My 4-year old woke up snuffy and with a dry cough this morning. “Mommy,” he asked, “can I have some nose medicine?”
First, I’m so proud of him for asking for a remedy that he doesn’t enjoy at all but obviously knows that a small amount of discomfort will ease his suffering tremendously. Now that’s a smart, brave boy.
And second, it told me how lousy he felt that he would actually ask for this without me even offering it. Poor kid.
Good timing, too, as many pediatric cold medicines were removed from stores across the country today for fear that parents will inadvertantly overdose their children, and it was recommended that children under 2 not be medicated for cold relief. I couldn’t agree more.
For my son, however, once we applied the “nose medicine”, he felt better within minutes. A good sinus rinse is invaluable, as I talked about in my Sinus Rinse post. As much as I love NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse Saline Nasal Rinse, it is too much for infants and children. For them I use Little Noses Saline Spray/Drops, Non-Medicated Relief for Dry or staffy Noses. Just squirt some in each nostril, wipe detrius with a kleenex, and you’re good to go. It’s my first line of defense for little ones. Be sure to get the unmedicated formula; once I used the anti-histimine version and my 15-month old was wired for hours. On a plane. Huge mistake.
Run a humidifier in the bedroom to lubricate nasal passages and ease congestion during sleep.
Next I’ll discuss various homeopathic remedies helpful to use when kicking a cold.
For booting unwanted invaders out of your body, there’s almost nothing better than Garlic Tea. Particularly when combined with a good sleep that gives the body a chance to heal.
Garlic has long been known to have anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties besides its qualities as an aromatic flavoring. It also lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and it is the only aphrodisiac food that actually works for encouraging and maintaining an erection — a natural Viagra. No wonder the Italians are so passionate!
The superstition of wearing leis of garlic around ones neck to ward of vampires likely came from the practice of using garlic to ward off the plague in the middle ages. It could have been fairly effective, too, as garlic can be used as an insect repellent in an organic garden and the plague was spread by fleas.
But back to the Garlic Tea… I learned about this during the summer I spent waiting tables on the Greek island of Rhodes. I was hanging out with an Australian woman who was steadily feeling worse one day; by nightfall she had a headache, stuffy nose, cough, fatigue and just generally didn’t feel well. She clearly looked sick. At dinner that evening, she ordered an empty glass, 3 garlic cloves, and a lemon. She sliced and ate the raw garlic. She halved and squeezed the lemon into the glass, and then drank the juice and went to bed. The next day she was completely well. It was amazing.
I’ve taken this concept and made it a little more palatable by steeping crushed garlic in boiling water and adding the fresh juice from 1/2 lemon and honey. The garlic/lemon combo is surprisingly sweet and sippable, though add some local honey if you have a cough or need to alter the flavor.
Garlic Tea Instructions
1. Peel and crush/chop/mince 3-5 cloves of fresh garlic.
2. Place garlic into a mug and then fill with boiling water.
3. Let steep for 5 minutes or more, and then add the juice from 1/2-1 lemon.
4. Stir in enough honey to make it palatable.
5. Sip. Eat the garlic if desired, but not necessary.
6. Repeat after 12-24 hours, if needed.
The tea seems to be as effective as eating the garlic raw, however if you need a more powerful remedy you might try some raw, too. I’ve been known to drink Garlic Tea two or three nights in succession when necessary.
The first question I always get when I tell people about this remedy is: Won’t you just reek of garlic? Who will want to be around you?
My response: You’re sick! You don’t want anyone around you anyway! Who cares if your breath stinks! Let’s just focus on getting well.
If you’re that concerned with stinky breath, eat some parsley afterwards. But know that the scent of garlic will emanate from your pores as your body flushes toxins from your system. I consider this a good thing, personally.
I recommended this remedy to my stepfather last week when he was fighting off the current mega-cold. He didn’t have any fresh garlic in the house so he substituted garlic powder. After he said, That was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever tasted, he did say he thought it had helped his recovery. It sounds pretty gross to me, and I’m not sure how much of the nutritional properties are retained once garlic is dried and ground. I wouldn’t suggest using garlic powder: stick with the fresh cloves and you can’t go wrong!
