Simple tips to reduce suffering this flu season

While there is still no cure for flu, there are steps you can take to reduce suffering while the virus takes its course. Some experts suggest starting the quest to feel better by exploring your local health food store.
Dr. Lawrence Rosen, author of several books based on 25 years of practising paediatric integrative medicine, is offering some advice to ease flu symptoms.
• Curative foods and beverages: The digestive tract accounts for 70 to 80 per cent of the immune system. When battling a virus, foods rich in vitamin C are essential to immune function. Try drinking a cup of hot water and lemon daily. Onion tea can promote a healthy respiratory system by relieving a cough and sore throat.
Honey, which is a superfood, is a good choice, coating and soothing the throat, helping control cough, and promoting a restful night’s sleep that is necessary for healing.
• Spiced-up recipes: Add garlic and oregano to foods for immune support. Basil, rosemary, and thyme help the respiratory tract. Try different recipes, too. One traditional bedtime treatment in the Dominican Republic is a paste of honey, finely chopped onion and garlic, and the juice of at least half a lime. The vitamin C content found in its ingredients helps boost immunity.
• Indispensable oils: Add eucalyptus oil to a bath to ease body aches from flu, or inhale drops added to a steaming bowl of water for clearer nasal passages. Inhale fennel oil similarly as a cough expectorant.
• Homeopathic medicine: There are few conventional over-the-counter (OTC) drugs specifically for flu symptoms. Antihistamines and decongestants help with head and upper respiratory symptoms that are mostly associated with colds. Flu affects the whole body with fever, chills, aches and fatigue, and a pain reliever can address some of these symptoms.
To shorten both the duration and severity of flu-like symptoms, consider a homeopathic medicine.
• Healing herbs and plants: Homeopathic medicines use microdoses of plants, animals and minerals; whereas herbal supplements are less diluted with a different therapeutic principle. Astragalus and echinacea supplements purportedly boost immunity. Try teas with eucalyptus leaves or calendula for fever. Elderberry, when taken in extract form, boosts the immune system, which helps the body respond quickly and strongly to viruses such as influenza. — Statepoint