How to Naturally Fight the Flu
This was the first year we have gotten sick in a long time. After our entire family got over the common cold, my husband contracted the flu bug. Can we say frustrated? The flu is not something you want in your home right after having a baby.
Since it’s that time of year, I thought I’d share what we did to kick the flu bug in less than 24 hours! My husband was the only one who got the flu, and none of us have been sick since. Praise the Lord!
The symptoms:
- Body aches
- Respiratory discomforts (heavy sinus pressure being complained about most)
- Fever
How to Naturally Fight the Flu
Rest
Rest is the most important thing you can do during any sickness, but it’s hard to get a good night’s rest with a newborn. Therefore, we moved my husband to the living room couch. This way he could get some rest and we quarantined the flu bug away from our bedrooms (and our babies).
Hydration
My goal was to get at least a gallon of water into my husband in addition to the other liquid remedies we would be using. Water flushes the system and we wanted the flu bug to move quickly. Plus since he had a fever we knew his body was using the water quickly.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is high in antioxidants. Vitamin C helps boost the immune system and repair tissues throughout the whole body. He took 1,000 mg of Vitamin C (Emergen-C was our Vitamin C of choice this time) every hour while watching for signs bowel tolerance (loose stools). I believe he took 5-6,000mg of Vitamin C before it was all said and done. We are continuing to take 1-2,000mg of Vitamin C daily to build our immune systems back up.
Garlic
Garlic is most commonly known for its anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal properties. Practically speaking, garlic is a natural antibiotic that your body does not grow resistance to, which means it has on-going positive benefits. I’ve shared 7 ways to eat raw garlic in the past, but this time we did something a little different. This new mixture is hands down our favorite way to consume garlic, and I even had my toddler enjoying his “medicine.”
Flu Fighting Garlic Mixture
- 1 teaspoon local honey (soothes sore throats)
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (increases circulation)
- 1-3 cloves of garlic, minced (antibiotic)
- Wedge of lemon (Vitamin C, aids digestion, boosts energy, fights viral infections, and more!)
Mix the first three ingredients in a small bowl or ramekin. Add the juice from a wedge of lemon and mix thoroughly.
You can take all at once, or take a small spoonful at a time every 15 minutes until the mixture is gone. Repeat every hour until symptoms subside or at least 3 times a day.
The Flu Fighting Garlic Mixture is MOST effective at the onset of the cold or flu.
My husband took this the night he started feeling flu symptoms setting in. He did not take it the next day in order to keep his tummy from growing upset since we were implementing several other remedies.
Oil of Oregano
I had never used oil of oregano before this round of sickness. Oil of Oregano is incredibly powerful … and disgusting to take. Just being honest! However, it is a powerful antibiotic and has antiviral properties. We put one full dropper into orange juice every two hours. We found eating a grape afterward (thanks, Mom!) helped knock down the terrible taste … just a little. I took oil of oregano with him once in order to ward off the flu virus. He took it a total of three times.
Apple Cider Vinegar (with the “mother”)
Apple cider vinegar also has antibiotic properties and aids digestion. It also helps with sinus drainage and pressure all while soothing your sore throat. Plus it’s full of beneficial enzymes. He drank one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in a glass of hot water every few hours.
My favorite way to drink apple cider vinegar is in 8 ounces of hot water with honey, a dash of cayenne pepper, and the juice from a wedge of lemon. I drank a cup with him to boost my immune system.
Double-E Immune Booster Tincture
I made the double-e immune booster tincture last flu season. It contains: nettle leaf, peppermint leaf, echinacea tops, elderberries whole, ginseng root, and rosehips. I make it with vegetable glycerine. We absolutely love it. My husband took one tablespoon every hour until symptoms subsided. My son and I took three times throughout the course of the day to ward against the flu. I took one tablespoon and my son would take as many droppers full as he wanted, which was usually up to a teaspoon (we follow the lead of our children on how much tincture they need).
Essential Oils
To help with sinus pressure and headaches, he rubbed eucalyptus oil on his chest, temples, and neck as well as peppermint essential oil every now and then.
I rubbed lavender on the chest and feet of both of my babies to help them ward off the flu and induce rest in their bodies. I used lavender to help me rest in the evenings.
In addition, I simmered a mixture of oils (homemade Thieves ® Oil recipe I found here) on the stove (I don’t have a diffuser) to purify the air. Plus it smells amazing!
The essential oils I mixed to make homemade Thieves ® Oil:
- Clove bud essential oil
- Lemon essential oil
- Cinnamon bark essential oil
- Eucalyptus essential oil
- Rosemary essential oil
Prayer
God is the ultimate healer and the remedies we used were straight from what He provides. I prayed often for my husband’s healing and our protection. To God be the glory!
