You may be feeling afraid and vulnerable right now. It is important to understand that denial and minimizing the current situation creates a false sense of safety. Additionally, panic and over reaction are not helpful either. There are things you can do to empower yourself. Approaching the current Coronavirus, aka COVID-19, outbreak from a place of empowerment will go a long way in creating a greater sense of balance and calm.
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First and foremost, honor your feelings without getting lost in them. Acknowledging your feelings allows you to process them in a healthy way. Doing so also empowers you to understand what support is most needed, helpful, and appropriate. Anything that brings in a grounded state of being helps calm emotional anxiety and reduce emotional stress. For helpful tips and suggestions, please reference “The Importance of Grounding”.
Reduce your toxic load. Reducing your toxic load supports your body’s innate healing capacity and brings in more balanced physical state of being. This greatly supports your immune system, as your body doesn’t have to work so hard. For helpful tips and suggestions, please reference “The Importance of Holistically Reducing your Toxic Load”.
Eat well, rest, and stay hydrated. Do your best to support your body and your immune system by getting enough rest, eating well, and staying hydrated. Make food your medicine! Eat organic and bring in as much variety as possible. Add a mix of cultured and fermented foods and drinks to your daily diet. Additionally, it is very helpful to take the following supplements everyday: whole food vitamins, liquid vitamin D, and probiotics. If you have difficulty drinking enough water, please reference my blog post, “Water the Elixir of Life”, for helpful tips and suggestions on staying hydrated.
Helpful basic herbal extracts to have on hand that support respiratory health and immune function: Elderberry (Sambucus), Angelica (Angelica archangelica), Marshmallow root, and Ginger. Take these herbal extracts as needed by following the suggested dosage found on the extract’s labeling. It is most effective to add your extracts to a warm herbal tea and sip slowly.
Finally, I would like to share some of my favorite immune supporting recipes:
Immune Support Soup
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1Place 2 tablespoons Avocado oil into the bottom of a large saucepan.
- 2Add spinach, kale, onion, and garlic.
- 3Sauté over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.
- 4Place spinach, kale, onion, and garlic into slow cooker.
- 5Return large saucepan to stovetop and add 1 tablespoon Avocado oil and chicken legs.
- 6Gently brown over medium high heat.
- 7Once browned, add chicken legs to slow cooker.
- 8Add all remaining ingredients to slow cooker.
- 9Allow to slow cook until chicken is falling off the bones, approximately 6 to 8 hours depending on your slow cooker.
- 10Remove and discard chicken bones and skin, bay leaves, and Astragalus root.
- 11Enjoy!
*Do not add the astragalus root to your soup if you are currently ill. You may substitute dried or frozen vegetables and herbs if fresh is unavailable.
Immune Support Tea
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1Thinly slice or mince the garlic and place it in the bottom of your French press or Mason jar
- 2Add the elderberries, marshmallow root, and grated ginger root
- 3Add 12 ounces of boiling filtered water
- 4Cover
- 5Allow your tea to sit and infuse for 15 minutes
- 6After 15 minutes uncover your tea and add the juice of 1 whole lemon and the elderberry syrup
- 7Stir
- 8Recover your tea and allow it to sit and infuse for another 15 minutes
- 9Press off or strain your tea into a teacup
- 10Stir and enjoy!
Drink while warm up to 4 times per day.
Mulled Herbal Spiced Cider
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1Place all ingredients into a medium saucepan
- 2Bring to boil. Stir, cover, and reduce heat to lowest setting
- 3Simmer for 15 minutes
- 4Turn off heat
- 5Carefully uncover, stir, and strain into mugs
- 6Garnish with fresh lemon or orange slices if desired
Enjoy this tasty immune boosting twist on a traditional Yuletide beverage!
Fire Cider
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1Fill a clean quart wide-mouthed glass mason jar with the horseradish, onion, garlic, lemon, ginger, turmeric, and cayenne pepper
- 2Add raw honey
- 3Top off with apple cider vinegar
- 4Cap your mason jar with a plastic lid and shake ingredients until well mixed
- 5Allow ingredients to settle and add more apple cider vinegar if necessary
- 6You want to make sure there is an inch or two of vinegar above the level of ingredients
- 7Allow to sit, out of direct sunlight, for 4 to 6 weeks
- 8Shake occasionally
- 9Strain and store in the refrigerator
At the first sign of a cold take 1 to 2 tablespoons every 1 to 2 hours in warm tea or warm water and until your symptoms subside. This is also a great remedy for nausea and congestion. You may also take 1 to 2 tablespoons daily as an immune support. Never take or drink undiluted vinegar!
*Do not take fire cider if you have a fever or you are pregnant!
Elderberry Syrup
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1Place the water and dried elderberries into a saucepan
- 2Bring to a boil
- 3Cover and reduce to lowest heat setting
- 4Simmer for 45 minutes
- 5Turn off heat
- 6Carefully uncover and strain off berries
- 7Place 1 cup of strained liquid and the sugar into a clean saucepan
- 8Gently bring up to a low boil over medium heat
- 9Stir until all sugar is dissolved
- 10Cool
- 11Pour into a glass mason jar
- 12Label with the date and ingredients
- 13Store in the refrigerator and use within 8 weeks.
Herbal Gelatin Recipe
Ingredients:
Instructions:
- 1Place the dried elderberries and rosehips into a small saucepan
- 2Add the filtered water and bring to a boil
- 3Cover and reduce heat to lowest setting
- 4Simmer for 40 minutes
- 5Turn off heat
- 6Carefully uncover and strain your herbal tea, returning it to the saucepan
- 7Add the elderberry syrup and whisk to mix
- 8Add the gelatin
- 9Whisk and mix until the gelatin is completely dissolved
- 10Pour your gelatin mixture into a shallow heat proof glass dish
- 11Allow to cool on the kitchen counter for 15 minutes
- 12Cover and place in the refrigerator. Your gelatin should be ready to eat in about an hour.
For more information on COVID-19 please visit:
https://www.who.int/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html