Immune Remedies for Cold and Flu Season

As the weather cools down and we start pulling out our pumpkin soup recipes, we also enter the season of the coughs, colds and flus. Over the years I have tried a variety of different strategies and protocols for these, but I now have my favorite four that I break out any time I feel a sniffle or a sore throat. These four immune remedies for cold and flu season can be adapted for kiddos too. Here is my tried and true combination:-

1. Protective Blend essential oil combination

At the first sign of a sore throat, I get out my essential oil Protective Blend. It’s a combination of oils to enhance immune health and help get through the challenges of the season. I put 2 drops in water, gargle with it, then swallow it. I’ve had really sore throats completely disappear overnight and never manifest into anything else using this alone. If I do get a cold or flu (which sadly I have as I sit here typing), I take the softgel form of it, 2 every couple of hours. It’s good to diffuse too, especially around kiddos, as it helps keep the air clean and germ free. For Valentina I put drops on the soles of her feet – I tend to do a couple each day as a preventive, especially in this season, but if she actually has any respiratory or immune challenges, I’ll do it every few hours.

2. Liposomal Vitamin C

Liposomal products absorb better into the cells as they have a lipid coating, and cell walls are made up of lipids, so they slip on through easily. Vitamin C is a well-known immune booster, but to be honest, for a lifetime of my own Mum forcing horrible powdered C upon me whenever I had a cold as a child, I never actually thought it made a ton of difference. Then I found the liposomal and I’m converted. We use C-RLA which is a product by Researched Nutritionals. They are a practitioner-only line so you won’t find them in health food stores or on Amazon, but we do sell them on my practice dispensary website here. There are other brand of liposomal C too, but this is the one I have had the best results with. Shockingly, when Valentina was about 10 months old and had a bit of a cold, our nanny Corinne told me that she’d put some C in Valentina’s water bottle and she’d drunk it down happily. For little ones you only need a small amount (1/4-1 teaspoon depending on their size) so it’s not a lot of liquid. I’ve been chugging 1 tablespoon every couple of hours today to shorten the duration of this bug I got on the plane on Thursday (the other nice thing about liposomal forms is that they don’t upset your stomach at higher doses). For prevention 1 tablespoon daily would be a perfect amount for adults.

3. Olive Leaf extract

Olive leaf is a great anti-viral and immune support. I use the capsules for myself. I haven’t given this one to the toddler yet, because olive leaf is quite bitter and it could be tricky to mask. The product I actually use is Olivirex by Bio-Botanical. Again, they’re a practitioner line, and their combination of immune-supportive herbs in this blend is fantastic. I do two capsules 3-4 times daily when I’m feeling under the weather. It contains a 375 mg olive leaf, as well as garlic, goldenseal, milk thistle, St John’s wort, uva ursi, ginseng, dandelion root, noni and white willow.

4. Transfer Factor Multi-immune

Another product by Researched Nutritionals, transfer factors are supported by tons of research to enhance the immune system’s response. You get specific transfer factors for specific maladies, such as Lyme, viruses and mycoplasma. But for every day preventive use, or just as a rescue during times of illness, the general “multi-immune” one is the way to go. It also contains colostrum, beta glucans, astragalus and other immune boosting ingredients. Again, that one is available on the RestorMedicine website.

There are tons of immune products out there, and I’m sure some really stellar ones, but this is the line-up that I’ve taken on board for our family. My husband Dave swears by the C-RLA, that’s his favorite, but I have found them all in combination to be ideal. I definitely use the Protective Blend the most for the kiddo, and as I said, the C-RLA would be fine too since it’s a liquid. The other two are capsules, so for smaller kids would need to be emptied into something – so that all depends on how good a sport your child is at taking herbs and supplements!!!

Of course, remember that sugar is the enemy of the immune system, so if your child pigs out on Halloween candy or has a birthday party with lots of treats (or if you do!), you might do a prophylactic dose of the immune helpers a couple of days prior and a couple of days after!!