Colds and Flus

As winter begins to set in, the occurrence of flus and colds increases. Those who do start to experience cold or flu symptoms often end up turning to syrups, lozenges and tablets designed to suppress the  symptoms, and not really to address the underlying problem – a weakened or overwhelmed immune system.

If you come from the perspective that viruses cause colds and flu, then it is safe to say, no cure has ever been found to rid the body of these viruses. And, conventional medicine’s best attempts not only suppress the symptoms of the flu and cold but many if not all of the products are ineffective and have a number of side effects.

However, consider this perspective – we are always exposed to these viruses - and maybe it is the environment within ourselves, such as a stressed immune system or a Vitamin D deficiency, that allows the viruses to go about our body unchallenged, to feel right at home, multiply and cause our body to go into immune system overdrive in an attempt to oust an invader.

This is quite different than saying – viruses cause colds and flus. If you have a room of 100 people all exposed to the influenza virus, only a percentage of them will become “ill” with flu symptoms….why is that? Conventional medicine says – those who do not become ill have an immunity to the virus!!! Ah, the kernel of wisdom in that saying is priceless. The truth is, that unless someone has a severe immunodeficiency condition, we can all enjoy this immunity to some degree – but it depends on how strong we keep our immune system, how vibrant our basic level of health is on a daily basis, how well we are sleeping and how we handle the every day stresses of our lives.

For some suggestions on how to keep the immune system strong, see last month’s article on Back to School.

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Broth is Beautiful

For the full article, please visit: http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/broth.html

Sally Fallon writes in her amazing Broth is Beautiful article that broth is, “A cure-all in traditional households and the magic ingredient in classic gourmet cuisine, stock or broth made from bones of chicken, fish and beef builds strong bones, assuages sore throats, nurtures the sick, puts vigor in the step and sparkle in love life--so say grandmothers, midwives and healers.”

And, did our grandmothers know what they were talking about? Apparently they did! Sally goes on to point out, “Science validates what our grandmothers knew. Rich homemade chicken broths help cure colds. Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily-not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals. It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons--stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and joint pain.”

So is broth is broth is broth? Absolutely not. Many ingredients can be found in the standard, off-the-shelf pre-prepared broths such as MSG, high sodium and emulsifiers, which either cause reactions in many people or rob us of the rich minerals that broth from scratch provides.

The bottom line – keep some home-made, warming, healing tasty broth made up for quick use in your kitchen.

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Homemade Broth

Ingredients

• Meaty carcass remains or bones, organic is best
• Two and a half to three quarts of water
• One or two washed, chopped large carrots
• One or two large, peeled quartered onions
• Two stalks of chopped celery
• A bay leaf or two if available
• 7 or 8 peppercorns
• Salt to taste

Directions

Place the carcass remains or bones in a large pot (six quarts). If the carcass doesn’t fit, either crush it down, or as it cooks it will soften and can be mashed down then. Add the carrots, celery, onion and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for at least eight hours. You'll want this mixture at a slow, low boil, not just sitting in hot water. After eight hours or so, drain the mixture through a colander into a large bowl, capturing only the broth. Discard the cooked vegetables. If you want to add turkey or chicken meat to the broth, wait for the carcass to cool and then take the meat from the bones and add back into the broth.

You now have a broth filled with vitamins and no additives, such as MSG, autolyzed yeast extract, or “natural flavorings” (other names for MSG). The only unwanted chemicals present might be those that were in the meat or vegetables and this can be avoided by using organic products from a reputable source. Freeze into portion sizes you desire if not using within a few days.

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Vitamin C

Ascorbate or ascorbic acid, commonly known as Vitamin C, is likely the most famous Vitamin in history. Nobel Prize winning biochemist Dr. Albert Szent-Gyorgyi first isolated Vitamin C in 1928 and it earned its reputation for beating the common cold in 1970, when fellow Nobel Prize winner Linus Pauling published his bestselling book "Vitamin C and the Common Cold". In it, he suggested that taking Vitamin C at levels well above the USA RDA could strengthen the immune system and help ward off the common cold.

Today, we know that Vitamin C has some very important functions in the body such as collagen synthesis which is in connective tissues (cartilage, dentin, skin and bones), norepinephrine synthesis, absorption of iron, steroid hormone synthesis, as an antioxidant, to metabolize drugs and aid in detoxification of the body, for carnitine synthesis, to process cholesterol in the body, to regulate immune function, to prevent cancer, to activate other vitamins (folacin) and as a natural antihistamine at doses over 6-8g per day (Marz 1999).

