colds

Immune Support

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As if there isn’t enough fear mongering about the regular old flu, now this year we have to worry about the coronavirus too. Luckily there are plenty of immunomodulators and immune boosters in the herbal world to help keep us stay healthy despite the extra viruses and germs that love to play their games in the wintertime. Immunomodulators are herbs that help the immune work optimally in any condition, so if you have an overactive immune system for example, an immunomodulator will help take it down a notch, but if your immune system is suppressed and sluggish, or just fighting off too many invaders at once, an immunomodulator will help beef up the system. An immune booster has one direction it acts in, it boosts an immune system that needs reinforcements. An immunomodulator can be used all winter long, but a booster is used when you feel yourself coming down with something, or you know you are inundated with germs around you such as at a school with lots of sneezing-coughing-touchy kids around you, and you do not have an overactive immune system issue such as crohns disease, endometriosis, graves disease, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, or any others. You use a booster when you first feel like maybe you might be coming down with something, the sooner you start the better, and then use it through the sickness and a day or two after, then stop. Even if you still get sick, the herbs will help you recover more quickly and not get as sick, kind of like a light version of the virus. If you are lucky and able to rest a bit in those early moments, the herbs just might kick your immune system into gear enough to beat it before it has the chance to take you down at all. The most popular of these herbs is the familiar echinacea, and with good reason. It packs a powerful punch if you get it in at the start of a sickness. The most popular immunomodulator is astragalus. My herbal mentor always said that in China, grandmothers put a slice of astragalus in thier soups all winter long to keep everyone in their families healthy. This is a slice the dried root:astragalusI use the powdered version myself and put it in my sons’ and my smoothies in the mornings. Mushrooms are incredible for the immune system and can seriously overhaul an immune system within three to six months. I have a post on them here and you can check out this website for more information about mushrooms from their biggest supporter and fan and founder of Fungi Perfecti, Paul Stamets. 

One thing all those herbs above have in common is that they are an *acquired* taste. You can take any of them in capsule form of course, but tinctures and teas are best for avoiding the questionable digestive system and being sure to get the herbal goodness into your blood stream. That’s where elderberry shines. Elderberry is an herb you can take all winter long and also will help fight a cold or flu once it has taken hold. (You just take a higher dose if you feel you are coming down with something, and continue with the higher does until it has been gone a day or two.) And elderberry isn’t a root or rhizome or mushroom like the others mentioned, it’s a berry, which means it’s berry delicious! OK, maybe it’s not going to be your favorite fruit, but as far as immune boosting herbs goes, it is the top flavor winner any old day, especially among kids. I had my sons try a sample that I was just sent of elderberry gummies and both liked them a lot and one threatened to eat the whole bottle right then and there so they are definitely a hit (which apparently I will need to hide and dole out in a reasonable fashion). They sent a syrup too, and elderberry syrup is a classic way to take the herb as well so I’m excited to see how my boys like that one. If you have kids who are around other kids, I highly suggest adding elderberry into their winter wellness repertoire, and it certainly doesn’t hurt us adults either!

Another thing I would like to also mention is that cooking with herbs, any herbs, is going to boost the health of the meal and contribute to your own health. Almost all herbs found in the average kitchen cabinet have benefits ranging from antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, digestives, etc, that contribute to just a healthier life. It is well known that the star ingredient in Tamiflu is truly a star~ star anise that is. Many pharmaceuticals are in fact made with herbal foundations, though of course by the time they are through with it and can patent a drug it is not a natural product anymore whatsoever, but star anise has been used for hundreds of years for it’s health promoting properties and you can still work with the herb yourself at home all winter long. Adding such common herbs as thyme, oregano, and rosemary to your soups and sauces will impart excellent health-promoting properties, and of course the more garlic you cook with, the better! As Hippocrates famously said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine by thy food.”

Thank you Sambucol for the samples of elderberry gummies and syrup! We appreciate their taste as well as their immune support powers for sure because all three of us go to schools every day and there is so much sneezing, sniffling, and coughing right now that I am spraying my little room with an essential oil room spray after every single class period. I see kids using antibacterial hand goop all day long too and I really want to tell them that it’d be a lot more effective to boost their immune systems from the inside out instead of relying on that quick ‘fix’.

Stay well out there friends! Spring is on its way….

Making the Most of Thyme

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Thyme might not be one of the more popular essential oils, but it is a potent one to have and to use. Just as the herb is highly medicinal with recipes as old as Hippocrates’ using thyme for the respiratory system (see that recipe here if you missed it), the essential oil is an all around anti-germ powerhouse. In Valerie Ann Wormwood’s book, The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy, she includes thyme essential oil in her travel kit in order to use it to wipe down the sinks and counters and such of the places where she stays. It is indeed a great one to include in cleaning concoctions because it is antiviral, antibiotic, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic.

Thyme is great to inhale for its immune boosting and invader fighting properties. It is especially good for difficult viruses and superbugs such as the flu and MRSA. Diffusing the essential in the air is a great way to experience the healing benefits of thyme. In my ceramic diffuser which holds water on top, I add three to six drops of thyme and let the candle burn for no more that half an hour. In my water-less wood and glass diffuser, I add 15-20 drops of essential oils at a time.

Even better than just inhalation though, is to make a body oil with thyme and add that to your feet, or anywhere else on your body, so it soaks directly into your bloodstream.

Making a body oil is incredibly easy and really any vegetable oil will work, so if all you have available is olive oil, that’s completely fine, but jojoba and fractionated coconut oil are particularly good for soaking right into the skin quickly so you aren’t left with oily palms to deal with. You want about five drops of thyme essential oil per teaspoon of base oil. You can reuse a small glass bottle with the mixture and add it to your body three times per day, or add about a teaspoon of the mix to a hot bath. Thyme essential oil can also just be used in a bath straight, up to five drops in the tub, but do not use the essential oil directly on the skin (neat) without a carrier. Thyme can even be used in a shower by flinging a couple of drops onto the back wall of the shower stall, where no direct stream of water hits, and the steam will work with the essential oil quite beneficially.

Thyme essential oil is herb-y smelling and distinct, so it might not be one that a lot of people are drawn to right away when picking out essential oils, but it really is worth having around for it’s immune boosting and germ fighting properties. Perhaps that is why thyme has traditionally been associated with warriors and courage~ it is certainly an avid defender against invaders of all sorts. In fact, it is even a good one to add to blends for keeping away mosquitos and other bugs as well. Life circumstances have thrown me a bit lately and along with the jolt came a rather severe cold, so I’ve been very glad to have thyme around for both the fortitude and the immune boosting. My sister has been an even more important healer and helper at this time so I’ve been well taken care of during this rough patch.

Take care of yourselves, and of each other, and when you need a little extra green help, don’t forget thyme is on your side.