Dr. Jill Beasley's Cold Remedies

To help us get into Spring feeling healthy and energized, Blackberry Mountain Holistic Health Specialist Dr. Jill Beasley shares her favorite cold remedies and some insight on how we can stay healthy all year long.

Preventative Measures

If I can get some extra rest, I always start there. The immune system peaks during sleep and it’s the body’s chance to detoxify and repair cellular damage. I keep to my normal movement routine as much as possible, and as far as food, I eat simple but warming foods that feel nourishing. Elderberry tincture is something that I try to keep on hand, I take 10-30 drops every few hours as soon as I start feeling under the weather.

Best Teas or Tinctures

If I don’t have dried herbs available, Gypsy Cold Care or Throat Coat by Traditional Medicinals, are my go-to herbal teas. Teas that contain demulcent, or slimy, herbs coat the mucosal lining of the throat and intestines and help counteract heat, dryness and inflammation.

Food Items that Ease a Cold

I don’t have a specific recipe, but I love mushroom broth, chicken and vegetable soup with lots of turmeric, ginger and cayenne. Staying hydrated, rested and warm are my goals when I have a cold. Pungent, aromatic spices are generally antimicrobial as well and help support the immune system. I also love a simple ginger, peppermint and honey tea.

How to Remedy a Cold

• Elderberry - This is a great plant that helps prevent viral penetration and replication. As a tincture or syrup, elderberry may also help reduce symptoms once a cold has already hit
• Sleep - Truly, sleep is one of the best and most underutilized forms of medicine.
• Steam Inhalations - Add peppermint, eucalyptus and thyme essential oil to a bowl of hot water. Drape a towel over your head, close your eyes and breathe in the steam. This helps drain the sinuses and moisten the mucus membranes, and the oils are antimicrobial.

Overall Actions to Stay Healthy Year-Round

Get adequate sleep, find ways to manage stress, hydrate, eat nourishing foods (more whole foods, less processed foods), consume alcohol and sugar in moderation, wash your hands, move your body and take time to slow down.

Some other things I love:

Medicinal mushrooms (reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, cordyceps, etc) and adaptogens (Holy basil, ashwagandha, rhodiola, astragalus, for example) - These strengthen and modulate immune function which helps prevent illness, balances autoimmune and allergy conditions

Food as Medicine

Your skin and mucus membranes serve as a first-line defense against illness. Vitamin A is a key vitamin to keeping those tissues healthy and keeping the immune system in top form. Foods containing beta-carotene like Winter squash, sweet potatoes and dark, leafy greens are great year-round but especially in the Winter.

Healthy fats decrease inflammation and promote healthy cell function. Salmon, sardines, nuts, seeds and flax are great sources of fat.

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that is important for supporting the immune system. I prefer getting nutrients from food whenever possible. Citrus fruits, strawberries, peppers and rose hips are great sources of Vitamin C.

Pungent aromatics (think onion, garlic, horseradish, ginger) are antimicrobial and enhance circulation.

Mint-family plants like oregano and thyme are also antimicrobial with an affinity for the respiratory tract.

Fermented foods support gut health. A strong digestive system helps keep pathogenic bacteria at bay and improves immune function

If the cold is really hitting your lungs, utilize antimicrobial herbs as a tea, in a chest rub, or as a steam inhalation, and consume antispasmodics, like honey, cherry bark and horehound, to help ease a cough.

My go-to book: Body into Balance: An Herbal Guide to Holistic Self-Care by Maria Noel Groves