Last week I was hit for six with the worst flu I have had in almost 2 years of travelling in our big green bus. On Saturday last week, I felt like I had a razor blade stuck in my throat but I dealt with it and ran a Mad Food Science Family Event. That night I was just flattened. My body said ENOUGH. As the week progressed, my razor blade throat turned into a hoarse croaky voice. Then came the blocked nose and I could barely breath. The following stage was a chesty cough, then to the last stage of a runny nose. It was the worst time to get sick. I was booked to to run Mad Food Science Workshops at 2 schools plus run another Family Event. There’s no point taking medication when you have the flu because it’s a virus, so here’s how I went about Surviving The Flu Naturally.
These natural flu remedies enabled me to fulfil my work commitments and go onto empower 1,200 people to make better food choices without coughing and spluttering all the way through the sessions.
These remedies are not for the faint-hearted, but as I say to my kids, 20-30 seconds of unpleasant taste that is followed by a much longer lasting positive is worth the unpleasant taste.
The Sore Throat
I drank this juice all day and night for the last week. Israel calls it Gollum Juice (as in Gollum from Lord of The Rings) because it made my croaky voice not croaky any more.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger cut into chunks
- 1/4 cup fresh turmeric cut into chunks
- 1 lemon peeled
- 1 orange peeled
- 1 tblspn raw honey or 2 tspns Manuka honey
- 1 tblspn coconut oil
- 600 ml hot water
- cold water so you can sip the drink
Method
- Blitz the ginger, turmeric, lemon and orange so it’s mush
- Scoop half of this mixture out and put into a glass bottle that you can drink or pour from
- Add the honey and coconut oil
- Top with hot water, then add the cold so you can sip it
- Place the left over mush in a glass jar with a lid and store in the fridge to use later when needed.
I sipped from the first one of these throughout the day, and come the afternoon, I used the second half to make another drink. Then I had this for the afternoon and evening.
The Blocked Nose
Right up front, I am telling you this is totally revolting, but it worked. The fact it allowed me to breathe and get a much needed night of sleep made up for the fact it was so bad. You sip this over a short period of time like a cup of hot tea.
Ingredients
- 2 tblspns apple cider vinegar
- 1 tspn manuka honey
- Hot water
Method
- Place apple cider vinegar and honey in a cup
- Add hot water
- Add a little cold
- Sip until it’s all gone – yum, yum (NOT!)
The Runny Nose
So this is tastier than The Blocked Nose remedy but still not for the faint hearted. You just nibble on this one until it’s all gone.
Ingredients
- An inch sized piece of ginger
- Celtic Sea Salt
Method
- Cut off about an inch piece of fresh ginger and peel it
- Grind some sea salt onto a chopping board
- Use the heel of the palm of your hand or the back of a knife to squash the ginger until it starts to release its juices
- Pick up the salt and put it on top of your squashed piece of ginger
- Put the salted ginger into your mouth, chew it then swallow OR slowly nibble on the ginger over the course of 20 minutes
- Chase it down with a glass of water
This seriously stops the constant drip drip of the runny nose.
Special Note
I worked this out too late, but make sure you drink the sore throat remedy through a straw if you’re going to have it for a few days. I drank it morning and night for 5 days, and I have noticed a change in the lower part of my teeth. I am not 100% sure, but perhaps it’s because of the acidity of the lemon and orange.