I started this list one day while talking with my son and his girl friend. She is away at college and was sick with a cold or flu bug. I was trying to think of things that she could do given her limited finances and things she might have on hand in her college dorm room. I find myself often encouraging people who are struggling to maintain or achieve wellness. I am coming at this subject from a Christian perspective believing that Jesus already paid the price not only for our salvation as believers but also for our healing and deliverance. Sadly too many receive salvation but no one ever let them know that he purchased our healing and deliverance as well. I see God heal the sick through prayer and laying on of hands, I have seen people set free from a lot of emotional baggage. I have seen miracles. I think God wants us to do more than just get healed and go back to doing the things that caused us to be sick in the first place. We must learning to walk in wellness, it is a matter of trusting and following the leading of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus said would lead us into all truth. I believe that truth includes wisdom and knowledge for health and wellness.
There are two books I would recommend by Cal Pierce the founder and director of the International Healing Rooms. I have posted book reports that I have done as a student at the International Healing Rooms School of Transformation and you can use the links to get to them if you are interested.
• Receive Your Healing and Reclaim Your Health
I love this quote from Receive Your Healing by Cal Pierce. "To be sick, you just do what feels good, which seems effortless, right? But your "effortless" choices never satisfy and require more and more from you, ending in pain, sickness, doctor visits, drugs and medical expenses your cannot afford. Now that's effort."
I personally have struggled for many years with what would start as a cold and then stay with me for most of the winter. I realized that I needed to make some changes to build up my immune system. I have also learned that if I catch and kill off those germs, virus and bacteria early I can keep them from building their miserable strongholds in my life. It may take a bit of effort and preventative, proactive action on my part but being well is far better than being sick.It is easier to win the war if you never allow it to start, and if it does start you want to get on it early while it is still just a minor skirmish. If you let it become a full blown battle its much harder to win back that lost ground.
So what follows are some easy tips of things that I do and encourage my family to do.
GARGLE:
At the first sniffle of tickle in the throat I start gargling. Everyone has salt and gargling salt warm salt water helps kill off the germs before they start moving in and setting up camp. In a cup of water I only put about a 1/4 a teaspoon of salt. If you are not a fan of salt water you might try GSE or Grapefruit Seed Extract that you can get at most health food stores. I use a drop or two in a cup of water and gargle. Generally if I get it early enough it only takes doing it before I go to bed that night and I'm fine the next day. If not I gargle more often.
Disinfect:
Start with your hands wash them well and often. Clean your door knobs, light switches, counter tops, bathroom with a disinfecting cleaner. I just use the clorox wipes on all the surfaces that might transfer germs. There is nothing worse than recycling a bug through your home from person to person over and over again. This is a good place to use essential oils like lemon, tea tree, lemon grass and many others are great to add 5-20 drops to a spray bottle with distilled water for disinfecting.
Hydrogen Peroxide:
I also put 3% hydrogen peroxide on a q-tip and swab inside my ears. Let it bubble for a minute or so. I have been telling my children this for years and I recently found it on line at this link. Actually the whole article is full of great suggestions. Here's the quote from that article that confirms what I have been telling my family for years. "Another treatment that is surprisingly effective against upper respiratory infections is hydrogen peroxide. My patients have had remarkable results in curing the colds and flu within 12 to 14 hours when administering a few drops of 3 percent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) into each ear. You will hear some bubbling, which is completely normal, and possibly slight stinging.
Wait until the bubbling and stinging subside (usually 5 to 10 minutes), then drain onto a tissue and repeat with the other ear. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide in 3 percent solution is available at any drug store for a couple of dollars. It is simply amazing how many people respond to this simple, inexpensive treatment."
Drink More Water: Every system in your body depends on water and we so easily get to a somewhat dehydrated state and all those systems get stagnated and backed up.
Emotional Trauma:
If you are stressed and upset it depletes your immune system. When I start feeling under the weather I try to do a heart check to make sure I have not collected a bunch of offenses, or upsets. I make sure to take some time to search my heart and see if I need to forgive myself or others. I try to take responsibility when I know I've handled things poorly and make appropriate amends or changes. Some times its just a matter of taking some time out to journal and process all the things that have stacked up. You might also talk to a friend or a counselor.
Diet:
Cut the sugars, grain and dairy from your diet for a bit to cut down on the foods that create mucus and are inflammation producers in your body. Eat more of the dark green leafy veggies and proteins.
Hot tea feels so good but there are many teas that also have healing benefits. I try to keep Elderberry, White Willow Bark, Slippery Elm and Peppermint on hand. Each deserve their own post White Willow Bark helps with pain, Elderberry is supper high in antioxidants, Peppermint calms the stomach and slippery elm will help your sore throat feel better. I'm also a big fan of ginger that helps with nausea and muscle pain and turmeric which is a powerful anti-inflammatory.
Vitamins: Take them if you have them on hand. One of the enlightening things from the article linked above was "Vitamin D is an amazingly effective antimicrobial agent, producing 200 to 300 different antimicrobial peptides in your body that kill bacteria, viruses and fungi." They say it is the number one way to fight a cold. In the dark winter months it is very easy to get depleted of Vitamin D. In my state in the winter it gets dark at 4 in the afternoon. I take daily vitamin D just because I know we don't get enough vitamin D from sunlight. I am excited to learn that it is also good preventative care for warding of cold and flu bugs.
Lemon and tea tree are great for disinfecting things. When you ache Peppermint and coconut oil makes your poor muscles feel better. Stuffed up Eucalyptus and coconut oil rubbed on your back and chest helps clear up congestion. Lavender helps with relieve stress and wow does it make burns feel better. They are amazing oils from plants and in their very concentrated form with many ways that they can be used to promote better health and wellness.
Rest:
I would rather take a personal day and rest before I am sick than have to take off a week or more once I have caught something. You might try to take a nap or to go to bed an hour earlier to allow your body some extra time to rest. Listen to your body it wants to heal it self but it needs your help.
Words: I believe they are powerful things they Bible even says they have the power of life or death. Your body responds to the words that come out of your mouth. Don't own your illness. I hear so many people saying "my cold", "my cancer", "my aching back". Its harder to get rid of something that belongs to you. Speak health and life over your body. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then your healing has already been paid for. Often we don't fully realize all the benefits Jesus has made available to us. I will try to post more on that in the future.
