Having recently been under the weather with a bad chest/head cold and cough, as many others are right now, I thought I would share a tip that was incredibly helpful and completely free.
Hot liquids during a cold are comforting, but are most of us drinking the wrong ones?
Both tea and coffee have a dehydrating effect on the body. So while they may be comforting and taste good, they actually may be doing some harm during a cold rather than the good you are going for.
It was suggested by a friend who had lived in Thailand for a time that over there they drink hot water. Just hot water. As hot as you can get it down. I added lemon to mine, which is also helpful in detoxifying (plus it makes it taste good). Essential oils of lemon, lime or orange would also be tremendously helpful as they are anti-viral as well as antibacterial. *Please use good clean non fluoridated water*
When you drink just plain water or water with lemon you are rehydrating the body and clearing the organs, especially the kidneys, which during a cold need all the help they can get as they are working over time to try and filter and get you back to health.
I decided this made sense to me and I had nothing to lose by trying it. I boiled up a pot of water, squeezed some lemon and drank it down. The heat felt wonderful. My body temperature began to rise and with that my nose began to drip like a faucet and my eyes started watering as well.
I drank hot water with lemon all day and evening.
The next day?
I felt markedly better!
Now, as this was a lingering cold at this point (going on nearly 3 weeks) I had tossed a lot of herbs, vitamins and pretty much everything I could think of at this cold so I am not claiming that water was the cure… But…
I will say this: From here on in if I do get another cold? It will be one of the very first remedies I try.
While I publish here I also have my own site, www.SarahBarendse.com. Please visit me there for more in depth articles!
