To begin with, it is important to note that with the first sign of a sore throat, or hoarseness, or even just a tickle in the throat, that a quick gargle of a combination of the following ingredients (or any one of them separately) will reduce or eliminate the chances of progression, providing the 8 Ways mentioned toward the end of this article are followed through as soon as possible:
1 teaspoon of Sacred Clay
4 tiny scoops of Ormalite (1/8th teaspoon/0.625ml total) or spray the throat with Manna Mist
A pinch or more of Sea Salt of any kind
A pinch of Cayenne Pepper (or Ginger Root) to stimulate circulation in the throat
A pinch or two of Licorice Root powder
A strong infusion of Black or Green Tea leaves (1-2 teabags) or other tannin-rich herb
Add as many of these as you have readily available in 2 ounces of tea or water
Gargle and consume 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon at at time periodically until symptoms disappear.
Time is of the essence with the first sign of a cold or flu, since pathogens are replicating rapidly now to fend off a burden of chemical or heavy metal toxins, or an excess of sugar, fat, dairy, alcohol, congesting foods, or an over-acid condition in the body (often from coffee, citrus fruits/juices, flesh foods, pasteurized dairy, sugar, pizza, nuts & seeds and their butters, etc.).
The sooner the 8 Ways to Stop the Progression of an Illness (below) are implemented, the sooner you will improve in health.
But first let's discuss the two greatest dietary influences behind physical disease:
an excess of 1) quality sugars and 2) quality fats
Blood sugar dysregulation is a primary contributing influence behind physical health complaints and mood disorders.
The primary cause of blood sugar dysregulation is the saturation of muscle and organ cells with an excess of lipids (various types of fat), which in turn prevent the proper utilization of carb-related glucose for normal energy production inside the cells.
You might say, "But I thought blood sugar problems were caused by too much sugar or too many carbs".
There's more to the story than that simple explanation.
Over-saturation of muscle and organ cells with cholesterol (fat) happens when more fat-containing foods are consumed than the body actually needs to perform the common functions provided by lipids (fatty acids, cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.).
The net result is insulin resistance.
Rosane Oliveira of UC Davis Integrative Medicine puts it like this:
Fat build-up inside (muscle) cells creates toxic fatty breakdown products and free radicals that ‘block’ the insulin-signaling process, close the ‘glucose gate,’ and make blood sugar levels rise.
Yet lipids are important to regulating many important areas of health in the body.
Lipids are needed to make:
fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, & K)
cholesterol-based steroidal hormones (like progesterone, DHEA, estrogen, testosterone, etc.)
supply energy requirements once carb-related glucose supplies are used up
and for many other purposes.
Without question, foods containing fats are essential to high levels of health, but when consumed in excess, just like when sugars are consumed in excess, health will deteriorate – telling us that there is something out of balance in our diet or lifestyle.
Both bile and lipase enzymes are required for the breakdown and utilization of all manner of fats from the diet.
Bile, produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder, helps to emulsify fats before entering the blood.
Lipase enzymes produced by the salivary glands, pancreas, liver and digestive tract break fats down into usable fatty acids.
Over-saturation of fats in the cells is made worse when fats enter the bloodstream undigested (especially a trans fat), which is often due to:
insufficient bile production by the liver (commonly caused by a fatty liver, or an over-acid condition)
insufficient lipase enzyme production by the salivary glands, stomach, pancreas, and small intestines
taking too big of a bite of food preventing salivary juices from predigesting some of that bite
not chewing your food long enough to predigest both the sugars and the fats before they enter the stomach
Over-saturation causes the liver to work overtime to store the excesses of undigested fat.
Fatty liver, fatty pancreas, and deep fat in and around the intestines and elsewhere are common side effects.
Add excesses of sugar (even fruit) to this equation and the health problems are compounded even further.
With the fall and winter holidays on the horizon, the celebrations themselves will become the leading contributing factor in the promotion of:
an increase in colds and flu
insomnia
depression
sluggish energy
hyperactivity
fuzzy brain
tooth inflammations
reduced memory
joint inflammation
and the flareup of former health conditions or new physical issues.
By mid January many will find themselves in a health crisis. Why is this?
Common celebrations foods promote both highs and lows in blood sugar that result in the proliferation of pathogens:
bacteria and yeast feed on sugar
The dietary culprits?
Concentrated natural sweeteners (like cane sugar, agave, and maple syrup), along with all artificial sweeteners (like Sucralose, Truvia, Saccharin, and Aspartame due to the chemical toxins in their makeup, in addition to their highly concentrated chemical nature).
Whole fruits and berries (not juiced/concentrated) are safer, yet only within certain guidelines (like not in combination with meat, dairy or fats/oils).
Coconut oil in moderation is an exception here, being a mostly predigested oil, as will be an oil marinated in lemon juice or vinegar to cause it to emulsify before consumption (yet limits to quantity still apply).
Whole food vegetable and seed fats, like whole olives, avocados, and chia seeds are also exceptions, as they tend to combine well with starches, up to a point. Yet excesses will still feed pathogens in the body.
It has been my experience and observation with hundreds of clients, that nuts, being both hard to digest and a high arginine source, generally do more harm than good to the well being of the body.
The reason for this is due to the way they feed the herpes/shingles/EBV strains of pathogens, and due to their sticky, constipating nature (causing yeasts and pathogens to go after them to break them down).
Yes, this also applies to the soaked and fermented nut and seed versions as well.
The reason is that the arginine in them that triggers viral proliferation is still present, and when consumed in quantity, act to trigger viral related conditions, especially neurological disorders (dysfunction of the nerves).
