Cold and Flu Season

Its cold and flu season! Here I'm going to share with you my favorite things to take to prevent from getting sick, a little about the immune system and what you can do to get over your illness quickly if you already got sick. 

Did you know that the right strain for the flu shot has to be predicted every year before the strain actually comes out? That's right, scientist and pharmaceutical companies take their best guess at what will be the new strain of virus to come around and get everyone sick. The craziest part is that in all the years they have been creating flu vaccines, they have only correctly predicted the right flu strain only twice! So if you think that the flu vaccine will help you, chances are it won't. Not to mention the fact that it is loaded with a bunch of other junk to tax your immune system.

So then what things can prevent you from getting sick? We all know the general answer to this question: to have a strong immune system. So what helps you build a strong healthy immune system? (And an immune system that doesn't over respond to things it shouldn't). The key thing here is that the digestive system, endocrine system, the lymphatic system, the urinary system, circulatory system and the immune system are connected to each other and even depend on each other. The key is in keeping each of these systems on their own in good shape. Eating a balanced diet with lots of raw and cooked vegetables, drinking lots of water, avoiding processed foods, carbonated drinks and sugar certainly help all of the systems. That way the the liver, kidneys and colon are not already taxed with so much work. Those organs can do their cleaning jobs much more effectively. Adequate exercise helps the lymphatic system a great deal. Your lymphatic system has the responsibility of sending lymph fluid through your body and collecting the debris all around and getting it out of the body. This fluid doesn't have a pump like the blood does. It gets pumped through our body as we exercise and move around.

Things that help boost your immune system BIG time:

• Taking high amounts of Vitamin D and getting more sunshine. Most people are significantly deficient in Vitamin D, especially here in Northern Utah where we have longer Winters and less sunny days.
• Garlic is extremely antibacterial and antiviral. It is a blood thinner though so don't take it if you have an upcoming surgery.
• Taking olive leaf on and off. It truly is an incredible herb. You can read my blog on Olive leaf here. 
• Vitamin C: Finding a good form of Vitamin C can be tricky but it is well worth it. Ascorbic acid is the synthetic form and isn't as effective as the form of Vitamin C found in nature. God knew what He was doing! Man cannot make something as good. Rosehip tincture and acerola cherry are good natural high-Vitamin C sources. Dark leaf greens also have a fair amount of Vitamin C.
• Taking one dropperful of Super Tonic and Super Immune (found below) every day as a preventative
• Exercise, a well balanced diet of lots of vegetables and good water are of course, essential to a well functioning immune system. There is no substitute.

My favorite remedies to take if you are already sick:

• 1 dropperful of Super Tonic Tincture every hour:
  • 1 part Garlic
  • 1 part Ginger
  • 1 part Purple Onion
  • 1 part Horseradish
  • 1 part Cayenne
• 1 dropperful of Super Immune Tincture 4x day:
  • 1 part Garlic
  • 1 part Echinacea
  • 1 par Olive Leaf

I like to keep these on hand at all times. They are extremely effective when you first start getting sick.  You can purchase good quality tinctures individually and mix them together at butterflyexpress.shop

• Vitamin D: If you are deficient start with 10,000 IU's daily. If not deficient take between 2,000 -5,000 IU's
• 500 mg good source of natural Vitamin C every hour or two:
  • Rosehip tincture
  • Acerola cherry powder 
• Zinc