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This post has been updated on October 20, 2019
Growing up half Armenian, my mom and grandmother always had a natural remedy for everything. If you’ve seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, where they use Windex for all things life that was my family. But instead of using Windex, it was lemon. So needless to say, I incorporate lemon juice into my natural cold and flu remedies and to help build strong immunity. With so many questions throughout the years from friends (before starting a blog), I decided to share some natural remedies to boost your immune system.
Making the switch to a cleaner healthier lifestyle for my family and I didn’t just mean eating healthy, exercising, and changing out toxic makeup and skincare products. It also meant limiting over the counter meds. With all the side effects medicine has I chose to not take them unless I absolutely need them. Same for my kids. I am not going to give them Tylenol for things like a cough, cold, stuffy nose, etc.. In fact, I stay away from Tylenol completely and if they need something, I opt for Dye-free Children’s Motrin. The reason being, colds in general, need to run its course on its own. It’s not a virus so meds won’t help. Plus, medicine just masks the issue, it doesn’t actually make everything all better. That’s not to say I never take it because I will if I am in so much pain or have strep throat, etc… But I always try my natural remedies and turn to my Big Fat Armenian Family lemon remedy first and foremost. LOL (see what I did there).
So with Cold and Flu season coming right around the corner, I thought it would be the perfect time to share some of my favorite natural remedies to boost your immune system. Let’s get started!
Boosting your immune system with food
Food heals the body naturally. If you’re eating a clean and healthy diet, then your promoting great gut health and getting sick less often. It’s true what people say…You are what you eat, and food is truly the best medicine out there.
With that being said, here is the list of foods I recommend incorporating into your diet daily.
- Lemon, Honey, & Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with Ginger & Turmeric. I will drink this about 3x a day the moment I am feeling slightly sluggish or feel something coming on. Lemon will kill anything you might be coming down with and honey helps with flavor but also, if you are having an upset stomach or sore throat, honey will help soothe those areas. The health benefits of having this drink are it aids in fat burning, boosts energy, detoxifies the liver, and nourishes good gut bacteria. Sometimes I’ll even add fresh or ground ginger and turmeric. Ginger is also great for tummy aches and Turmeric has a ton of health benefits including antioxidants that our body needs when feeling ill. Even when I’m feeling perfectly healthy, I’ll occasionally sip on warm water with lemon and honey a few times a week either in the morning or at night for good measure and to help with things like bloating and speeding up my metabolism. Lemon is packed with a ton of vitamin c and will help build and keep your immune system strong.
I buy my apple cider vinegar from Thrive Market. It’s raw and unfiltered and you only pay wholesale pricing.
Here’s how I make it:
- 1 cup of hot water
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Splash of apple cider vinegar about 1 tbsp
- Dash of organic local honey, 1/2-1 tsp
- Optional: few pieces of fresh ginger or ground ginger and turmeric
- Mix all ingredients in a cup and enjoy.
- Bone Broth: Not all bone broth is made equally and the one that I HIGHLY recommend is by Truvani which is actually co-founded by Vani Hari with The Food Babe. She’s a huge advocate for putting large companies like Kellogs and Kraft on blast, and get them to change their sourcing of food and unnecessary ingredients and toxic chemicals from their products. yes, you read that right. There are chemicals. We’ll get into that another day and blog post. This broth is sourced with the highest of ingredients and each ingredient is tested.
Bone Broth is great for the immune system. They contain amino acids (building blocks of protein) which are found in chicken broth that can support a healthy immune system. It also promotes a healthy gut. Gelatin can maintain healthy inflammation responses and help maintain healthy
intestinal flora. A healthy gut equals a healthy immune system.
- Matcha Tea. This brand and this brand are great and what I personally use and recommend. Be sure to purchase the ceremonial grade and not the other one which is for cooking. Matcha tea has amazing vitamins to help boost your immune system and it’s a flu preventive. Sign me up! Source
- Tea: You know I’m a HUGE tea drinker. When I’m not sipping on matcha or Apple Cider Vinger in the evening for healthy immune support, you’ll find me drinking Echinacea tea or the Immunity Tea.
- Mushrooms: Mushrooms are an anti-inflammatory food that contains high levels of beta-glucans compounds that keep immune cells alert, plus a powerful antioxidant that lowers inflammation. Mushrooms have a natural ability to fight off bacteria and viruses. Eat them raw or cooked or through THIS popular tea. If you prefer a natural supplement, Immune Shroom is amazing. SOURCE
- Vitamin C: Make sure you get a ton of vitamin C during cold and flu season to boost that immune system naturally. This is a great way to load up on vitamins and minerals to support the immune system. Foods rich in vitamin C include citrus of any kind such as (oranges, grapefruits, tangerines, lemons, limes), strawberries, bell peppers, spinach, kale, and broccoli.
