Garlic Tea, Echinacea, and Reishi...Oh My!

I thought I'd take a break from my natural beauty posts to give you a little glimpse into what I'm shoving into my family these days now that it's cold and flu season.  Many of you saw my "Garlic Tea" picture on Facebook...three of my kids holding their noses and making gagging faces while drinking a strange concoction out of my good china coffee cups.

Between Thanksgiving and New Years, we're all spending more time together indoors, not exercising as much, eating more sugar and not getting the detoxifying powers and Vitamin D we need from the warm sunshine.  And so...we get sick.

Here is what I do in MY family to combat the cooties.

Starting about a week before Thanksgiving, my husband and I add "Preventative Supplements" to our Regular Supplement Routine.  

These include: 

-System Well (Nature's Way)...1 in the morning and 1 in the evening

-Echinacea (Gaia)...1 in the morning and 1 in the evening

-Powdered Buffered Vitamin C gets added to our morning smoothie (1/2 -1 tsp. for the whole family)

Matt and I also start on the above ANYTIME any of our kids comes home with signs of being sick.  

You'll note that I do NOT put the kids on preventative supplements.  It is VERY important for children (for this purpose, the definition of a child is someone who is still growing) to develop their immune systems on their own.  I do give them things to help their bodies combat the sickness, but usually let them fight it for at least 24-48 hours before beginning an immune-boosting supplementation program with them.  My husband and I are NOT still GROWING.  We are AGING.  Our immune systems are about as developed as they are going to be and they need all the help they can get!

Here's what I do when an adult is sick:

At the very first sign of sickness in an adult, I immediately start to combat with the following supplements:

-System Well (Nature's Way)...2 tablets morning and evening

-Echinacea + Goldenseal (Gaia)...2 capsules morning and evening (note: do NOT give  children Goldenseal).

-Reishi Mushroom (or any immune-boosting mushroom supplement) morning and evening

-Sambucus Elderberry Syrup...follow directions on label

-B-Complex Supplement...follow directions

-Vital Earth Fulvic Mineral Complex...1 capful

-Add 1 tsp. of Powdered Buffered Vitamin C to our family's morning smoothie.

-Increase the amount of probiotics (Symbion) from the normal 2 capsules morning and evening  to 2 morning and 3 evening.

We also:

-Eliminate ALL processed foods and sugars and limit dairy.  Eliminate alcohol consumption  which compromises the immune system.

-Eat lots of colorful veggies, protein, and mega-amounts of water.

Here's what I do when a child is sick:

-Give them as few drugs and extra supplements as possible during the daytime for the first day or two so that their immune systems kick in to fight the bacterial infection or virus. They still take their Daily Supplements and their Morning Smoothie.  

-At night or if they are really miserable, I give them something to make them comfortable...ibuprofin (before resorting to ibuprofin, though, I always give curcumin/tumeric and magnesium chelate, which are both natural anti-inflammatories and will provide relief without bringing down a low-grade fever, which is actually the body's way of combating an infection), Vicks on the chest and bottoms of the feet for congestion, a humidifier, Benadryl...my favorite "drug" as it is a cough-suppressant and sleep aid (for MOST people) and does not have many adverse side effects.

-Eliminate ALL processed foods and sugars from their diet and limit dairy.

-Feed them LOTS of colorful veggies, protein, and water.  I also add Buffered Powdered  Vitamin C to our morning smoothie.  I do this right away...no waiting period.

-Have them wash their hands with soap (NOT antibacterial) and warm water and dry with paper towels.  I do NOT disinfect the house...just clean as usual with natural cleaners.

-Encourage direct sun exposure if it's warm enough outside.

-After allowing the immune system to do it's magic, if the child is still sick enough to stay home from school, I then give them a boost by supplementing:

    -One System Well (by Nature's Way), 

    -One Echinacea (by Gaia), 

    -A more powerful probiotic capsule than they normally take (Symbion)

    -Garlic Tea (1 clove garlic put through a press +1/8 tsp. thyme leaves...fresh if you have them, but dried is fine steeped in hot chicken broth for 5 minutes) each day.

    -Sambucus Elderberry Syrup...follow directions on bottle

Here's what I do NOT do when a child is sick:

-Take them to the doctor and ask for an antibiotic.  Let me be clear that I am NOT anti-antibiotic.  Antibiotics can save a life when someone is afflicted with a serious bacterial infection.  However, using them to treat a cold or the flu, will have a SERIOUS negative effect on your immune system, which is your body's own way of fighting off infection.  If you take an antibiotic at the first sign of sickness, you are robbing your body of it's ability to "learn" how to fight off that particular strain of infection.  Your body will never develop antibodies (i.e. immunity) and you will then always have to take an antibiotic to cure yourself...it's a vicious cycle. None of my children have ever taken an antibiotic.  I am not a doctor, and I will not tell you what to do.  This is my own experience.  My kids get a little something once or twice a year and are usually over it within 2-3 days.  It is rare that something takes them down for more than 5 days.  They have very developed little immune systems that will serve them well for the rest of their lives!

-Immunize against the flu.  This is a hot topic.  If you are immune-compromised, old, or you work in a hospital, chances are you are required or strongly encouraged to get a flu shot.  I will not, in this article, tell you NOT to get a flu shot.  But I will tell you that no one in my family has ever gotten a flu shot and we never will.  Each year, the companies who produce the flu shot take their best guess at which strain will hit us the hardest.  They do this based on last year's flu.  They hit the mark with about 45%-55% accuracy.  So, you are basically artificially building up your immunity to one or two particular strains of the flu for a short period of time, leaving you susceptible to the other strains and, once again, robbing your body of the chance to learn how to fight that particular form of illness.

Remember that your BEST defense against colds and flu is to build up your own immune system...to teach it how to fight off the things that get thrown at you during this season.  Try to do things that build it up, not tear it down!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours, 

Melanie Peyton

P.S. For a comprehensive list of everything we take on a daily basis, the things I add when we're sick, and my smoothie recipe (complete with links), click here:

OUR SUPPLEMENT REGIMEN...SICK & WELL