This article is a testimony from our Content and Social Media Manager, Mary Nett.

Last month’s blog post was all about the two (very different) mindsets in treating sickness and disease.  (If you haven’t read it, click here.)

In it I said, “There are two ways to treat symptoms:  conventional medicine treats with pharmaceuticals, while holistic medicine supports the body’s efforts to fight infection and disease.”

Not surprisingly, (in a Murphy’s Law-ish kind of way), two weeks after writing that, I came down with a horrible head cold.  Normally, I take over-the-counter medicine while getting extra rest and eating chicken soup, but this time I decided to see what would happen if I took no medicine.  Would my body fight off this cold on its own?  Does medicine hinder or help the healing process?

The last time I was sick, the medicine suppressed my symptoms, but my cold dragged out for two weeks.  It finally settled in my chest and I had a lingering cough for a while longer than that.  The older I get, the longer it takes to get over little things like head colds.  It’s scary to realize you’re losing your resistant and resilience.  In short, I wasn’t feeling extremely confident in my idea, but I trusted everything I’ve learned since I’ve been working with Dr. Megan and thought, “What have I got to lose, really?”

I was shocked that in two days I felt 100% better!  Also, my symptoms did not return (as sometimes happens when you’re taking meds.)

Amazed, I talked to Dr. Megan about it.  She said, “Usually, if you let your body fight it on its own, it will do just that.  Fight on its own.  I think people should at least try to let their body fight it. The more times you let your body naturally heal, the better your resistance will be, the less you will get sick.”

Dr. Megan’s advice for staying healthy rather than taking medicine:

Cut out sugar and processed foods.  Sugar feeds bacteria.  When you are sick and eating sugar, you are feeding the infection you want to kill.  And processed foods are hard for the body to break down.  Energy is spent digesting food rather than killing an infection.

Take probiotics. They protect you from all sorts of infection by building up your body’s natural resistance.

Rest.  When you get sick, don’t go to work or try to push through it.  Let your body rest because it’s the fastest way to fight infection.

Boost immunity year-round. Take vitamins, drink bone broth and take elderberry syrup (benefits and a recipe for homemade syrup here).

Jump on it. As soon as you start feeling under the weather, drink more water, gargle with salt water, take extra doses of vitamin C, drink bone broth and take extra elderberry syrup.

My wellness protocol also included:

Raw garlic. Yup, you read that correctly.  I found out about this crazy remedy last year.  It is the worst and best.  Garlic has antimicrobial, antiviral and antibiotic properties when eaten raw, but chomping down on a raw clove is almost unbearable.

I take it by chopping up a few cloves very fine, piling as much as I can on an apple slice, and drizzling with some honey before popping the whole thing in my mouth.  My mouth combusts into flames and I pound on the counter and cry a little.  (I’m just warning you, it’s not pleasant.)  But in my experience, a few rounds of raw garlic is a quick and efficient way to completely get rid of a head cold.  (It’s also a decongestant and expectorant.)  Click here to read more about the health benefits of garlic.

Hot shower with essential oils.  Both peppermint and eucalyptus oil (pick one) in a hot shower really helped relieve my stuffy head.  I just put a few drops in the bottom of the shower before I got in.

Neti pot.  Helped flush out clogged nasal passages and was very soothing.  I still use it most mornings because the cold, dry weather makes me wake up very stuffy.

Hydration.  Lemon water and Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat or Gypsy Cold Care tea.    Also, bone broth.  (See above.)

Chiropractic.  An adjustment to make sure my nervous system was functioning properly plus an early bed time that night had me feeling almost 100% by morning!

The next time you feel a cold coming on, we challenge you to try some of these remedies and see if they don’t help you more quickly than a shot of Nyquil!

If you’re feeling under the weather and want to see if a chiropractic adjustment can help you heal faster, contact us today for an appointment!