Have a Cough? Try This Natural Remedy

Have a Cough? Try This Natural Remedy
Natural remedies for 12 winter aches and ills
By Dan Shapley Link to full article below

Thyme for a Cough
If the worrying news about over-the-counter cough syrup has you down, try this natural alternative:

Add three tablespoons of dried thyme to one pint of boiling water. Let cool, then add one cup of honey. Take one teaspoon every hour as needed. You can store the mix in the fridge for up to three months.

Another option: vitamin C-rich ziziphus fruit tea.

Vitamin C to Prevent Colds
Cold and flu season in the U.S. stretches from November to March. As much as 20 percent of the U.S. population contracts influenza (200,000 are hospitalized and 36,000 die) and most people get two or three colds.

To read the full article: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/natural-cures-winter-47101305?src=nl&mag=tdg&list=dgr&kw=ist

Avoid Flu Shots With the One Vitamin That Will Stop Flu In Its Tracks

source: Avoid Flu Shots With the One Vitamin That Will Stop Flu In Its Tracks

Another influenza season is beginning, and the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will strongly urge Americans to get a flu shot. In fact, the CDC mounts a well-orchestrated campaign each season to generate interest and demand for flu shots.

But a recent study published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine found that vaccinating young children against the flu appeared to have no impact on flu-related hospitalizations or doctor visits during two recent flu seasons.

At first glance, the data did suggest that children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years derived some protection from vaccination in these years. But after adjusting for potentially relevant variables, the researchers concluded that "significant influenza vaccine effectiveness could not be demonstrated for any season, age, or setting" examined.

Additionally, a Group Health study found that flu shots do not protect elderly people against developing pneumonia -- the primary cause of death resulting as a complication of the flu. Others have questioned whether there is any mortality benefit with influenza vaccination. Vaccination coverage among the elderly increased from 15 percent in 1980 to 65 percent now, but there has been no decrease in deaths from influenza or pneumonia.

There is some evidence that flu shots cause Alzheimer’s disease, most likely as a result of combining mercury with aluminum and formaldehyde. Mercury in vaccines has also been implicated as a cause of autism.

Three other serious adverse reactions to the flu vaccine are joint inflammation and arthritis, anaphylactic shock (and other life-threatening allergic reactions), and Guillain-Barré syndrome, a paralytic autoimmune disease.

One credible hypothesis that explains the seasonal nature of flu is that influenza is a vitamin D deficiency disease.

Vitamin D levels in your blood fall to their lowest point during flu seasons. Unable to be protected by the body’s own antibiotics (antimicrobial peptides) that are released by vitamin D, a person with a low vitamin D blood level is more vulnerable to contracting colds, influenza, and other respiratory infections.

Studies show that children with rickets, a vitamin D-deficient skeletal disorder, suffer from frequent respiratory infections, and children exposed to sunlight are less likely to get a cold. The increased number of deaths that occur in winter, largely from pneumonia and cardiovascular diseases, are most likely due to vitamin D deficiency.

Unfortunately, now, for the first time, flu vaccination is also being pushed for virtually all children -- not just those under 5.

This is a huge change. Previously, flu vaccine was recommended only for youngsters under 5, who can become dangerously ill from influenza. This year, the government is recommending that children from age 6 months to 18 years be vaccinated, expanding inoculations to 30 million more school-age children.

The government argues that while older children seldom get as sick as the younger ones, it's a bigger population that catches flu at higher rates, so the change should cut missed school, and parents' missed work when they catch the illness from their children.

Of course, this policy ignores the fact that a systematic review of 51 studies involving 260,000 children age 6 to 23 months found no evidence that the flu vaccine is any more effective than a placebo.

Sources:

• LewRockwell.com October 3, 2008

• EMS Responder September 9, 2008

• WebMD October 6, 2008

• Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine October 2008; 162(10):943-51

7 Yoga Poses to Relieve Cold & Flu Symptoms

7 Poses to Relieve Cold & Flu Symptoms
By Angela Pirisi

http://www.yogajournal.com/health/117_1.cfm
http://www.yogajournal.com/health/117.cfm

1. Head Wrap

Before you begin, wrap your forehead to relieve tension in the head. Take
a wide ace bandage (about 4 inches) and wrap it snugly around the head,
tucking the free end in. You can also wrap it over the eyes, taking care
not to wrap the eyes too tightly. The bandage will comfort your congested
sinuses while you do the poses that follow.
2. Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana)
Brings energy to the head and respiratory area; helps clear the sinuses.

Stand with your feet hip-width apart and rest your forearms on a chair
seat. You can also place a blanket on the chair seat for extra padding.
Hold two to five minutes.
3. Supported Bridge Pose (Salamba Setu Bandhasana)
Opens up the chest and increases circulation to the upper torso.

Align two bolsters or two to four blankets on the floor running the entire
length of your body (the height of the support can vary from 6 to 12
inches). Sit on the middle of the support and lie back. Slide towards your
head until your shoulders lightly touch the floor. Open your arms out to
the sides, palms turned up. Rest with your legs stretched out on the
bolster or with your knees bent and your feet on the floor. Relax for a
minimum of five minutes.
4. Legs Up the Wall Pose (Viparita Karani)
Brings energy to the groin and opens the chest area to facilitate
breathing.

With the back of the pelvis on a bolster placed 4 to 6 inches from the
wall, swing the legs up the wall. Drop your sitting bones into the space
between the blanket and the wall and open your arms out to the sides. If
your hamstrings feel tight, try turning the legs slightly in, or move the
bolster further away from the wall. Hold for a minimum of five minutes.
5. Supported Bound Angle Pose (Salamba Baddha Konasana)
Opens the chest, abdomen, and groins; relaxes the nervous system.

Sit on the floor, knees bent towards the chest. Bring the soles of your
feet together and let your knees open towards the floor. Support the outer
thighs with folded blankets at a comfortable height. You can also place
sandbags on each inner thigh to deepen relaxation. Release the arms out to
the sides and let go of any tension. Relax in the pose for a minimum of
five minutes.
6. Reclining Twist (Modified Jathara Parivartanasana)
Releases physical and stress-based tension.

Lie on your back and with an exhalation bend your knees and draw your
thighs to your torso. Shift your pelvis slightly to the left and, with
another exhalation, swing your legs to the right and down to the floor (if
they don't rest comfortably on the floor, support them on a bolster or
folded blanket). Turn your upper torso to the left. Rest your right hand
on the outer left knee and stretch your left arm to the side, in line with
your shoulders. Look straight up or close your eyes. Relax for three
minutes. Repeat on the other side.
7. Widespread Forward Bend (Upavistha Konasana)
Quiets the internal organs; relaxes the mind.

Sit on the floor with your sitting bones on the edge of a folded blanket.
Straighten your legs out in front of you and then separate them as far as
you comfortably can. Rest your upper torso on a bolster or (if you're more
stiff) a chair seat. If you are using a chair, you can fold your forearms
on the seat for more height and padding. Hold the pose for three to five minutes.