There is a nasty virus working its way around my fair city. Somehow it just feels too early — it hit 83 degrees (F) yesterday! Autumn is just barely here and already this killer cold is taking people down for 3-5 days. I’m talking about a fierce, take-to-your-bed-and-wish-you-were-dead cold.
Most unfortunately, my kids and I have definitely been exposed to it by several people who later became sick or were already ill. As someone with multiple sclerosis, I work very hard to minimize my contact with sick people as viral infections can trigger MS attacks, something I desperately want to avoid. To keep myself as healthy as possible, I’ve devised a multi-pronged strategy to zap colds at first appearance, and even to avoid getting them in the first place. I thought I’d share this with you over the next few postings.
I seriously depend on this product to maintain my health, and have even found myself running all over London looking for a saline, non-medicated nasal spray when I forgot my SinusRinse bottle and packets.
Before I discovered NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse Saline Nasal Rinse, I would simply dissolve some table salt in a cup of body temp water and snort it to flush out my sinuses and reduce the swelling of my nasal passages during a cold. Let me assure you, this is as unpleasant and not-fun as it sounds. The salt alone burns inside the nasal cavity, and snorting quanties of liquid gives you a wicked headache. And anyone nearby who happens to hear you will dissolve into laughter the next time they look at you. Quite embarrassing.
My girlfriend told me about NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse after it was prescribed to her by a doctor at National Jewish Hospital, a specialized respiratory hospital with a national reputation, to treat her allergies. The single-serving packets are mixed with body temp water in a special applicator bottle. The packets contained a pre-measured ratio of salt, to reduce the swelling of the nasal passages, and baking soda to counteract the harshness of the salt. These elements combine to make flushing your sinuses a pleasant and soothing experience rather than a traumatic one.
Here’s my theory as to why I believe in rinsing out your sinuses: if you flush away viruses before they have time to take up permanent residence, and make your nose a generally inhospitable environment for them, viral infections won’t take hold, or even if they do, won’t stick around as long or be as virulent. Basically, you stay healthier and recover more quickly.
Besides doing a nasal rinse when I’m already stuffed up to clear out my nose and offer some temporary relief, I do it after I’ve been in cramped and crowded conditions where I have likely been exposed to things I don’t want, such as at a concert or on an airplane or in a subway car. I’ll even do it after a trip to the grocery store during the winter months.
I do a flush before I am to publicly speak, as it clears out any frogs from my voice and gives me a cleaner tone. It gives relief to constantly runny noses, too.
And I rinse madly when I already feel my body exhibiting the first signs of a virul infection: sneezing or excessive nose-blowing, exhaustion, elevated body temp, sinus discomfort or headache, general malaise… Any one of these sends me running to rinse out my nose.
Does it sound like I do this all the time? Kinda, I guess. It takes less than 90 seconds to do, feels good and offers relief, and can be done in any bathroom or sink. I regularly rinse at night along with brushing my teeth and washing my face. In the winter, I often rinse in the morning as well. I always rinse twice a day when traveling. And I can use up to 6 rinses in one day when I’m already fighting a cold or allergies and am either stuffy or runny. Hayfever season sees a lot of rinsing at my house.
This is the basis of my natural strategy to Kick a Cold. Next I’ll talk about an easy tea with strong antibacterial and antiviral properties that never fails to make me feel better by the next day.
In much of Israel, falafel stands are as common as hot dog stands in New York City, except that instead of a pushcart the vendors stand next to a vat of boiling oil. It’s one of my favorite street foods from all my travels. Luckily, they are extremely easy to make and tasty to eat.
I purchase premade falafel mix: just add water and voila! You’re ready to drop balls in the deep fryer. I like to scoop the powder mix from the bulk food bins at Wild Oats, but have purchased this boxed mix as well and can say it’s good: Casbah Falafel Mix.
