I get sick a lot. When I get too cold, when I get stressed, when I don’t get enough sleep… It just happens a lot, especially during winter (cold is the biggest culprit for me). In fact, I got hit with something at New Year’s Eve and have been recovering ever since. So much for a head-start on 2017, haha! As much as getting sick often sucks, it does make me a bit of an expert on getting better. I personally prefer to stick to the natural remedies whenever I can and my illness isn’t anything serious. Little, readily available aids that have been used for centuries! Today I’d like to share my favourites with you, the natural remedies I swear by.
Echinacea
This immunity-boosting plant has been around all my life. Whenever one of the kids came home with a snotty nose, mom would give us a dose of echinacea drops to make sure we wouldn’t get sick. When I moved out of the house I would brew tea of echinacea roots and flowers, and now I’ve switched to supplements in pill form. No matter what though, echinacea is always the first thing I reach for when I feel something coming up!
Ginger, lemon & honey tea
Robbert refers to this as my “health tea”: a few slices of fresh ginger, half a lemon, and a big teaspoon of honey. It gives you a kick of vitamin C from a natural source, boosts your immune system through the ginger, and honey soothes a sore throat. The honey also makes the taste more bearable, in case you’re not wild about pure ginger and half a lemon. Which I can totally relate to, by the way. Although apparently some people like it, I’ve seen it served at hipster cafés. Go figure.
Eucalyptus Oil
A new discovery that has instantly launched to “favourite” status: eucalyptus oil. When I got sick at the beginning of December, I decided to use a few drops of essential eucalyptus oil for steaming, and it worked absolute miracles. Eucalyptus is amazing for airway-related ailments, it helps clear congestion and it’s antibacterial & anti-inflammatory so it’ll help you heal faster. I like to steam my face with it or add a few drops to my diffuser (or both, preferably) and I always feel noticeably better afterwards.
Garlic Toast
Another thing my mom always used to do for me when I got sick, is make garlic toast. Toast a slice of bread, clean a clove of garlic, and rub the clove of garlic into the toast. You’ll notice the texture of the toast will “grate” some of the garlic off and it’ll stay behind on the toast. Rub in both sides of the toast, then coat one side with a thin layer of butter. The toast and butter won’t do much for your health, it’s just a good food to nibble on when you don’t really feel like eating at all, that won’t upset your stomach but will give your body some fuel. The garlic however is amazing. It boosts the immune system and helps battle cold. It’s most potent when it’s raw so this is a great, not to mention delicious, way to get it in!
Sleep
I probably don’t need to mention this, but nothing will get you back on your feet like a good night’s sleep, and a day of rest with however many naps you need. The tiredness you feel when you’re sick is your body’s way of telling you it needs to focus on getting better, rather than everything else you’re trying to squeeze in your day while you’re sick. If you deny yourself more sleep than usual you’re likely to drag the illness out. If at all possible, allow yourself that time to recover!
Well guys, I hope you make it through the winter in good health and good spirits. And if things don’t go according to plan, I hope these little natural aids can help you.
Hi Loepsie! I’ve been watching your channel for many years now, mostly the lifestyle, haul, vlogs etc. videos. When you did the other, dutch channel, most of the material on the original channel became the kind of videos that I simply didn’t watch. So I became a less frequent visitor on your channel. I clicked over to the dutch channel today and noticed that that’s the kind of videos that I used to love, but unfortunately I don’t understand a word of dutch. My dream would be if you would make that channel in english too, but subtitles would definitely do! Have you considered this?
I love the ginger and lemon tea as well! Also I do also add lots of honey ^^
My go-to knock the germies out tea is 1 tsp each minced fresh garlic and ginger, with 1 tsp unfiltered apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice and honey to taste. It is strong in flavor (though the heat of the ginger tempers the heat of the garlic, so it’s totally drinkable), but also strong in germ-fighting power!
You’re going to get overloaded with comments like these, but a tea I swear by and is gaining in popularity: Turmeric, ginger, lemon, honey+a tiny bit of cayenne to activate the turmeric. A delicious way to get yourself healthy again or as just as a regular tonic to remain healthy. Play with the proportions and prepare it to your taste so you like it enough to drink it every day :) A delicious tea full of anti-inflammatory properties and Vitamin C that loves you back big time. I am drinking it as I write this! Thank you for this post, Lucy. Be well :)
Sleeping all day was what cured for good the last time. (ok, ok, I took some pills too, but I only healed fully after my super naps)
And I like ginger and half a lemon tea!!! :( *hugs mug* shhh she didn’t mean it… :P