Here Comes the Flue Season-Protect Yourself the Wise Woman Way

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Sun, 30 Oct 2005 13:32:47 -0800 (PST)

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Here Comes the Flue Season-Protect Yourself the Wise Woman Way

 

 

 

Here Comes the Flu Season - Protect Yourself the Wise

Woman Way

http://botanical.com/site/column_susun/susun_flu_season.html

 

2004, Susun S Weed

 

Along with the beauty of fall days comes the need to

get ready for

winter. Time to get out my long underwear and my warm

wooly socks. Time

to nourish my immune system so cold days won't be days

of colds - and flu.

 

I don't rely on modern medicine to keep me healthy,

but if you usually

rely on a flu shot to protect you, you may feel

frightened by your

inability to get one this year. You may be wondering

what you can do

instead. Or you may have discovered that flu shots

don't give protection

from all types of flu, just the ones the makers guess

will be active

this winter. And you may wonder if there isn't some

other way to prevent

the flu. Or maybe, like me, you prefer not to use

shots or drugs unless

absolutely necessary. You may wonder what herbs and

remedies are the

best to have on hand to help your family deal with the

flu.

 

No matter what your situation, now is a good time to

give yourself the

benefit of Wise Woman Ways to prevent - and deal with

- the flu. These

flu presenters and flu remedies are simple. They are

quite safe. And you

don't have to be rich to use them. Wise Woman herbal

medicine is

people's medicine. Mama Medicine. You can buy most of

the things I

discuss in this article - and you can find them

growing freely, too. You

can buy the herbal preparations I mention already made

- and you can

easily make you own for pennies, too.

 

These Wise Woman Ways are supported by both tradition

and science. Wise

women through the centuries have kept themselves and

their families safe

from contagious diseases. And science has found good

reasons for their

effectiveness. I hope these tips will help you face

winter's ills with

confidence, and good health.

 

Beat the Flu

 

The best way to prevent the flu is to build a powerful

immune system.

While this can't guarantee that you won't get the flu,

neither can the

flu shot. Here are my favorite ways to keep my immune

system strong:

 

* Eat more garlic.

* Drink nourishing herbal infusions daily.

* Make immune-strengthening soups; or add

immune-strengthening herbs

to canned soup.

* Use anti-viral herbs as needed.

 

Eat More Garlic

 

One of the best immune-system helpers is garlic. Dr.

James Duke says it

contains at least 17 different factors that nourish

and support powerful

immune system functioning. Herbalists in the middle

ages relied on it to

prevent infection from the plague, so it might keep us

safe from the

flu. Garlic is anti-bacterial, too. If you don't like

fresh raw garlic,

powdered garlic is just as good. The dose is 1 or more

cloves of raw

garlic per day, or up to a teaspoon of garlic powder.

Here are a few of

my favorite ways to eat raw garlic:

 

* Top scrambled eggs with minced raw garlic.

* Put chopped raw garlic on pasta and cover with

tomato sauce.

* Try minced raw garlic on a piece of hot buttered

toast. Delicious!

* Add minced raw garlic to your baked potato.

* Mix chopped raw garlic and olive oil with hot

cooked greens like

kale or spinach.

 

Drink Nourishing Herbal Infusions

 

Nourishing herbal infusions are the basis of great

nourishment for the

immune system and the entire body. They are full of

antioxidant

vitamins, minerals, proteins, phytoestrogens, and

hundreds of protective

phytochemicals that work to help you ward off the flu

and colds too.

Here's how I make a nourishing herbal infusion:

 

* Choose one herb: nettle, oatstraw, red clover,

comfrey leaf,

linden flowers, or violet leaf.

* Place one full ounce, by weight, of any one herb

in a quart jar. A

canning jar is best.

* Fill the jar to the top with boiling water.

* Screw on a tight lid

* Let it steep for four hours, or overnight.

* Strain the liquid out, squeezing the herb.

* Refrigerate the infusion, where it will be good

for 24-36 hours.

 

I drink two to four cups nourishing herbal infusions

daily - over ice,

heated up with honey and milk, or mixed with other

beverages.

 

Make Immune Strengthening Soups

 

Cooking herbs and vegetables together for a long time

extracts minerals,

activates immune-strengthening phytochemicals, and

increases the levels

of available antioxidants. Raw foods weaken and stress

the immune

system. To make an immune strengthening soup:

 

* Chop at least half an onion per person and sauté

in olive oil

until translucent.

* Add at least two cloves of garlic, sliced or

chopped, per person

and sauté for a minute.

* Add two or more cups of water or vegetable broth

per person.

* Add one cup per person of chopped seasonal

vegetables such as:

 

carrots, cabbage, celery, corn, burdock, turnips,

potatoes, tomatoes,

parsnips

 

(If using canned soup, begin here.)

 

* Add one small handful of seaweed per person.

* Add one ounce fresh, or one-half ounce dried

mushrooms - any kind

- per person.

* Add one-quarter ounce dried tonic roots per

person.

* Add generous amounts of antioxidant seasoning

herbs and some sea salt.

* Bring to a boil; simmer for an hour.

* Turn off fire and let your soup mellow in a cool

place overnight.

* Serve it the next day, heated up, with

freshly-baked bread and

organic raw milk cheese.

 

Seaweeds build powerful immunity. Kombu and wakame are

excellent in

soups. Cut them small; they swell to 5-7 times their

dried size when cooked.

 

All mushrooms strengthen the immune system. Dried

shitake are available

and inexpensive at Chinese grocery stores. Reishii,

maitake, and other

medicinal mushrooms are delicious, as are the more

common button

mushrooms, portobellos, and dried porcinni.