It’s great to have an electric deep fryer for heating oil. Deep frying works best when the oil is at a specific temperature — hard to maintain when you’re heating it on the stovetop. If the oil is at the right heat, then the food will instantly develop a crust to keep the insides oil-free while they cook. Oil that is too cold will seep into the food and make it greasy. We generally use canola oil, sometimes mixed with peanut oil, to avoid the heavy dose of saturated fats associated with deep-fried food fried in lard. We just have a basic deep fryer like this one: Presto 05420 FryDaddy Electric Deep Fryer
I wanted to make this really kid-friendly, so I put all the fixin’s in little bowls and let them build their own pita sandwich. I used a melon-baller to make fun-sized balls.
Traditionally, falafel pita sandwiches are dressed with lettuce or cabbage and chopped tomatoes with a yogurt-dill-chopped cucumber mixture and tahini (sesame paste). Often a Tabasco-like hot sauce is sprinkled on top.
This night I chopped up broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers and carrots, because that is what I had. Instead of tahini, we used Annie’s Naturals Goddess Dressing, which has a sesame base and is unbelievably tasty. For a kick, the adults sprinkled on Golden Toad Chipotle Pepper Sauce, my absolute favorite hot sauce. Yum! The kids loved customizing their own pita — it’s always popular when they can help make the food! Everyone scarfed it down, even the 2-year old, and I sent leftovers in the lunch boxes the next day.
I found this recipe in a long-forgotten cookbook and made it once before years ago. The problem with the last time I made it was that I used the slicer disc on my food processor and ran the squash through it without peeling it. I ended up with thin squash moons inside hard, inedible strips of rind. It tasted delicious but was messy and laborious to eat as you had to remove the rind from each bite.
This time, I peeled the squash first and just chopped up the squash and zucchini (could I let an opportunity go by and not use zucchini? No!) without getting out the food processor with much better results. I also added a half of eggplant I had in the fridge (this would be a great recipe to use with those Japanese eggplants!) and a handful of fresh spinach leaves that needed to get used.
The verdict: an addictive, hearty soup with too much heat for my kids to stand, although they bravely downed a few bites before they gasped for air. Next time, I might halve the amount of cayenne because they do love Indian flavors and would eat up this soup if it were milder. I did try to mix in some sour cream when serving to cut the heat for them, but it wasn’t enough.
The adults in the house thought the amount of heat was perfect, however. The combination of Indian spices, toasted slightly in oil, are invigorating and satisfying, and the massive amount of vegetables and lentils fill the belly. It’s a great meal with whole wheat pita bread or crackers.
Turmeric, an orange relative of ginger often used in curries, is known for its anti-inflammatory properties. This or any dish with turmeric is what I reach for when I suspect that something is off inside and fear that it could be an swollen nerve caused by the multiple sclerosis. I ingest as much turmeric as I can handle and I always feel better the next day. Turmeric is a great remedy for any inflammatory disease, including arthritis.
Taj Mahal Soup
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 med onion, peeled and minced
1 1 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed and drained
3/4 lb. yellow squash or zuchini, thinly sliced
1 10-oz pkg. frozen spinach, partially thawed
4 cups chicken broth
1 1-oz can whole tomatoes
1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken (optional. I did not include chicken this time)
In a large, heavy saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, ginger, and garlic and cook until soft, 3-5 minutes. Add cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cayenne and stir to blend. Add lentils, squash, spinach, chicken broth, and tomatoes and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 50 minutes. Add chicken, if desired, and heat thoroughtly. Ladle into bowls and garnish with a dollop of yogurt, or as seen here, with a squash blossom!
For my son, however, once we applied the “nose medicine”, he felt better within minutes. A good sinus rinse is invaluable, as I talked about in my Sinus Rinse post. As much as I love NeilMed’s Sinus Rinse Saline Nasal Rinse
My favorite spice book, 
I’ve taken this concept and made it a little more palatable by steeping crushed garlic in boiling water and adding the fresh juice from 1/2 lemon and honey. The garlic/lemon combo is surprisingly sweet and sippable, though add some local honey if you have a cough or need to alter the flavor.
The foundation of my “Kick-a-Cold” regimen is 
I wanted to make this really kid-friendly, so I put all the fixin’s in little bowls and let them build their own pita sandwich. I used a melon-baller to make fun-sized balls.
which has a sesame base and is unbelievably tasty. For a kick, the adults sprinkled on
