Well guys, Ana got a small cold. She is coughing and her voice is somewhat gone.

She has a very light sore throat, but this is not a deal.



When we were omnis, she used to have honey with lemon. That cured her, however, now as vegans, we do not eat honey (obviously) so, what would work for her?



Agave nectar + lemon will be the same? The honey usually softer her throat making her colds gone.



If the agave nectar does not work, which natural remedies can we use?





Thanks!

I usually make a broth from vegetable stock, ginger, garlic, and I usually add a dash of soy sauce and some green onions just for flavor.



Garlic is said to help reduce the time you have a cold or the flu if taken immediatly before or when you notice the first symptoms. Ginger is also said to help aid in getting rid of a cold or the flu. The broth is very soothing on the throat too. I also drink it when my stomach feels sour. (I ate a lot of pickled ginger and drank broth the first few weeks of my pregnancy and I never threw up or had serious morning sickness)

Homeopathic

Ginger is very good for upset stomachs, ginger ale and ginger cookies are acceptable. For sore throats I like drinking black tea, but I think that hot water and lemon are better for you. Caffeine is a diuretic and staying hydrated when you're sick is important. Don't forget to have her take some vitamin C or eat oranges and green peppers. I have some echinacea tea for colds but I don't know if it's really helpful because high temps destroy vitamin C, but it doesn't taste bad.



I don't know if agave nectar would work like honey but I don't think it will hurt to try. I hope she feels better soon.

Great suggestion....I would also suggest ginger tea. It has antibiotic/antiviral qualities and clears out the mucus. Just get some fresh ginger root, grate or mince it and boil a teaspoon per 8 ounces of water, then strain it out and drink the tea. It really helps ease the sore throat too. Maybe add some sweetener to make it taste better for her. Ecinacea tea is good for that too.

I've always found that oil of oregano helps my throat be less sore, and helps me breathe easier. Also it makes me smell like a pizza, which is fun.

I started to get a cough last week, then chewed up and swallowed a clove (1 clove, not a head) of raw garlic. The cough disappeared right away. I was stunned that it was so effective.



Adding crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne powder to soups will help clear out the mucus.

I usually drink hot water with agave, lemon, and red pepper flakes when I'm sick. I'm not sure how effective it is at getting rid of a cold but it definitely helps my throat.

I'm all about zicam nasal zinc gel. Sort of a different class of things though

I always have hot toddies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_toddy

I don't know if it helps, it's just kind of tradition I use agave instead of honey

Thanks a lot!!! She is going to try it today!



Thanks

I am kind of late, but a stew of (hot) green chile in vegetable broth would be good. Traditionally, it's made here in New Mexico with pork, pork broth, green chiles and potatoes. I usually use either a faux pork or beef broth or just a veggie broth, potatoes, veggie crumbles, and lots of green chile.



Tossing any authenticity out the window, the cold treatment would be a generous portion of any hot pepper cooked in a broth (Imagine makes a low sodium vegetable broth) with some garlic added.

No kiddinG? Cool! i'll try that next time I'm feeling sick.

Well guys, Ana is a lot better. She is having Ginger tea with lemon and everything is gone.

Only the coughing (less but she keeps)

I think that is more about a sore throat than a cold now (it does not hurt her but she coughs) She has been having also lemon with Agave (as honey always did the trick back when we were omnis)



Is there something else for a dry cough?



Thanks a lot!

Honey.



jk

My wifes says:







Of topic:



Marie, it's your avatar a form of Chuthlu ?

It's Santa Cthulhu. Ho ho ho.

I thought it was Hello Cthulhu.

Now I caught it. Some coughing and I feel it coming from my chest, however, I started below yesterday (as I had some sore throat) and seems is going.



Ginger + Lemon + Agave (tea). Something else?

echinacea. zinc. vitamin c. saltwater gargles. liberal amounts of sorbet or soya icecream.

Try soaking in a bath (as hot as you can endure) for as long as you can endure. I call this an 'artificial fever'. This is a folk remedy, but there are some plausible although unproven explanations why this may be helpful.



Good luck!

That's why I got over my colds so fast at my old apartment, I had unlimited hot water! I would stand in the shower and use the heat and steam so I could breath.

I''m extremely strong guy (even when I was omni) so as a vegan I should be more. I never got a flu, however, I rarely get a cold.



If I was not a strong person, I would have a dangerous flu, as these days I been walking in the street without the last bottom of both my jacket and my shirt (so the Chicago freezing wind was hitting me at all time) I challenge my army too much hahaha (anyway I'm getting better, your remedies worked great guys)





I been walking too much with icy storms this days,

Do not punish me for that I know I deserve it, I'm crazy. I'm wearing a scarf now.

you don't agree , thats o/k , you have tried homeopathic remedies and they have not worked for you maybe ?.

http://www.badscience.net/?p=578



This will explain better than I ever can. There is a reason homeopathy doesn't pass clinical trials.

There are thousands of Dr's who would not agree about people being on a vegetarian/vegan diet .



Re the link , he didn't quote where the trials were or the conditions , the authors main rave seem to be about the advice that homeopathic gave there patients .



Personally I have found them very effective in treatment of certain conditions .....but defiantly homeopathic does not work for every one .



Below are some stats .They do vary slightly ....depends which site you visit , but it gives a general idea of the %.



http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeop...pathy_faq.html



If you think you must "believe in" homeopathy for it to work, you need to know that it is not a placebo effect. Here are some powerful examples:



Infants: Homeopathic remedies and treatments are successfully used by parents for common infant ailments such as colic, teething pain and some infections.

Animals: There are many veterinarians using homeopathic medicines to treat domestic pets such as cats, dogs and birds, as well as barnyard animals like goats, horses and cows. Is it possible to have a placebo effect with animals?

Millions of people across the world use and rely on homeopathic remedies. Today there are a rapidly growing number of conventional medical doctors using homeopathic medicines, including:

• 
  
• 39% of French family physicians
  
• 20% of German physicians
  
• 10% of Italian physicians

To the OP , hope we haven't gone of topic to much .....and you are on the up and mend .

I'm not vegan for health reasons.






If it doesn't work for everyone (this is the case with a lot of medicine so it doesn't automatically discredit it) then it should under go scientific studies that get to the bottom of when it works and when it doesn't. Then we can figure out the agent that makes it work better.



It is funny that you don't see homeopaths doing these studies. You would think that understanding their own product would enhance their position. In reality they don't want to do this because it would only expose them and show that they are frauds, or at the very least ignornant of science.



Clinical studies have been done on homeopathic medicine and everytime it comes out showing that it works exactly like a placebo should.



I don't understand why homeopaths insist on denying the scientific methods. That fact that it worked for you proves nothing. You are a sample size of 1 without a controlled environment.



For a common cold homeopathy isn't such a big deal, no one is getting hurt (unless the solution is posinous, but probably not the case). For somethign more terminal like AIDS or cancer there is a real danger recommending homeopathic medicine. If people die due to lack of proper treatment because they weren't told how to do proper science then an injustice was done.

Good points bigdufstuff



If you would like to open a new thread i would gladly swap notes with you ,otherwise we will be just hijacking the thread and moving it of topic .

A few months ago I had a horrible cold. HORRIBLE. So I ate a ton of Hot and Sour Soup and snorted salt water. I also had my head over a pot of hot water for a good ten minutes every couple of hours. It helped sort of. Also drinking tons of chamomile tea and hot water bottles in my bed. I got over it in like 3 days. But what a WHAMMY of a cold. I think I only got sick once this year.