There is no known conventional cure for the flu, but your kitchen is stocked with healthy foods that can relieve symptoms and have been used for centuries as old time folk remedies. Next time the flu threatens or you start to have that achy, all-over-body pain feeling, with sneezing, coughing and chills, head into your kitchen for a soothing remedy.
Garlic
The How to Cheat Colds and Flu website reports that garlic is one of the two best remedies for treating and preventing the flu. Used for centuries by herbalists and numerous cultures, including the Chinese and Egyptians, garlic has known antibiotic and anti-viral properties that are effective in fighting any number of cold and flu bugs. The iVillage website mentions that allicin, the active ingredient in garlic, also acts to break up mucous much like a decongestant and provides anti-oxidant agents to fight free radicals. Take garlic raw, cooked or in odorless capsules available at health food stores.
Chicken Soup
Back in the twelfth century, the Jewish physician and philosopher, Maimonides, recommended good old chicken soup for treating what ails you. It's not called "Jewish Penicillin" for nothing according to the folks at the Dave's Garden site. Packed full of healing herbs and spices as well as the magic found in chicken and healthful vegetables, this flu treatment is usually a winner for most everyone. Remember to add lots of garlic to your soup to take advantage of its protective and curative powers.
Lemonade
High in Vitamin C, a must-have for good health and flu prevention according to registered dietician Lynn Grieger of the Ivillage website in the United Kingdom, lemonade is a perfect drink to help soothe away aches and pains. Make with the juice of half a lemon and sweeten with a spoonful or two of raw honey. Mix in a glass of warm water. Add a shot of rum to make a hot Toddy to help breakup mucous and tightness in the chest.
Fruits and Vegetables
Other foods high in Vitamin C are citrus fruits, gogi berries, carrots, cabbage, oranges, blackcurrants, blackberries, bell beppers, kiwi fruit, guava, limes, strawberries, tomatoes and papaya. Fresh vegetables, such as leafy greens, broccoli, spinach and broccoli, contain this essential nutrient. The How to Cheat Colds and Flu website recommends Vitamin C as one of the two best remedies for use against the flu explaining that assists the immune system in staying healthy and is loaded with anti-oxidants. Eat them raw or combine in soups and hearty stews.
Yogurt
In an interview given to the "Sydney Morning Herald" newspaper in Australia, dietician Denise Griffiths recommends including yogurt in a flu virus routine, especially if at any time during your flu you've had to take antibiotics. Yogurt is full of healthy bacteria known as acidophilus cultures that boots the immune system and helps to rebuild the natural "bugs" living in the intestines that are destroyed by antibiotics. Eat some yogurt at the end of the antibiotic cycle to restore intestinal balance.
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