When you’re vegan, it’s especially important to make sure that you avoid illnesses because of the number of pharmaceutical drugs that aren’t vegan-friendly. I found that making slight improvements in my everyday habits as well as some natural vegan cold and flu remedies prevented and shortened the duration of ailments. This post covers various natural alternatives to build immunity and to prevent viral and bacterial outbreaks.
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13 EASY, VEGAN cold and flu remedies
Here is a summary of the topics to be discussed in this article:
- Eat your 5 a day + why frozen berries ROCK!
- Avoid or limit white foods
- The power of garlic
- “Super Antioxidants” are truly super
- Echinacea and Astragalus
- Olive leaf extract
- Oil of Oregano
- The therapeutic value of Colloidal Silver
- Look after your gut!
- My miracle drink – Science proven to EVEN prevent diseases!
- Shake that tush!
- Dress for the occasion
- Get your beauty sleep
I was popping pills like popcorn!
Before I turned vegan, I was sensitive to getting colds and seemed to get them all year round, not just throughout the winter. I thought I was just a sick person and that I was born with a sensitive immune system.
I’d always have a handkerchief stuffed inside my sleeve because of my allergies and colds. It used to drive me mad especially if my nose was constantly streaming.
At one point I’d stuff tissue up my nostrils like a couple of tampons to stop them from running!— NICE image!
In my pre-vegan life, I’d chuck down whatever medication I could find in an attempt to stop my constantly runny nose.
I went to the doctors, and they told me I had to take antihistamines EVERY DAY!
…But, this didn’t bother me because I had no idea that taking regular chemically induced medicines were inadequate. Not only does it mask the real symptoms of illnesses, but it also doesn’t prevent it from happening in the first place.
As a result, taking medication for everyday illnesses like common colds and allergies makes you more dependant on them— That was me, popping pills EVERY. SINGLE. DAY!
I was a drug addict!
The scary bit was when I had a nasty cold; I took the infamous ‘Sudafed’ which contained the drug pseudoephedrine.
If you’ve seen the TV series ‘Breaking bad’, pseudoephedrine was chemically modified to make into meth!
Although, since then, “phenylephrine” replaced pseudoephedrine, it still makes me wonder why I still had to practically hand over my medical history before the chemist was happy to give me the pills…
What WERE they worried about?
Back then, I wasn’t worried. My priority was only myself, and I didn’t care. I just wanted my nose to stop running!
But, EVERYTHING changed when I had my daughter. For once in my life, I cared about someone more than myself. And when I unveiled all the ills we were unintentionally doing to our planet THROUGH our diet and lifestyle, I started to live more consciously.
As a result, not only did I save money because I wasn’t constantly buying pills, I’ve never felt better… ONLY by making small changes to my diet and lifestyle.
Common ingredients in medicine that contain animal products
When I first turned vegan, eliminating things like meat, dairy, eggs, leather, wool, honey etc. was obvious.
But I made a few rookie mistakes with things that included animal products which weren’t as obvious, such as processed foods, makeup, shampoos, lotions and EVEN vitamins and medicine!
Some of the common ingredients found in vitamins and medicine that contain animal products are:
- Lactose – derived from milk
- Magnesium stearate – fat from animals
- Gelatin – made from skin, bones of cow and pigs
- Glucosamine – made from shellfish
- Lanolin – extracted from sheep’s oil glands through their wool
- Omega-3 fatty acids – from fish oil
At the early stages of your vegan journey, it may feel very overwhelming. Taking a look at the back of cold remedy packets and reading all those weird and lengthy scientific words may feel like learning an entirely different language.
The best way to approach finding hidden animal ingredients in products is to start building a list of your favourite vegan products (I’ve listed mine later in this post). Vegan Society has a list of their verified vegan-friendly medication here.
Checking every product comes naturally for me now, but I prefer looking for more natural alternatives to boost my immune system.
How does nutrition affect the immune system
Certain foods, herbs, supplements and homoeopathic remedies help avoid colds or flu and help to build the immune system. Many can help relieve the symptoms and shorten the duration and severity of the illness.
What you consume in your diet has an impact on the strength of your immune system.
It was probably the reason why I was always coming down with a cold all year round when I was on an omnivore diet.
I’m not saying that I was eating a load of junk food but more that I probably didn’t eat as many or had a variety of fruit and vegetables that I do now.
Eating sweets daily, as well as processed foods, junk food, and fizzy drinks regularly will weaken your immunity and you’re more likely to catch viruses easily.
One teaspoon of sugar can weaken your immune system for up to 4 hours! (fizzy drinks have about 9-11 tbsp.)
Maybe the reason why so many people are now having extreme difficulty fighting illnesses. (Besides repeated antibiotic use)
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Here are a few tips to keep your immune system strong.
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1. Eat your 5 a day + why frozen berries ROCK!
Eating at least 5 servings of fruit and veggies a day DOES keep the doctor away. Along with a mix of high protein cereals like millet, oats, chia seeds etc. for breakfast, top it off with some mixed berries.
Fresh fruit boosts vitamin C and helps build resistance to illnesses.
Top tip: Freezing berries break the cell wall and release more colour pigments containing the beneficial bioflavonoids aka all-in-one supercharged antioxidant and many nutritional benefits for the health.