Natural Supplements to Boost Your Immune System
- Elderberry Syrup: This is a great natural syrup to take a few times a day to help boost your immune system. I actually just purchased dried elderberries in bulk from Amazon and make my own. If you follow along on Instagram, I have it saved under “elderberry.” HERE are the elderberries I buy in bulk to make your own.
- Oil of Oregano: An herbal immune support supplement designed to promote healthy digestive flora and a healthy immune system response
- Quick Defense: This fast-acting herbal immune support supplement includes our proprietary formula with 10 mg Alkylamides to support a healthy inflammatory response in the sinuses, with ginger for added support
- Vitamin D: I like to take vitamin D not just because most people are deficient from it but also because vitamin D has been known to help boost your immune system. Vitamin D influences bones, intestines, immune and cardiovascular systems, and much more. For more info, you can read Dr. Courtney Kahla’s article on the benefits of vitamin D. I’ve luckily have been taking Vitamin D supplements for many years now and it truly does help. I use this one here
- NingXia from Young Living: This stuff is PACKED with antioxidants which is great for building that immune system and fighting whatever you’re coming down with. My family and I love to sip on this all the time. If I am feeling the slightest bit off, I drink 2-4 oz and instantly feel slightly more energized..You can buy it here. See Young Living blog post here on how to purchase things at wholesale prices. (PS: I recommend getting the starter kit if it’s your first time. you get all the basic oils, diffusers, the NingXia packets, and more when you become a member and pay wholesale).
- Essential Oils: I have been using essential oils on my family for about 4 years now and LOVE it. I even get family and friends asking me to make them some rollers to help with fevers, allergies, bug bites, etc…If you follow me on Instagram, you will see some DIY saved on my highlights. I use oils all the time, but whenever any of us are feeling sick or have a fever, those oils are in full effect AND they help. I use oils before using any form of medication and it usually helps break fevers on my kids pretty quickly. Here is my blog post on how to purchase from Young Living. The only slight downfall for me about Young Living is that they are not organic. But I love their products a lot and purchase all of their blends because they are amazing. But for certified organic single blends, I started purchasing those from Mountain Rose Herbs. What’s amazing about Mountain Rose Herbs, is you can purchase your oils in many different sizes expensing on how much how to use certain ones. They can also be more affordable.
- Colloidal Silver: Research shows that mineral silver can destroy antibacterial bacteria in the body. I take this a few times a day as well. It’s very light in flavor. It almost tastes like water. I use the one you hold under your tongue for 30 seconds. They also sell a nasal spray but I haven’t tried that one yet.
- Liposomal Vitamin C: I like to take this in the morning before eating anything. I mix it with water and lemon and chug it. There is no flavor to it which is nice so you can pretty much mix it into anything. Sometimes I’ll even mix it with my NingXia for extra nutrients.
Natural remedies for you little ones
- If they have a cough, I give the boys this or this natural cough syrup. They love it and think its juice.
- Smoothies are a great way to give your kids vitamins and minerals from fresh raw fruit and veggies.
- Warm water with lemon and honey is something my boys love.
- I diffuse and also use topically, essential oils to reduce fever, help with stuffiness, coughing, etc. (We never ingest essential oils).
- They will also have elderberry syrup and NingXia. They actually love the elderberry syrup a lot. In fact, my youngest cries for it whenever he sees it in the fridge and calls in juice. Yes, it’s that tasty.
- If they really need something extra, I will give them the Dye-free Children’s Motrin.
- Chiropractic care. We all go every 3 weeks.
Related Blog Posts: Essential Oil Benefits and How to Use Them
Other Natural Remedies To Boost Your Immune System
- Exercise: Get your cardiovascular working to help boost and maintain your immune system.
- Lot’s of water; hydrate, hydrate, hydrate t flush toxins out of your system.
- A good night’s sleep: sleep and lots of rest are helpful and can improve your immune system and speed up recovery time.
- Chiropractic Care: We all actually go every 3-4 weeks for an adjustment. Chiropractic care restores bodily function. Through gentle adjustments, chiropractors help reduce the stress that interferes with our bodily functions therefore, building and strengthening your overall health and nervous system.
I hope this was a very helpful article that had ou walking away with some new natural remedies to boost your immune system.
Xo,
Natalie