 

Tonic roots help our livers, lymph, and kidneys work

well, protecting us

from infection. I often put these tough roots into a

jelly bag and drop

that into the soup so I can fish it out before

serving. I use one or

more of these, fresh or dried, depending on what I

have available:

 

* Siberian ginseng

* Astragalus

* Burdock

* Dandelion

* Chicory

* Yellow dock

* American ginseng.

 

Seasoning herbs from the mint family - rosemary,

thyme, oregano, basil,

marjoram, and sage - are loaded with antioxidants. I

don't just season

the soup with them; I add them by the handful for the

greatest impact on

my immune strength.

 

Anti-Viral Herbs

 

Anti-infective herbs can help us prevent the flu - and

assist us if we

do get sick. Colds and the flu are caused by viruses,

making them more

difficult to treat than bacterial infections. Viruses

are more vital

than bacteria and harder to kill. There are many

anti-bacterial herbs -

including yarrow, echinacea, elecampane, and poke -

but few that are

anti-viral. Of these, my favorite is St. Joan's/John's

wort. If any herb

can prevent the flu, St.J's can.

 

Of course, even flu shots don't prevent all types of

flu, and they don't

prevent colds, so even if you do get a shot, it's a

good idea to have

some anti-viral and anti-bacterial herbs on hand. The

distinction

between them is not so important once you are sick.

Both types of herbs

will alert the immune system to the infection and help

it gather the

resources needed to counter it. Did you know that the

achy muscles and

headachy feeling we get with the flu is not caused by

the flu itself but

results from the immune system gobbling up all

available resources so it

can clobber the flu virus?

 

St. Joan's/John's wort (Hypericum perforatum)

 

This beautiful yellow flower yields a blood-red

tincture that I take by

the dropperful to prevent viral infections such as the

flu. A dropperful

in the morning throughout the cold months is adequate

for prevention. I

increase that to 2-3 dropperfuls a day if I have been

exposed at home or

at work to the flu. If I do get sick, I will use other

herbs to counter

the infection. Capsules of St. J's are ineffective; I

only use the tincture.

 

Echinacea (Echinacea augustifolia)

 

The tincture of echinacea root is a well-known

anti-infective. When I

feel an infection brewing, I use large doses of

echinacea to build white

blood cells and encourage T-helper cells. The dose of

echinacea root

tincture is 1 drop for every 2 pounds of body weight,

as frequently as

every hour or two in the acute phase of an infection,

2-4 times a day

otherwise. I have seen echinacea relieve terrible flu

infections.

 

Important: I do not use echinacea as a preventative;

it doesn't seem to

work that way. I do not use any part of this plant

except the root. I do

not combine it with goldenseal, which I believe

hinders the immune

system. I do not take echinacea in capsules.

 

I make a quart of echinacea tincture each fall as my

winter insurance.

Here's how I do it: Put 4 ounces of dried Echinacea

augustifolia root in

a quart jar. Fill to the top with 100 proof vodka. Cap

tightly and

label. Shake daily for the first week. Then weekly for

at least eight weeks.

 

Poke (Phytolacca americana)

 

The tincture of this root is so powerful some authors

consider it

poisonous. You may have a hard time finding it for

sale. But poke is an

important helper when flu " bugs " have taken over. I

would not take poke

as a preventative; it is far too strong. I use poke

root tincture to

kick my immune system into high gear. The dose is one

drop - yes, only

one drop - once or twice a day for no more than a

month, although in

serious cases I may use up to 8 doses a day. Poke root

tincture can harm

the kidneys if it is taken continuously. I never take

capsules of poke root.

 

Elecampane (Inula helenium)

 

The tincture of this root is a favorite for clearing

lung infections and

countering the flu. The usual dose is 10-15 drops 2-3

times a day, but I

would increase the dose to 6 times a day in an acute

situation. I expect

to see results within a day or less. I would only take

elecampane if I

had an active infection; it has little protective

value. I never use

elecampane capsules.

 

Elder (Sambucus canadensis)

 

Elder flowers are a nice remedy for those with a

feverish cold, but for

those with the flu, I prefer elder berries. The most

common way to take

them is in the form of a syrup. The immune enhancing

properties of elder

berries are renowned in Europe and slowly gaining

popularity in the

United States. Elder berry syrup also eases coughs and

lung congestion.

 

Winter is Coming

 

Herbs may not seem strong enough to prevent or counter

the flu, but they

are. When we use herbs to maintain and regain health,

we not only take a

big step toward health independence but a small step

toward peace on our

planet. Instead of making war on weeds, I use them.

Instead of making

war on nature, I let Her guide me. Instead of making

war on myself when

I'm sick, I nourish myself toward greater health,

greater peace.

 

Green blessings surround us. Herbs not only protect us

from the flu,

they can uplift our hearts and bring us joy in trying

and uncertain times.

 

Tips to Avoid the Flu

 

* 1. Wash your hands; this is the single best way

to avoid the flu.

* Cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hand.

Viral particles

are easily passed from hands to eyes and nose even if

you use a tissue.

* If the flu is active in your area, avoid public

places.

 

Susun Weed

PO Box 64

Woodstock, NY 12498

Fax: 1-845-246-8081

 

Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and

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Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has

garnered an

international reputation for her groundbreaking

lectures, teachings, and

writings on health and nutrition. She challenges

conventional medical

approaches with humor, insight, and her vast

encyclopedic knowledge of

herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated

and enthusiastic

lectures are engaging and often profoundly

provocative.