Shingles is a myelin sheath deterioration (a fatty protection around the nerves) often triggered by heavy metals and chemical toxins, or by an excess of nuts and seeds.
After sharing this uncommon insight about nuts with clients, many have reported back that their shingles, herpes, Epsteine-Barr symptoms and joint inflammation diminished shortly after getting off the handfuls of nuts, seeds, and their butters, and by reducing their total fat content in the diet to about 10% by calories (1-3 tablespoons of a fatty food per day).
Why is this?
Nature has designed foods with both lysine and arginine to counter balance their functions within the plants themselves. The human body requires both as well.
Yet a high arginine food can quickly overpower the lysine when consumed in quantity – resulting in herpes or shingles outbreaks.
Lysine shares a specific assimilation pathway with arginine. Lysine is well known for its viral inhibition properties. If too much arginine is present, the utilization of lysine is blocked. Viruses are then free to proliferate.
The Peace Wellness Center has compiled a list of foods in which their lysine to arginine ratios are calculated.
You will notice that dairy, papaya, beets, apples, mango, apricot, and pear fill the upper third of the chart indicating higher in lysine than arginine.
Dairy actually tops the list, but has a serious drawback by being overly congesting when consumed on a daily basis.
Whereas fish, foul, meats, other fruits, potatoes, beans, lentils, lettuces, and eggs fill the middle of the chart, some running close to even on the ratio.
Then nuts, seeds, tahini, peas, cruciferous family, onions, citrus fruits, asparagus, eggplant, elderberry (go figure), wheat and oats, grapes, and other surprising foods are on the bottom of the chart indicating higher levels of arginine than lysine.
Of course, a plant's merit or detriment is not determined solely by this ratio (explaining why elderberry, a fruit and seed, can be so beneficial in spite of its high arginine content), for each plant possesses 50 to several hundred other phytonutrients that affect its interaction in the body.
I know from personal experience that several of the foods near the bottom of the chart increase viral replication, especially all nuts, most seeds, and their butters (including tahini), especially when consumed in volume, or just a little everyday.
Any food that is more acidic in nature, like meats, citrus, concentrated sugars, and tomatoes, will add a second force to the promotion of pathogens (also mentioned at the bottom of their chart).
It is common to believe that citrus fruits and their juices will prevent or resolve a cold or flu. The thought is they provide vitamin C, so more must be better.
This could not be farther from the truth. If you want to extend your recovery time, then simply consume acidic foods and drink (read coffee), dairy, and sweets, including sweet fruits (read oranges).
(Whole lemon and citrus peels (without the pulp) are an exception, given the amount of quinine in the bitter peels. Blend these up fresh with your superfood green drink for best results.)
Recovery times are sure to lengthen with acidic foods, drinks, and sweets in your diet at such a critical time.
I have seen this happen numerous times with clients who thought grapefruit and oranges and their juices would be helpful at a time like this, only to find that their illness would linger for weeks, until they quit.
Why?
Because if you are beginning to feel the first signs of a cold or flu, your body is already on the acidic side, and pathogens are already multiplying to the point of putting a strain on your immune system.
the acidic foods and beverages (like coffee and citrus)
the sugars and alcohol (that depress your immune response powers)
the foods high in arginine, especially nuts and their butters
and the constipating/congesting/mucus-forming foods
alkalize
flush toxins and mucus
rest from a heavy eating schedule
and take immune boosting herbs and clay.
These will rapidly restore an alkaline state in the body and have been known to arrest the early symptoms of a cold or flu in a matter of minutes.
Hyssop Mint Tea (also excellent for respiratory congestion)
Bath Kit (Sacred Clay & Black Beauty) or Bath Packets
Sweating is one of the fastest ways to recover from a cold or flu.
Purify (liver cleansing support)
Herbal C (the best way to get your vitamin C is from therapeutic bitter fruits)
Illness is a sign of toxin buildup and pathogen overload (feeding on the toxins and bad foods).
Constipation is a common side effect of a cold or flu.
Bile is your laxative influence in the bowels. It also encapsulates toxins and pathogens, sending them out of the system safely.
Bitter herbs stimulate laxative bile production that cleanses both the blood and the liver.
Digestive Bitters and Ancient Mineral Blend (a naturally occurring magnesium source) are natural ways to boost your digestive and laxative powers.
Some also find good results with an enema in the early stages of an illness. This can be helpful at arresting a cold or flu early on.
But a coffee enema is NOT recommended due to its acidic action inside the bowels and coffee's over-stimulation of the nervous system at a time when the body is attempting to rest and devote energy to healing (thus the natural illness fatigue). A Sacred Clay enema would be preferable in this case.
Digestive Bitters and Ancient Mineral Blend are superior alternative ways to increase a bowel flush, but will take time to actualize the laxative effects (12 hours and 6 hours respectively).
So, for the short term, an enema with dilute Sacred Clay water is an effective detoxifier and will reduce pathogens and encourage the proliferation of friendly bacteria in the gut.
How to Guard Your Health & Emotional Well Being as You Celebrate
Tips on how to minimize the effects of celebration foods & seasonal blues
(article & audio)
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When is the Best Time to Start a
Health Building-Cleansing Program –
Before or After the Holidays??
A Common Sense Approach to
Preserving Your Health
During Holiday Celebrations
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Secrets to Building a
Powerful Immune System
20 Ways to Balance & Empower
Your Immune Response
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How to Guard Your Health & Emotional Well Being as You Celebrate
Surprising and (for some) Shocking Tips on How to Minimize the Side Effects of Celebration Foods & Prevent the Seasonal Blues