posted January 16, 2008 10:14 PM         

Hope you feel better soon!! Do they have echinacea in Japan?? I'm sure they have ginger-root -- both helped me during that awful flu I had over Christmas.....

posted January 17, 2008 12:05 AM         

My address is on the way.

posted January 17, 2008 06:07 AM         

'Zala, I have seen echinacea but only in pill forms. I did find a green tea echinacea mix and have had a couple of mugs today. Really boosted my flagging energy for a bit. Ginger is a plus but what exactly do I do with it for illness? Is just eating it enough or should I make some sort of infusion?

posted January 17, 2008 09:08 PM         

I took the echinacea+goldenseal caps.....
For the ginger, I bought a fresh root and (peeled and) grated about a teaspoon of it into tea and let it steep. I drank a lot of different teas during my flu-bout:
green teas with kombucha
goji berry and pomegranate (supposed to be in the top-5 on the antioxidant-meter)
licorice tea (antiviral, expectorant, antioxidant properties)

Add garlic (and cayenne ) to whatever you can in your meals.
Fresh lemon is amazing!! You may not have a taste for it, but I cut a lemon into 1/8th wedges and would eat a couple of them at a time Your nose almost immediately clears up -- not forever, but for awhile.
Fresh lemon squeezed into a cup of warm water (or tea) with honey is good too.

I'm done with OTC cold medications. I think I did better on this last go-around not usiing any except ibuprofen when my fever was up.

posted January 18, 2008 12:29 AM         

In case the cold progresses to the lower-respiratory area ~

Home Remedy for Cough
By Bonnie K. McMillen, R.N, B.S.N., College Health Nurse, University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, Bradford, PA, mcmillen+@pitt.edu
For the adventurous and independent sort, here's a homemade cough syrup recipe that really works. The ingredients are a combination of spices and nutrients with no unpleasant medicinal side effects -- no drowsiness, no dry mucous membranes, no cautions about using machinery or driving.
The recipe is from Herbally Yours by Penny C. Royal, 3rd Edition, June 1982. It seems to work for all kinds of coughs but especially for that dry hacky cough that keeps you awake and hangs on long after the cold is over.
One of our international students recently told me that her mother in India used to give her a cough medicine with similar ingredients.
It soothes an irritated throat and relieves chest congestion and phlegm. The bad news: it tastes terrible -- it really does -- but if you have a persistant cough, it's worth a try.
· 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
· 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
· 1 Tablespoon honey
· 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
· 2 Tablespoons water
Mix and take by the teaspoon.
The recipe doesn't indicate how much to take. I took 3 teaspoons the first time because I had a bad dry cough for over three weeks, and I was desparate for some relief. It worked and I got a good night's sleep. I have been recommending it to others ever since, and many have confirmed my positive results.
Consider the beneficial effects of the individual ingredients:
· Ginger (zingiber officinale) has long been used and recommended for arthritis and bursitis, because it is a natural anti-inflammatory. According to Home Herbal, by Penelope Ody, D.K. Publishing, June 1995, ginger is a natural antihistamine. It has also been used for for motion sickness and nausea, and in addition, it's known for relieving chest congestion, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, Herbal Medicine Chest http://cgi.pathfinder.com/drweil/herbal/medchest
· Cayenne (capsaicin) reduces pain, according to Herbs for Health and Healing, by Kathi Keville, Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA, 1996. The same substance that makes cayenne peppers hot relieves the pain by suppressing a chemical that carries the pain message from nerves in the affected area to the brain. According to Home Herbal, by P. Ody, cayenne is warming and stimulating, it is a good cold remedy and eases chills and will even ease the lingering pain from shingles.
· Vinegar has so many healthful uses. See my article, Vinegar: Ancient Medicine and Popular Home Remedy in Connections Quarterly, Summer 1998 Issue.
· Honey, according to Home Herbal by P. Ody, will draw pus and poisons out of wounds and it is useful for relief from colds.
· Water is probably added to make it less strong tasting but it is still strong!
I keep the mixture in the refrigerator after I make it but I don't know if it is necessary.
The next time you have a cough that just won't quit, you might want to give this homemade cough recipe a try.
CAUTION: Any cough persisting more than a week, accompanied by headache or fever, and any cough which is productive of thick yellow or green mucous should be evaluated by a physician. One precaution I have read is regarding the honey: Do not give honey to children under 1 year of age unless it is pasteurized or boiled for five minutes. I would not give this mixture to a young child anyway, because the taste is too strong, and a child with a cough should be seen by a pediatrician.

Looking in my "Nutritional Healing" book, some of the common remedies for a cough include Zinc (especially the lozenges that will coat your throat), Vitamin E, garlic, and cod liver oil.

Anti-inflammatory: Cat’s Claw, Evening Primrose Oil, Fish Oil, Flaxseed Oil, and see: http://www.womentowomen.com/inflammation/naturalantiinflammatories.aspx

Immune system boosters / Infection Fighters: Echinacea, Astragalus (and see below)

You probably already have your #1 infection-fighting helper right in your kitchen!!!
Raw Garlic ~
One of the world's best totally natural antibiotics, destroys bacteria, viruses, fungus, and is anti-inflammatory

Or these??
Peppers-Capsicum ~
Hot red chili peppers, have come into their own recently, both as a culinary spice and as a hot new medical remedy. They are not only anti bacterial and anti microbial, but aid in the digestion process, and like garlic, may help prevent dangerous blood clots.
Vitamin A ~
One of the best natural infection fighters and is a major contributor to a strong immune system
Organic Coconut Oil ~
Anti bacterial and anti microbial

Here’s a good article on immune system boosters: http://www.immune-boosters.com/herbal-remedies/immune-boosters/natural-immune-boosters

This is an ad, but note the ingredients in their caps: http://www.innerfruits.com/zoeoliveimmune.html

Following are the fruits of my journey thru Flu-Land around Christmas – I had a lot of time on my hands to browse the net when I had the flu and could barely drag myself around ;-))
I practically lived on herbal teas for a week, but I also ate my fruits and vegetables and megadosed on Vitamin C. Since the body excretes the Vitamin C it doesn’t use, I figured I’d give myself plenty for the job

Oh btw, for an energy boost take some ginseng, either as a tea or the caps.

Immune Boosters:

Kombucha!!! Great stuff ;-)) I’ve been drinking Yogi Tea’s Green Tea with Kombucha for 2 years now and I’ve had far less viruses than usual. I want to try brewing the culture myself sometime ;-)) You’re in the part of the world where it should be easy to find. It’s listed in this article as an immune system booster: http://www.whatreallyworks.co.uk/start/factsheets.asp?article_ID=112

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/T042500.asp
(if you are prompted to sign up for his newsletter and don’t want to, let me know and I’ll copy the body of the article in here)

Another ad, but it’s good info on helpful ingredients: http://www.nativeremedies.com/products/immunityplus-how-to-boost-immune-system.html

More Immune-Health lists: http://www.drdavidwilliams.com/c/immune_health_recs.asp