Need some tips to fight the flu? Eat Vegetables Avoid Processed Sugar Eat Honey Sleep Support the Immune System with Herbs and Supplements […]

In our house, weʼre just going through our first family cough of the season. And as the elder kid hacks, she says, “Ha, take that, virus! Get out!” Apparently sheʼs actually been listening to me all along. Coughs, as you may know, are our bodiesʼ way of moving a virus / bacteria / fungus / pollen / foreign body out of our airways. As we cough, air if forced out and along with it, any intruder that might be causing trouble. Add some mucus to trap that intruder, and itʼs an ingenious system to expel pathogens. That all said, coughs can be uncomfortable and shouldnʼt last beyond 7 -10 days. There are many wonderful naturopathic therapies to help soothe a coughing airway and support your body to purge the germs causing the illness. Good to know since pharmaceutical cough medicines are no longer recommended for children under the age of 12. And the puffers recommended for coughs are pretty heavy duty. Great to have them if necessary, but even better to help the body do the work, itself. Here are a few natural cough helpers: Honey Soothing for the throat, it actually contains antimicrobial properties to help kill germs. Conventional medicine has been studying honey recently and the conclusions have been that it is an effective medicine for coughs. Local honey that is not highly processed is best. Add it to a warm water with lemon, herbal tea or warm rice milk with a little organic cocoa to entice a sick kid to drink it up. Babies under 1 year old should not have honey. Mullein I love this herb. It soothes irritated mucus membranes (the lining of airways) and helps spasms of coughing. It [...]