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Welcome to Homesteading with Hyacynth! Homesteading with Hyacynth is a monthly look at ways to lead a healthy, greener, more sustainable life. My intent with Homesteading with Hyacynth is to offer genuine, practical experiences and humorous and helpful tips. Of course, I am not a medical professional so these are my tips and what worked for my family.
Zombie Snot and Other Sickies that go Bump in the Night
It’s here.
The zombie snot invasion of this year’s cold and flu season has already begun, and it’s just barely September.
You know the kind of snot I’m talking about. The kind that sneaks up out of seemingly nowhere multiplies like rabbits and then gradually ceases only to come back in full force a short time later—that kind of zombie snot.
Our normal first-line defenses of sleep and a low-sugar, whole food diet, which I think of as the alligator-infested moat combined with jagged electric fencing over concrete blocks surrounding our temples {bodies}, was damaged this past weekend while the boys were off celebrating the liberty and freedom that accompany a trip to grandma and grandpa’s house.
When one of my boys came home with a cold, I calmly reminded myself that while they were gorging on sugar, staying up late watching movies, and running around like small madmen during the day that they were not only building memories but also their immune systems—deep breaths.
And I told myself that it’s part of life — well, at least it’s part of a life worth living. We’ve gotta have fun and let loose sometimes, and if we’re always worried about getting sick, that sort of hampers our fun, now doesn’t it?
So here’s the thing I’ve come to learn about cold and flu season and life in general during these six years of parenting — something is always going to be blowing a hole in even the best-built defense walls and alligator-infested moats that surround our bodies {Read about Naturally Building Your Immune System Walls!}. It only really takes one night of cruddy sleep coupled with a birthday party complete with cake and ice cream and small bodies with lots of germs to share for that wall to get a hole blown clear through it. Although the better the wall, the slighter the hole, the easier the patch, sometimes the holes happen, and you’ve got yourself caught up in full-fledge zombie snot {or puke or cough} invasion.
And when that happens, you need some support troops to come in and help repair and rebuild that immune system and the good armies of bacteria, viruses, and fungi as quickly as possible to minimize invasion attempts.
Stocking Your Wellness Cabinet
Here’s what we stock in our holistic wellness cabinet, why we stock it, and how we use it. But gentle reminder first — I’m not a doctor. I’m just a naturally minded mother who has found help in healing through great grandma’s natural remedies and botanical blends. If you try these remedies, you’re assuming all responsibility for your child’s or your own health.
Also, let’s remember that if your entire wall is faulty and crumbling {high stress, little sleep, poor diet, minimal exercise}, no amount of these patches is going to rebuild that wall in a few short days.
Homemade bone broth:
Why: Homemade bone broth is rich in essential fatty acids, minerals, and other immune-building nutrients. Bone broth is especially healing for an ailing digestive tract and stomach.
How: Eat it plain or make soup. We sip it from mugs and season with Herbamare. If you have a picky eater, you can get creative and use bone broth in the place of water while making rice.
When: We drink bone broth several times a week year-round and beef up our consumption when someone is suffering from any kind of illness.
Congaplex by Standard Process:
Why: Congaplex is a whole food supplement that contains vitamins and nutrients that support the immune system. Congaplex is a quick-pop, chewable version of homemade bone broth, in my opinion. Bone broth has a wider range of benefits, but Congaplex is good support in times when bone broth isn’t available.
How: Chewable
When: Take it at the first sign of a hole in the wall — runny nose, cough, sore throat, etc.
Peppermint Essential Oil
Why: Peppermint Essential Oil naturally supports the respiratory system; it has anti-inflammatory properties, too, which is wonderfully soothing to inflamed noses, throats, and lungs.
How: Place a few drops in a hot bath or a pan and inhale the steam or inhale a few whiffs straight from the bottle
When: Stuffy nose, cough, wheezing
Garlic Oil
Why: Garlic oil is naturally antimicrobial and when warmed slightly it is soothing to an inflamed ear canal
How: Place a warmed drop in the aching ear
When: Earache
Raw Apple Cider Vinegar Tea
Why: Raw apple cider vinegar is a superfood! It contains probiotics that overpower unfriendly bacteria. It also tames allergies after consistent daily use during the course of a few weeks.
How: Mix one tablespoon raw apple cider vinegar with one tablespoon raw honey in warmish {NOT HOT!} water. Drink.
When: Respiratory illnesses, allergies, heartburn, sore throat, earache
Vitamin C
Why: While once touted as a cold-cure all, Vitamin C does not work as a magic pill. However, this important vitamin supports a healthy immune system and provides the body with antioxidants.
How: Chewable {we like Metagenics because it doesn’t have gunk ingredients}
When: daily during cold and flu season
Pick ONE and use it:
Energetix Olive Leaf Oil:
Why: Olive Leaf Oil contains polyphenols, which support the immune system. Polyphenols engage in antimicrobial activity against a wide variety of viruses, bacteria, yeasts, and fungi.
How: A few drops in juice; use in conjunction with bone broth.
When: At the first sign of illness.
Oil of Oregano Oreganol
Why: Oil of Oregano is a powerful anti-fungal, antibacterial and antiviral; it’s known for boosting immune function. Use this oil with care. It is especially powerful and can cause skin irritation. We tested a tiny drop in a carrier oil on our boys before we used it.
How: For children, place two drops in few drops of carrier oil like olive oil and massage into the soles of their feet before bedtime.
When: At the first sign of illness.
Added bonus: Your kids will smell like an Italian great-grandma’s kitchen.
Standard Process Sesame Seed Oil:
Why: Sesame Seed Oil supports the immune system and contains the essential fatty acids and antioxidants needed to rebuild the body during an illness.
How: By mouth.
When: Regularly during cold and flu season or at the first sign of illness.
Next time, we’ll be talking about how we can add to that alligator-infested moat and reinforce that heavy brick wall defense with LIVE ARMIES! Yes, living armies standing guard by our walls, friends! Stay tuned because it’s about to get really exciting up in here as we talk about the world of bacteria and why it’s not actually our enemy but rather our best friend and most valued guardsmen most of the time.
What’s in your wellness cabinet?
by Hyacynth Worth
Hyacynth Worth is a wife to John and a mother to three boys and three girls. She writes about motherhood, healthy living, and faith. She is a local writer and the author of Homesteading with Hyacynth. She promises to be candid, amusing, and only slightly neurotic. Most of the time.
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