A frost? I wish. No, I'm fighting a spring cold. As in lounge-in-bed, let-the-dirt-and-laundry-pile-up, turn-me-into-monster-mommy cold.I'd seriously rather have one of those 24-hour flu deals going on.
I'm whining, and maybe you're thinking, "There are worse sicknesses out there, you know." I heartily concur. But the reason I'm posting about this is because I'm literally fighting the cold this time around...as in battling to keep it at bay. And the good news is that it's working. I woke up with a sore throat on Sunday, but it was gone by the end of the day and I have gone through only a handful of tissues rather than my typical two boxes. Here's my secret:
A friend of mine, Trish, recommended sipping on raw apple cider vinegar, which fights viruses and bacteria. She emphasized the raw portion of this equation. Bragg's is a good brand, and it's carried in many natural/organic sections in grocery stores. Mind you, it doesn't taste great. Actually, it can downright burn going down, so I watered it down. And when you put it in a mason jar and sip on it during your homeschool group, you may just want to go ahead and put out a disclaimer that it's not moonshine, even if you didn't bring it in a brown paper bag.
I also did a little Google search and found that if you blend raw apple cider vinegar, raw honey, and garlic, you get a little concoction that will keep in the fridge for 3-4 weeks and help boost your immune system by taking just a couple teaspoonfuls a day. I decided to try that, too, and it actually doesn't taste that bad. The combination of this and the diluted vinegar have really kept this cold from coming on full force. I'm not sure what it's officially called, but I've dubbed it "Hippie Juice" because it sounds like something hippies would dig and I'm feeling very non-creative. Any suggestions for a better name?
Hippie Juice
(adapted from somewhere on Google)
1/2 cup raw* apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup raw* honey
4 cloves garlic.
Place the above ingredients in a blender and liquefy. Pour into a glass jar and refrigerate. Drink 2 tsp per day to boost immune system. Keeps for 3-4 weeks.
*Raw is important, as non-raw means that it's been heated to temperatures that have annihilated the enzymes.
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Thank you! I need this! I'm not sick-sick but I have 2 immune system diseases so I try to do everything possible to stay healthy and this sounds wonderful. I do have to get the "raw" stuff though and we don't have a health food store except an hour or so away so I may have to wait a bit but I am so thrilled about this! Also, doesn't "pasteurizing" anything destroy the health benefits? Like in orange juice? What about milk? I really appreciate this information!
ReplyDeleteI hope this recipe helps! A friend recently said you can get raw honey through Vitacost (online), but if you have environmental allergies, too, it's usually better to get local if you can. I should do a post on pasteurization, but in short, yes, that kills many of the good enzymes and bacteria. If you can get milk that is NOT ulta-pasturized, that's a little better. Raw milk is a huge debate and may or may not be legal in your state. You can check out the Weston A. Price website for more (good) info on raw milk.
DeleteI drink Apple Cider vinegar all the time. I will have to try this next time I have a cold!
ReplyDelete