Vitamin C is water soluble, making it hard (but not impossible) to overdose on it. Since it is a water-soluble vitamin your body will get rid of the excess if you consume more than you need. But, it also means that your body does not store it, so you can't "stock up" on it. Basically, you need Vitamin C every day. If you cook your foods by boiling and draining, you will lose the C, unless of course your drink the boiled liquid as with soups. And, do not soak or store fruits or vegetables in water because you lose the Vitamin C – instead, cut just before eating.

Humans cannot make Vitamin C; we must consume it in our diet. Five milligrams per day are needed to prevent scurvy – but that is not to say this is enough for our best health, rather, 5 mg per day merely prevents the diseased state of scurvy. Clinically, we know the optimal intake is between 1 – 9 grams per day depending on the individual and the individual lifestyles. Vitamin C deficiency (scurvy) symptoms include listlessness, fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, muscle cramps, aching bones, joints and muscles, anorexia, dry skin, fever, hemorrhage, easy bruising and secondary infections.

Marz, R. 1999. Medical Nutrition. 2nd Edition. Omni-Press. Portland, OR: 235-241.

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Elderberry

Sambucus nigra, commonly known as Black Elderberry is a small shrub that likes moist sunny spots on the edge of other trees. The flowers are white and small and the fruit is fleshy, and berry like. We use the bark, flowers and berries when making medicine and these parts contain lots of very beneficial ingredients. The bark has baldrianic acid, the leaves contain minerals, rutin and various vitamins, the flowers have flavonoids (quercitin, rutin), mucilage, minerals, tannin, vitamins and volatile oils and the berries, perhaps the most well known part of the plant have flavonoids (anthocyanadins), minerals, pectin, sambucin and vitamins. The flowers are an excellent diaphoretic when drunk as a hot infusion. This makes them useful to treat colds and flu’s.  The anti-mucus action also makes them useful to treat sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, croup, conjunctivitis, tonsillitis and other inflammatory conditions of the upper respiratory tract.  They can help reduce the pain and inflammation of joint inflammation, including those pains that are autoimmune. Some of the action of the flowers is due to constriction of the tiny vessels in the nose, and so should be used with caution long term. The berries, because they are high in flavonoids, especially the anthocyanadins, create the anti-inflammatory action.  They also stabilize mast cells, reducing release of histamines and other initiators of inflammation, strengthen the collagen cross linking in the tissues and act as anti-oxidants. This makes it useful to treat joint disease, allergies, sinusitis, colds, flu’s, and coughs.  When taken at onset of a cold or flu, it can shorten the length of the illness, stop the illness from manifesting fully and make the symptoms more bearable. The leaves, root and bark are safest used under the supervision of a trained healthcare professional and internal use is not recommended.  There are no known contraindications or drug interactions but the leaves, roots, bark and unripe berries can cause diarrhea, headache, dizziness, tachycardia, nausea, vomiting, and convulsions when taken internally.

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Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a system of healing that dates back to 1796 and Samuel Hahnemann, MD. He realized, like Hippocrates, that there were many different ways to approach illness, or to look at it another way, many different ways to restore health to the human body. Hahnemann discovered that homeopathy could assist the natural tendency of the body to heal by stimulating the body’s innate healing ability.

This is accomplished by following the law of similars and using homeopathically prepared substances. The law of similars can be explained best by the story of Cinchona Bark, a plant used by native populations in South America, India and Java to treat malaria. Hahnemann was translating some work done by Dr. Cullen and saw an indication in that work that Cinchona could both treat malaria and seemed to cause the symptoms of malaria in healthy people. So he tested on himself and found that Cinchona did indeed cause malaria-like symptoms.

This was the beginning of an amazing journey in which Hahnemann discovered that a substance that can cause the symptoms of disease in a healthy person could also eliminate the symptoms in a person with the disease. Another part of his work was to discover that the more dilute a substance was, the better it stimulated this healing process and the fewer side effects it had. This, he called, potentization, a process which involves dilution and succussing (vigorously shaking) a liquid over and over again. To make a long story short, Hahnemann developed his theory of like cures like using homeopathically prepared substances into a complete system of medicine still used with great success to this day.

Scientists do not know or understand why or how this works but it is generally accepted that homeopathic remedies work by stimulating the body's own heali ng abilities. This stimulus assists your own system to clear itself of any imbalance and the net result is that symptoms go away.
Homeopathy is safe for people of all ages, has no contraindications for use and is often used along with other therapies. Homeopathic treatment can be very successful with people who have acute illness such as colds, flus and for people with chronic illness such as thyroid disease, cancer, diabetes and more. While it is a very safe therapy, it is important to work with a practitioner who has been fully trained in order to get the best results possible.

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