I’m seeing so many more people now who just can’t seem to shake off that cold or a cough and it’s hanging around for weeks if not months. Bacterial and viral infections for my clients seem to be acting so much more virulent at the moment, but even with the numbers of people I’ve been seeing lately, I have not come down with anything!
Dr. Thomas Powell in the 19th century conducted a public experiment, he was swabbed a number of times with diphtheria germs. He had a belief that germs didn’t cause disease and he didn’t contract diphtheria at all.
He had the same belief as Antoine Béchamps, who believed that germs didn’t come from outside of the body but were already inside of it. Béchamps determined that congested blood, lack of nutrients, and lack of oxygenation would aid the development of fungi, parasites, viruses, and bacteria. Hence why naturopaths tend to base treatments on eliminating toxicity and congestion from the body, whilst improving the oxygenation of the cells via diet and supplementation.
Food for thought for you, inflammation in Béchamps world would mean that it’s the body’s own attempt to break down the ‘morbid matter’ that is causing the congestion in the body. Having the ability to move this out of the body is important if the ongoing infection is to be prevented.
Therefore the organs of elimination need to be supported to carry out their job efficiently, this includes the liver, the kidneys, the lungs, etc.. The more congested we become the lower our energy tends to get, our lymph and blood becomes more congested and the longer the lingering cold goes on for. Before you consider that Béchamp’s theories were a long time ago and much has changed since then, consider that antigens and antibodies can be seen in the blood, these often end up in the tissue spaces causing inflammation and congestion in a similar way to what he was explaining. The treatment of infection is living a consistently health-focused life in the first place and therefore enabling the body to cleanse on a moment by moment basis.
That’s my point really, so why have I not really ‘caught’ a bad cold from anyone yet? Because I live a healthy life, I am consistent with eating the right foods that suit me, exercising, getting out in the sunlight, keeping hydrated, taking superfoods, taking some supplements and botanicals when I think it’s right, and getting enough sleep. Whilst everyone is keeling over around me when I feel or see signs of health changes I immediately act on them and start the cleansing techniques as the old-fashioned naturopaths such as Henry Lindlahr would have subscribed to. I practise what I preach, and it’s not that I don’t become ill, it’s just that it’s not that often because of my consistency with my practise.
Now some may say I’m obsessive about these things, well I would be, I had poor health for years and lost a large portion of my life not being able to do very much. This focuses the mind and I’m clear that I have no interest in ever revisiting that level of poor health ever again. So yes I’m driven, and I don’t care if someone says I’m obsessed, I don’t think having good health is a bad obsession to have, and as my mother would have said, it keeps me off the streets.
We often are hoping for a remedy to just kill off the bacteria, and yes there are some suggestions for doing this below. But remember that the first thing you need to be considering is making your immune system more robust by consistently living a healthier life. This means listening to our body when it needs to sleep, listening when it’s stressed and most of us don’t, listening when it’s in pain, and putting clear changes into action.
Regular probiotics are helpful when you have that lingering cold, and getting your gut health in order is absolutely key for good health, the gut is the seat of your immunity and if this is out of balance then you can pretty much guarantee that the rest of the body will be following at some stage.
If you are constipated then you need to get things moving, it’s a bit like a drain if your bowel isn’t eliminating its waste that you are holding onto it. Imagine your bin, and it overflows, it’s not a nice view, and that is your bowel if it’s not moving every day, where do you think the waste is going if it’s not out of your body? Getting this moving and back in balance is absolutely key to having good health and most people’s bowels are not in balance.
When digestion is weakened you will find you are not absorbing so many nutrients, this will mean that you won’t be able to fight off an infection as well as you could do. So making sure you are taking in easy to absorb nutrients is important so that it doesn’t overtax the digestion. Fluids and water-rich foods are key at this time. Take a vegetable juice each day that is freshly pressed or if you don’t like the coldness at this time of year consider having a vegetable-rich broth.
Many foods are anti bacterial and anti viral that could be added to your meals such as lemon, lime, ginger, garlic, onions, cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, and oregano and other fresh herbs. Sage tea is useful for sore throats, thyme for coughs.
A mixed greens powder can be very helpful in a juice to boost the nutrients during this time, doTerra Terra Greens or Amazing Grass has a good selection of cleansing ones to choose from.
Make sure your digestion is also functioning properly, our stomach acid, and bile acids need to be working efficiently otherwise they won’t kill off the other pathogens that are entering the body. They help us to release valuable minerals, as well as stimulate the rest of the digestive process. Whilst we are working on taking Vitamin C or Echinacea we could be far better focused on enabling the digestive functioning.
Dietary fibre helps to increase bile flow by stimulating bile flow in the liver, as will mint, turmeric and radishes.
When infections are lingering you need to start to consider using naturopathic cleansing techniques to help move the congestion, especially if you have already taken some herbs and multivitamins. Skin brushing, hot and cold showers, massage, castor oil packing, steam inhalation, lymphatic massage, Epsom salt baths, if the body wants to fast then allow it to ensure that you are supported during that time, hydrotherapy, sweating, saunas are all worth considering during this time. Use with care if you are taking medications, or have a chronic health issue, ideally check with your natural health practitioner or GP to see if you can do them at the same time as medications or with the health issue that you have.
Often during this time, we are focused on putting things into the body in the effort to kill off the cold, but in many respects, it’s important to be lightening the load on the body and supporting it in elimination instead, as well as considering the wider picture of supporting ongoing health and elimination.
This blog is intended for information only, please seek the advice of a health professional when you have a chronic or long term health issue.
