Surviving The Flu – 9 Natural Ways Our Family is Preparing

“An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure.” –Benjamin Franklin

It seems like everyone I know has now either HAD the Swine Flu, or knows someone who has. I’m seeing Facebook and Twitter updates every day from people whose kids are getting sick, or who are getting sick themselves.

And the regular, seasonal flu hasn’t even hit yet!

In light of all of the flu craziness, I wanted to share with you all a few things that our family is doing to try to prevent the swine flu (or the seasonal flu) from entering our household.

1. Drink lots of purified water. To generally stay healthy, we need to be drinking AT LEAST half of our body weight in ounces daily in water. That means if someone weighs 150 pounds, they need to drink 75 ounces of water a day – almost 2 ½ QUARTS! When we are sick or fighting illness, we should drink even more.

2. Cut back on sugar. WAY back. The consumption of sugar greatly decreases the correct functioning of our immune systems.

3. Wash hands. A LOT! I also keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse and use it often. If you are going to be around people for long periods of time, or you will be at a place where you can’t frequently wash you hands, I would recommend getting something called Hibiclens. Hibiclens is a hand washing cleaner that continues to kill germs up to 6 hours after washing. (I found it at my local Walgreens.)

4. Cut back on dairy. Over consumption of dairy products can cause an overproduction of mucus in the respiratory tract, which supports the growth of viruses and bacteria.

5. REST/De-Stress. Our body was designed to heal through rest. When we aren’t up and about, our body can focus on fixing the things that are wrong. Stress is also an immune system blocker. If your life is full of stress, consider brainstorming what you can do to slow things down a little. Maybe you could convince your husband that a professional massage would TOTALLY be worth the cost.

6. Take vitamins. Especially Vitamin D3 and Vitamin C. These two are both proven to be greatly effective at helping our body to fight disease. We also take a good multi-vitamin everyday (make sure to get one that your body can absorb, not just one that will pass through your system – chewable or liquid is best).

7. Eat garlic, apple cider vinegar, and other antibacterial and antiviral foods. I can’t quite handle raw apple cider vinegar, so I take it in pill form (found at my local heath food store). During cold and flu season I try to make recipes with LOTS of garlic and onions, both of which help our bodies to fight disease. Other antiviral/antibacterial foods include ginger, aloe vera, kelp (seaweed), cloves, yogurt, pineapple, coconut oil, oregano, basil, raw honey, Echinacea (found at your local health food store) … there are SEVERAL!

8. Take Colloidal Silver. Okay, so this is a pretty controversial one. It is something that we have chosen to do with our family, but I highly recommend doing the research on it yourself before you try it. We have used it to immediately get rid of sore throats, pink eye, and other infections. During flu season, we each take about a teaspoon a day. Instead of paying $30 for a 2 oz. bottle, we invested in a Colloidal Silver Generator a few years back and I am SO thankful that we did! After the initial investment, we can make colloidal silver for just the cost of Distilled Water.

NOTE: Please don’t send me nasty hate comments/emails about colloidal silver.

9. Have Oscillococcinum, Sambucol, and Zinc on hand to take at the first sign of symptoms. I heard just yesterday about a doctor that recommends Oscillococcinum over Tamiflu! And with the Tamiflu shortages, it might be wise to have this on hand just in case. A 6 dose box will cost you around $10, and you can get it at most health food stores and at Walmart. Sambucol is a natural Black Elderberry supplement that can be found at almost any drug store or health food store. Both of these are known in the “natural/homeopathic world” for dramatically shortening the length of cold and flu symptoms.

As I said at the beginning of this article, these are things that WE are doing. You, of course, have to make the decisions you feel are best for your family.

If you are into natural remedies like I am, you can find more information on naturally dealing with diseases HERE and HERE.

Please feel free to add any other ways that you are preparing for the flu or your favorite natural remedy links in the comments section.

Disclaimer: The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please confirm any information obtained from or through this web site with other sources, and review all information regarding any medical condition or treatment with your physician. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment because of something you have read on this website. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any disease.