Cold and Flu Season is here
It’s officially Fall here in the northern hemisphere and that means allergy, cold, flu, and V season is upon us.
(Side note: V is that thing going around right now that everyone is talking about, but if I mentioned by name would impact the ability for you to receive this information)
Not only are we facing allergies, the common cold, and the typical flu, but the pandemic is still a thing too.
However, have no fear, because I’ve got some solid tips to help you fight allergies, colds, the flu, and V’s naturally.
There are actually a lot of simple things you can do daily beyond hand-washing or mask-wearing to boost your immune system and prevent these health hijackers from taking you hostage.
Years ago, I suffered from seasonal allergies, the occasional common cold, and nasty sinus infections. I would load up on symptom relievers, such as DayQuil, NyQuil, throat lozenges, Mucinex, and Tylenol or Advil for my painful earaches.
Now I take nothing.
No, really. I no longer have to take any over-the-counter symptom relievers because I don’t suffer from seasonal allergies anymore.
I’m not superhuman or anything. I still occasionally feel the shift of the seasons in my body - my energy is lower some days, I get a slight runny nose or tickle in my throat when Spring or Fall brings about new allergens in the air, and I even feel the onset of what might be a cold from time to time.
BUT my symptoms are tolerable and I can stop them naturally.
When we take over-the-counter (OTC’s) medications, we have a false sense of healing our body in some way. What we’re really doing is just masking the symptoms until our body is able to make a slow and full recovery. This is why over the years, allergies, colds, and the flu can become more intense, frequent, and longer in duration.
When we mask symptoms with OTC’s, we’re ignoring our body’s call for help.
As annoying as a runny nose or postnasal drip can be, it’s your body’s way of saying, “Hey, something is really stressing me out right now, or I’m under attack. I’m trying my best to fight it off, but I could really use your support and help.”
We’ve been taught to “push through it” when we get sick or feel under the weather. We use OTC’s to numb the pain so we can still go to work and take care of all our responsibilities, instead of ourselves. But what’s the price we pay in the long run for continually doing this?
Nobody ever reads the warnings or the side-effects list on an OTC medication. I mean, they’re over the counter so they must be safe, right?
Wrong.
OTC’s come with a laundry list of negative side-effects that can occur acutely or chronically over time. Here are just a few OTC’s side-effect highlights that we commonly overlook:
Acetaminophen (aka Tylenol) – liver damage
Ibuprofen (aka Advil or Motrin) – peptic ulcers and kidney damage
Decongestants – high blood pressure or blood pressure spikes
Antihistamines – damage to the heart muscle and the central nervous system
Large or small, long or short, any usage of OTC’s impacts the body’s ability to function normally and disrupts its homeostasis (balance). They do not boost our immunity, they block it.
OTC’s also are one of the number one contributors to leaky gut, aka a damaged digestive tract. Guess what happens when you have a leaky gut?
A leaky gut increases your risk for allergies, colds, and other V’s.
The gut is where 80% of your immune system lives. So if it’s dysfunctional, guess what else is going to be dysfunctional? Your immune system, and your ability to fight off allergies, colds, or other V’s.
When the intestinal lining is compromised, you’ve lost your first line of defense internally. Foreign invaders such as allergens, bacteria, and V’s are able to cross the gut barrier and get directly into the bloodstream.
The very first thing I focus on with ALL of my clients is digestive support and repair for 3 very important reasons:
To boost the immune system, which lives in the digestive tract
To increase nutrient availability for the body to improve its defenses
To reduce inflammation and stress so the body is at less risk for illness
Healing your gut is the key to long-term sustainable health success, but healing the gut is a process that requires consistency. It can take months or even years to fully recover in some cases.
In order to heal the gut, you have to consistently:
Avoid common inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, sugar, soy, alcohol, and others specific to you
Get rid of gut bugs such as parasites, bacteria, and yeast (candida) that disrupt nutrient absorption and cause internal stress
Add in foods and supplements to help repair the integrity of the gut, such as digestive enzymes, fish oils, L-glutamine, probiotics, collagen peptides, bone broth protein powder, and fermented foods
IF you would like more information on how to truly do this work please reach out and we can get a consultation set up.
https://www.megaphonefunctionalhealth.com/book
Also, stay tuned for my next newsletter with all the best things to take if you do get sick!!!
Renee