2. Avoid or limit white foods
Grains such as brown rice, buckwheat, kamut, millet, quinoa, rye, oats, spelt, teff and wild rice are excellent sources of carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates fuel your body to have the energy to keep going all day. However, ‘white foods’ such as white bread, pastries, sugary cereals, cookies, cakes, and sweets are called ‘refined carbohydrates.
‘Refined carbohydrates’ don’t do anything positive to your health as they lose most of their nutrients during manufacturing. White foods are made to look more attractive and for longer storage life.
If you need something sweet or comforting, trying making healthy versions instead by using more natural sweeteners and whole grains. This vegan, gluten-free, sugar-free chocolate cake recipe hits all the sweet spot without jeopardising your health!
Just by limiting ‘white’ foods, you’ll feel more energised!
3. The power of garlic
4. “Super Antioxidants” are truly super
Are you familiar with ‘Super-Antioxidants’?.
Taking this natural supplement not only helps reduce the signs of ageing, along with aches and pains, but they can significantly increase your immune system, being 20 – 50 times more potent than Vitamin C and E!
5. Echinacea and Astragalus
Echinacea is a purple coneflower herbal extract which can help you avoid or reduce the severity and duration of viral illnesses.
Taking echinacea at the first sign of a cold can help you avoid it entirely or reduce symptoms quicker.
Anyone with autoimmune disease should avoid echinacea and consider using Astragalus instead which has similar properties.
6. Olive Leaf Extract
Taking olive leaf extract is a powerful remedy fighting upper respiratory infections, sinus, strep and throat infections!
7. Oil of Oregano
Taking a high-quality, full-strength Oil of Oregano is a potent agent against bacterial, viral, parasitic, and fungal infections.
I recommend having some handy! It’s an excellent go-to tonic and immune stimulant.
If you can buy vegan versions, take one or two capsules a day, or make sure you DILUTE the oil of oregano drops before taking orally; otherwise, it’ll burn! It’s super potent and kills viruses in no time. One or two drops placed in juice and drunk throughout the day can be a great defence against flu!
To read more detailed information on how to use oil of oregano, you can check this article here.
8. The therapeutic value of Colloidal Silver
I first discovered this in Thailand when a Chinese doctor recommended this to me when I broke my foot.
Colloidal Silver has many benefits including excellent antiviral protection! It also helps to avoid or reduce symptoms of colds and flu.
Our clever bodies have an innate ability to reconstruct itself for optimum health. When taken daily, Colloidal Silver serves as an immune system supporter by aiding the body fight invaders.
How Colloidal Silver Works:
When Colloidal Silver is present near an invader, it disables oxygen-metabolism enzyme. Within minutes, the invader suffocates and dies which is then flushed out of our bodies by the immune, lymphatic and elimination systems.
Unlike pharmaceutical antibiotics, which harms and kills beneficial enzymes, Colloidal Silver leaves these tissue-cell enzymes undamaged.
9. Look after your gut!
Looking after your colon aka intestines affects your overall health.
The Chinese have been famous for preaching the association of respiratory problems with poor bowel function. If you don’t have a regular bowel movement or your waste is not being removed properly, toxins build up in the body.
Be sure to eat plenty of roughage like dark greeny veg like broccoli, collard greens, berries like raspberries, pears, apples, legumes like lentils, pinto beans and whole grains like oats, millet and whole wheat. Here is a link to a great tool to check out the top nutritional foods.
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10. My miracle drink - Science proven to EVEN prevent diseases!
At the first sign of a cold, I mix myself a turmeric superpowered hot drink.
Apple cider vinegar has many benefits to health including detoxing properties.
Turmeric with science-backed studies with its potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidants have also been said to prevent many diseases.
The combination of the apple cider and turmeric makes this a great and cheap cold remedy.
There’s a lot of complicated recipes out there, but I like to keep it simple with the mixture below:
- 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
- ½ – 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- A few sprinkles of Ceylon cinnamon (optional to balance out the sugar from the maple syrup)
- Top up with hot but not boiled water in a mug
11. Shake that tush!
By participating in regular exercise at least once a day with fresh air keeps the lymph moving, making your immune system strong.
Jumping on a mini-trampoline is a fun way to exercise. Only a few minutes at a time can make a whole lot of difference.
12. Dress for the occasion
Surprisingly as little as being wrapped up appropriately when you’re out in the cold, like wearing a hat makes a difference.
13. Get your beauty sleep
Having adequate sleep and daily relaxation as well as meditation helps to avoid illnesses and reduces stress.
Share with me?
Since I’ve used these EASY to apply natural methods to avoid being sick, there are no more tampons up my nose, and the only popping I’ve been doing is eating popcorn!
In a nutshell, keeping yourself healthy and active not only protects you from the flu but many other ills as well.
Have you got any natural remedies you like to use to keep on optimum health?
I’d love to add to my list, so please share your natural cold and flu hacks or what you do to avoid illnesses.
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Thanks to the following talented photographers in order of appearance for the courtesy of the photos
Bowl of pills – Photo by Ivan J. Long on Pexels
Boy hands over his face – Photo by Tumisu on Pixabay
Woman biting a tomato – Photo by Duong Nhan on Pexels
Broccoli – Photo by Zamani Sahudi on Pexels
Woman on trampoline – Photo by Pawel Loj on flickr
Dog – Photo by Isaac Davis on Unsplash