Finally, we removed all sugar, conventional dairy, and carbs in the form of grains from our diet. He ate as many fruits and vegetables as he could handle, and my mother-in-love made a pot of chicken noodle soup from my homemade chicken broth.
My son and I totally avoided contracting the flu even though we all hung out in the same room the next day. My husband bounced back with full energy within 18 hours! We were so impressed (and thankful)!
If you’re battling flu symptoms, or want to take steps to avoid the flu, then give some of these remedies a try.
What ways have you naturally treated the flu? I would love to hear in the comments!
This post contains my affiliate links. See my full disclosure policy here.
WOW!! Thank you for sharing The Bulk Herb Store, I just spent way too much time looking at their site. But I found things I’ve been looking for. I will always make garlic and onion soup when I think anyone is getting sick, they actually ask me to make it even when no one is sick. LOL I also use the Sol-u-guard from Melaleuca, I spray everything especially the common areas and it usually takes care of it. There are some ideas you gave me that I will use next time someone gets sick, but that’s been very few and far between. =)
Oh Melaleuca’s soluguard is amazing stuff!!! And glad you found Bulk Herb Store too. shoshanna has some really great stuff!
This is a great resource!
I made sure to record everything we did so I would have the information for later! I love all the ways we can treat our bodies when we’re sick. It’s always amazing to me what God has provided!
Excellent advice! I know it works because I use apple cider vinegar, oil of oregano, garlic, cinnamon and several of your other remedies regularly. Thank you and love your site!
Wonderful to hear! And thank you! 🙂
Try putting the oil of oregano under your tongue, then drinking the juice. It won’t be as bad as mixing it in! I tried adding the oil of oregano to a cold-kicker smoothie once, but it tasted SO bad!!! Under the tongue is much easier. 🙂
Oh good to know! Will try that next time. 🙂
I found your post at the Titus 2 Tuesday. This was a great reminder for this time of year! Thank you for sharing!
I woke up with a sore throat this morning. Trying to get down some of the garlic mixture!
Oh sad 🙁 hope it helps! Drinks lots of water!!!
I will definitely keep your post handy for if and when sickness strikes our home. (Praying it doesn’t!) I enjoy learning more about how our bodies heal themselves and all the great natural remedies that can be used. The Lord created all our bodies need in nature. Thanks for sharing & I’m happy to hear that your husband bounced back quickly and the rest in your home remained well!
These are great! and many of them we do as well (although I’ve never done the oil of oregano because I read that can be counter-indicated if you are pregnant or nursing and I’m always one or the other of those two!) But I can attest that they really do work! I have four kids and in 8 years of parenting I have yet to need an antibiotic for a cold! I’m very thankful for that and the one time my daughter DID need an antibiotic (for a UTI) I was happy to know that it would likely be very effective since her system had never been exposed to one previously!!
We are blessed indeed to have such an abundance of healing resources available to us. Thanks so much for your great advice here.
Thanks for sharing at Essential Fridays.
Blessings
Mel
Vitamin D is another great supplement for keeping you from getting the flu. Since most of us don’t produce enough vitamin D any more (due to using sunscreen and to not spending as much time outside in the sunshine), it’s a good supplement to take anyway. And because it helps keep you from catching the flu, it’s definitely worth taking!
Thanks for linking up with us on the Hip Homeschool Hop!
Very true! This is something we take pretty regularly, especially living where we live (loooooong winters!). So I agree!
Thanks for these great tips! I’ll definitely keep them in mind should I need them any time soon. One thing I have been doing if I start to feel any cold or flu like symptoms is drinking echinacea tea and using an echinacea and thyme immune support liquid supplement. If I take the tea with some of that in it before going to bed I seem to feel better the next day. It has been a long time since I had the full blown flu. I also had strep along with it which was not fun at all.
That’s a great natural remedy! We love echinacea around here.
Another way to fight the flu is to take standardized olive leaf extract capsules. It KILLS viruses, bacteria, yeast infections, and parasites. I have used it for a long time. There is research on it. It is even biblical to use olive products. I read there are people somewhere in Mediterranean area who have drunk olive leaf tea or centuries and they never get sick.
Oh I bet that works really well. I’ve never heard this before. There are so many amazing, God-given remedies!
I personally love using Oil of Oregano for any type of respiratory/sinus infection. We use the capsules so it’s not nasty – and it kicks sickness fast! Now I just need to figure out how to use it for my 1 year old! Lots of other great looking remedies here too!