoon of miso paste (stir until dissolved).  Eat while warm.  While sick you want to stay as hydrated as possible which is why soups are always best when sick.  

Back to bed to rest, water at bedside.  Zinc lozenge.  Watch the tube, catch up on movies!

Dinner soup if hungry:  A cup or two of water on the stove.  Add a pinch of sea salt and while the water is heating thinly slice a few cloves of garlic and about an inch of ginger and add to water.  Chop carrots, celery, onion and add to water.  Allow this to boil for a minute or two until veggies are soft.  After they're cooked lower heat and add in some spinach and some parsley.  You can whisk in an egg if you liked the afternoon soup above.  Turn off stove, add a dash of turmeric and add in a tablespoon of miso paste (stir until dissolved).  Eat while warm.  Eating some more soup is another way to get liquid in while easing congestion.  This soup is also packed with helpful nutrients to feed your body with the good stuff it needs as it fights this virus. 

Have hot water with 1/2 lemon, a teaspoon of raw honey, 2-3 dashes turmeric, dash of cayenne pepper.  This helps ease body aches and soothes the throat and cough.  

Garlic toast:  Throw a piece of Ezekiel toast into the toaster and pull that muddled garlic and EVO out.  Spread the mixture onto toast (whole pieces of garlic and all).  Sprinkle just a pinch of sea salt and pepper on top of toast.  It's intense, but worth it.  I actually don't encourage eating dry, bready, cracker-type foods during this time since you want to just keep replenishing your fluids, but a piece or two of this toast each day is all good.  Garlic acts as a natural antibiotic.  It will make you wreak but it's worth it in the end.  

Back to bed to rest, water at bedside.  Check out Facebook and how many other people are going through what you are.  Take temperature.

Night cap:  A hot cup of Bedtime/Breathe Easy tea (just put both bags into your mug).  This will help you breathe easier through the night and help with sleep if you're restless.  

Take probiotic and prop pillows up in bed so that your upper body is on a 45 degree angle.  As hard as this may be, try to breathe through your nose.  This will hopefully keep your nasal passages flowing, rather than congesting them by lying horizontal.  

Friday, January 4, 2013

Sick Day

Yesterday I woke up feeling not-so-right.  I took it slow, made sure to eat only nutritious foods and got to bed super early.  However, this morning was a challenge getting out of bed.  As I sit and write this sipping on my "breathe easy" tea I'm trying to get work done in my office but I'm tired, fog-headed, achey and not feelin' hot.   Instead of powering through it and just exacerbating whatever illness is happening in my bod, I'm going to stand up in my comfy PJs and bed-head hair and say,
"I don't think so."

Hey sickness, I'm going to kick your ass by:

1.  Resting.  This is a hard concept for most of us to grasp, especially when we have tons to take care of.  I'm going to finish this post, heat up some hot water (to break my congestion in my face and chest), get comfy cozy in bed, turn on Netflix and catch a few movies that I can nap in and out of.  I'm going to bring my planner with me so that in between naps/movies I can at least make a few phone calls to get a few things off of my check list for the day.

My sick breakfast includes a green shake made a little different
than usual, but quite good:  Handful of kale & spinach, 1/2 banana, 2 dates,
3/4 tsp spirulina, 1 tsp hemp seeds, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup water,
1/2 the juice of a lemon, 1 tbsp almond butter, inch of ginger, & 1/2 tsp coconut oil.
2.  Eating only nutritious foods.  This means going light on foods for the next few days, but making sure that the ones I consume are going to nourish me where it counts.  I'm going to enjoy a little lentil soup for lunch and then treat myself to a nice bowl of miso soup for dinner.  Miso soup is my go-to feel-good meal whenever I'm not feeling well.  I hearty mine up to make it extra yummy.  Umm, this is usually the time where I'd include the recipe or at least the link to my recipe but I have to put it together (since it's just in my head).  I'm going to have to take a raincheck on that though...because I'm sick.  Sugar cravings while sick believe it or not can still creep up, so I'm drinking loads of water, herbal tea and broth to hydrate and kick those cravings.  I do suck on a few Manuka honey (extremely powerful and healing honey)/ginger lozenges though.  They are super yummy and also contain some echinachea.    I'm also upping my daily dose of probiotics (healthy gut bacteria), eating lots of garlic, taking colloidal silver, taking vitamin D and still eating my greens.

3.  Practicing yoga.  I'm practicing my yoga in a few ways.  Number one, I'm following Ahimsa (non-violence), by honoring my body and taking the time to step back, rest and restore when it needs some extra love and care.  Number two, gentle heart opening stretches and side bends will not only open my congested chest, but they'll further help the lymphatic system to drain.  Number three, practicing pranayama (breath work) helps to kick out the stale air in my lungs.  I like to do a few lion's breaths or bastrika pranayama while feeling this way.  (Again, this is where I'd insert directions on how to do it or at least a link...some other time!).

Hopefully the next time I'm blogging I'm restored back to health and this funkiness is long gone.  
I'm confident it will be.  In the meantime, stay healthy!

What do you do when you're feeling under the weather?  Any tips and tricks you can share?