Natural Wintertime Remedies

Ah, cold and flu season....she's here again. If you are anything like me, then you shun the flu shot. It's not that I don't think anyone should get the flu shot, I just don't think it's right for me. I want my body to have its own immunities. Since I have gotten pregnant (which I can't shut up about!), the flu shot seems to come up a lot more in appointments. I have refused it about 5,634 times in the past few months and heard just as many reasons why I better get it.

And yet, I have abstained. I think it's great practice for the likely 42,000 times theya re going to ask me if I want an epidural. (No, thank you, I don't!) When it come to the flu shot, I'm just not going to do something I have never done in my life (like sky diving, for instance) while I am pregnant. It just doesn't make sense. What I am doing, though, is building up my immunities naturally.

Obviously you can do this whether or not you are pregnant, but if you are pregnant, these are great alternatives to the flu shot!!!!

Thieves Essential Oil by Young Living 
This is a secret weapon in my arsenal of immunity boosting homeopathics. It's an essential oil blend consisting of cinnamon, clove, lemon, and eucalyptus from Young Living (who, in my personal opinion, has the best purest oils), that the thieves used to use during the black plague when they would rob bodies. They would cover their handkerchiefs in this oil and they wouldn't catch the plague.

Of course, I'm not robbing dead bodies, I'm just trying to stay well, so I just put a drop of it on my tongue. If I'm feeling really frisky, I'll rub 2-3 drops on my chest--feels terrific and warming!

Emergen-C 
At the beginning of my pregnancy when I was taking prenatal vitamins with a ton of vitamins in them, I didn't take the Emergen-C. But those vitamins were complete overload to my system all at once, and I finally settled on a more suitable vitamin which had less vitamins in them, overall. They don't contain vitamin C, so I now take this is a supplement pretty much daily. I love it for two reasons: 1) a gooood dose of vitamin C, which if you are pregnant not only boosts immunity but also keeps those gums from bleeding due to an increase of pro estrogen and 2) it helps me sneak in another glass of water into my day!

Raw Honey 
Yes, I know, "pregnant women aren't supposed to have raw honey." Well, I have been having raw honey for a couple of years now (long before I was pregnant) and I have been keeping it in the routine because I credit it with helping me feel good, overall. Baby and I are both doing great. Sometimes I put a teaspoon in my tea, and other times I put a teaspoon of raw honey straight into a cup of hot water with a dash of cinnamon--delish!!!

A word to the wise on this one, though: if you are pregnant and you've never consumed raw honey, don't start now, or at least consult your doctor before you do. Always better safe than sorry and sometimes you've just got to go with your intuition.

Turmeric Milk 
This one is a relatively new addition to my routine, and is more sporadic than some of the other suggestions here. But when I went to Florida to visit family and I knew I was going to be flying, I made sure to drink this concoction to help ward off infection. Turmeric is a wonder spice that way, and when cooked up with some spices in milk, it's quite good.

Here's my recipe:

1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons organic sugar (you could also use raw honey!)
2 cloves
1 cup almond milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine ingredients in a small sauce pan. Heat the milk slowly over medium low heat (don't boil).

When hot and combined, remove the cloves, pour in a glass and enjoy!!!!