How to Recover From This Season’s Worst Flu

Well, I have the flu. At least, that’s what other people are calling it. I’m calling it The Plague, because using the term “flu” to describe this illness is like using “kitty scratch” to describe a vicious mountain lion attack. The sweaty fever has developed into a days-long phlegmy cough, and the bouts of painful hacking have left me sleepless and irritable. I’m finally feeling better, but the last couple of weeks have been less than enjoyable.

The flu is one of those viral, what-can-you-do kinds of illnesses. It’s the kind of sickness that you have to just ride out. During my own turn with this most recent version of the virus, I’ve been taking several measures to support my immune system, and the most helpful tactic has been eating foods that have as many health properties as possible (quick tip: eat lots of different fruits and vegetables, and avoid dairy products). I also made a hugs batch of chicken stock, which I’ve been using to make lots of healthy vegetable soups. The soup I’m currently eating for lunch was made using this broth, and it contains carrots, celery, parsnips, potatoes, cabbage, leeks, yellow onions, tomatoes, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, and parsley. This soup has been particularly healing, and it’s insanely delicious to boot.

Besides eating a healthy diet, there have been a handful of products that have been incredibly helpful. One of these products has already been reviewed by Jenni: the fabulous Olbas inhaler. When Jenni said that this inhaler inspired passion, I figured she meant it figuratively. But let me tell you: I freaking LOVE this inhaler. I will preach Olbas whenever I get the chance. This little stick of wonder has become my flu-time companion, hitching a ride in my pocket or purse wherever I go. A couple of sniffs of Olbas in each nostril, and I feel like I can actually breathe again. The best part? The pocket-sized Olbas inhaler is only five bucks. If Jenni and I aren’t convincing enough, you can read more testimonials about how great this product really is.

My second new-best-friend product is a supplement called Clear Lungs, which is made with herbs from traditional Chinese medicine. I am not a supplement person, I believe that you should get the majority of your nutrients from whole foods. So when I purchased Clear Lungs, I had mild expectations for its success. But, DAMN. This stuff really works well, and I noticed an improvement within a few hours. Before I took Clear Lungs, I felt like there was an alien inside my chest, spewing forth its goo and squeezing my lungs until my chest was about to implode. Once this supplement took effect, those feelings were reduced to a minimum, and I began to feel human again. I don’t know very much about herbs, and even less about traditional Chinese medicine; maybe some of you have more knowledge of these things than I. What I do know is how well this particular product works, which is enough for me while in this sorry state.

Of course, no regimen would be complete without my go-to Traditional Medicinals teas: Organic Throat Coat, Organic Nighty Night, and Gypsy Cold Care. I drink Cold Care in the morning; Throat Coat all day long; and Night Night, well, at night.

But now that I’m feeling better, I’m wondering if all these herbs (including the Chinese herbs in Clear Lungs) haven’t put me on herbal overload. There’s a line of thinking in the world of herbalists that herbs are more powerful when you use one at a time. Some also think that using several herbs at once may reduce the potency of some, and may even cause weird reactions among others. So, I’m reducing the number of herbs I’m taking, preferring instead to make herbal infusions, or tisanes. I have a few jars of herbs like mint that I dried in the sun, and every night I pour some boiling water over them and let them steep for several minutes. Some infusions, like ginger root, I allow to steep for several hours or overnight. Since I don’t have that much experience with herbs, my infusions have been limited to a handful of herbs that I know to be beneficial. Maybe someday I’ll acquire more herbal knowledge, but for now my mason jars full of liquids of various colors and flavors are the result of my limited know-how.

The final step I’ve taken to nurse myself back to health is the consumption of fruit and vegetable juice. I’m not talking about juices you buy in the store, I’m talking about entire pieces of fruit or whole roots, stalks, and leaves being put through my trusty Champion juicer. This juice is quite unlike anything you’d find in a store. It’s full of flavor and fiber, more like drinking liquid vegetables than juice. I have two favorites at the moment: one is a carrot-orange-ginger juice, and the other is a juice made from mostly green veggies: cucumber, spinach, celery, parsley, with lemon and ginger for kick. Sometimes I make beet juice, even though I absolutely detest beets, because I know it’s good for me. I don’t peel anything (except oranges) when juicing, so the juice is pretty intense. But the quality of nutrients and fiber in the juice I make, compared to a store-bought juice, is very high. The Champion juicer is particularly good for juicing whole veggies, since its rotating teeth break down even the toughest of fibers, rejecting only the scraggliest material as being unfit to drink. The juices I get from my Champion are like healing tonics. (Note: If you’re looking to buy yourself a Champion juicer, I haven’t found a better deal than at DiscountJuicer.com.)

Oh, whoops, I almost forgot Emergen-C. I already wrote about these packets, so I won’t go into detail. Just buy them, you won’t be sorry.