It’s about time for another post about maintaining or reclaiming better health. Perfect timing since my nose is stuffed with recycled toilet paper in lieu of tissue paper. (That’s what happens when you almost never get sick – you run out of tissues and don’t think about getting more, until it’s too late.) Yup, I officially have a cold. It’s been a year and a half since I’ve had a cold. It’s been several months since I was officially sick. Score one for the modern hippy! It’s the little victories that count.

     ”How did you get sick?” – Rick asked me. I have no idea. Maybe it’s because my good sleep has disappeared again. Maybe it’s because along with the quality, the quantity has been down for a couple of weeks. There have been nights – very fun of course – where I didn’t get to sleep until 4 a.m. I haven’t done that since I was 20. Even if that is the cause of my drippy nose and left eye – it was worth it. A very good friend is leaving to do military stuff far away very soon. So what if I didn’t sleep the way I should have?

I digress… a lot…

     So what to do once bad germs are ravaging your nasal passages, ears, throat, and general sanity? The modern hippy way of course!

1. Rest – get as much sleep as possible. Even a boring old, stick in the mud, M.D. will tell you that.
2. Drink lots of water, filtered if you can.
3. Don’t eat or drink sugary things. Sugar feeds bacteria.
4. Eat well – meaning no junk food. Your body needs real nutrients, not empty calories.
5. Take it easy, kick back, say “No” – let your body do it’s job of kicking the hell out of the germs you’ve recently acquired.
6. Drink some herbal tea like echinecea (as long as you aren’t allergic to rag weed).
7. If you have essential oils, pull them out and get ready to use them! Think lemon, eucalyptus etc.
8. Wash your hands – even a school kid will tell you that.
9. Try to stay positive – I’ve heard that if you are in the better mood you’ll health faster. Also, who really wants to be in a bad mood?
10. a. Experiment! Carefully of course. Call your friends for ideas on healthy ways to deal with a cold. Or check here!
10. b. Don’t be stupid. If you are horribly sick, not getting better, go see a doctor or a nurse practitioner. They are there for a reason.

     What am I doing? I chose not to make cake – remember the sugar thingy. I’m drinking a lot of water, though I don’t have a filter yet. I’m making more tea – tasty tea that even Rick likes. The fun part, that appeases my inner Little House on the Prairie lover, is that it’s tea from scratch (just like a modern hippy would make).

Homemade Cold Care Detox Tea

Quick Recipe:
     All you need is organic ginger root, organic peppermint leaves(stems have flavor too if you are using something you dried – like I am) and a couple of slices of organic lemon.
     Slice the ginger thin. More surface area for the hot water to work on. And through in the whole slices of lemon, rind and all. Rind contains nutrients as well, though I’m not sure what’s killed by the hot water.
Let it steep in boiling hot water for 10-20 minutes, depending on how strong you want it.

Effects of this tea:
1. Warming – I’m not kidding, you will start to feel toasty. The thought is that raising your body temp will help to kill the nasty bugs.
2. Diaphoresis – fancy word for sweating. Good because it’s a way for your body to detox.
3. Peppermint will sooth a sore throat – it’s an analgesic – fancy word for pain killer.
4. It’s tasty – this is always a plus when you are feeling under the weather and you really want cookies and milk. Or whatever.
5. Ginger root, lemon, and peppermint all contain essential oils. Each of these oils work well for colds flus, among other things.

Note: I suggest, if you have any interest in theraputic aromatherapy pick up The Encyclopedia of Essential Oils by Julia Lawless. It’s a brilliant reference book – I bought one for a friend I love mine so much!

Best essential oil reference book

Note: These photos were taken with my new phone, the Memoir, old one need to be retired. I think this takes pretty fantastic photos. It will work while my point and click limps along – until I get myself a gorgeous DSLR.