Colds and Flu

Individuals often get colds and flu during the winter and spring seasons. The symptoms are all too familiar: runny nose, cough, congestion, headache, an achy body, and sometimes fever.

Ayurvedically speaking, colds are a kapha-vata disorder. The body builds up an excess of cool and moist kapha qualities, resulting in congestion and a runny nose, and at the same time it may suffer from excess vata, which reduces agni (gastric fire), leading to chills, loss of appetite, and/or poor digestion.

GINGER REMEDIES

The best remedy for colds is ginger. Here are several simple home remedies using ginger that will greatly relieve your cold symptoms and hasten full recovery.

• Combine the following herbs together:

ginger 1 part
cinnamon 1 part
lemongrass 2 parts

Steep 1 teaspoon of this formula for about 10 minutes in 1 cup of hot water; strain it, and add honey for sweetness if you like. If you drink this delicious tea several times a day, it will help to take care of cold, congestion, and flu.

• Another excellent remedy is ginger-cardamom-cinnamon tea. Here is the formula:

ginger 2 parts
cinnamon 3 parts
cardamom just a pinch

Steep 1 teaspoon in a cup of hot water for 10 to 15 minutes. When the tea has cooled down somewhat, you can add about ½ to 1 teaspoon of honey for taste.

• Boil 1 teaspoon ginger, or a few eucalyptus leaves, in a pint of water. Turn off the stove, put a towel over your head, and inhale the steam. This will relieve congestion and help you feel much better. Just steam alone, with no herbs added at all, will also be beneficial.

ADDITIONAL HERBAL REMEDIES

• Try ½ teaspoon fennel seed powder mixed with 1 teaspoon natural sugar, 2 or 3 times a day.
• For a cold with cough and congestion, mix ½ teaspoon cinnamon and 1 teaspoon honey. Eat this mixture 2 or 3 times a day. (For help with your cough, please see “Cough.”)
• For flu, make a tea from 1 teaspoon tulsi (holy basil) in 1 cup water. Boil for just 1 minute and then drink.
• An ancient Ayurvedic herbal formula that is effective for colds is the following:

sitopaladi 1 part
maha sudarshan churna 1 part

Combine these herbs in equal proportions and take ¼ teaspoon with 1 teaspoon honey 2 or 3 times a day after eating.

• Western herbology has some helpful herbs for colds. Try this mixture:

echinacea 1 part
goldenseal 1 part
cinnamon 2 parts

Take ¼ teaspoon of this mixture with honey twice a day.

CAUTION: Don’t Combine Ginger and Aspirin. Ginger and aspirin are both blood thinners and should not be taken together. Therefore it is wise to drink ginger tea—or use any other ginger remedy—either two hours before or two hours after you take any aspirin.

OTHER REMEDIES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

VITAMIN C. Taking some Vitamin C will be beneficial.

NATURAL NOSE DROPS. Put some liquefied ghee (3 to 5 drops) in each nostril in the morning and evening. This will lubricate the nasal passages and relieve the irritation and sneezing of a cold.

HOT WATER. Drinking hot water several times a day is an effective way to remove toxins from the system and hasten recovery from a cold.

NO DAIRY PRODUCTS. Strictly avoid dairy products such as yogurt, cottage cheese, and milk, and all cold drinks.

BE SURE TO REST. Rest is very important for healing. As much as possible, rest, read, and relax.

ONLY MILD EXERCISE. Ayurveda says that when you have a cold, it is best not to do vigorous exercise, which can set up the conditions for the cold to move into the chest. Just do some gentle yoga asanas. Surya namaskar (Sun Salutation) is beneficial. The inverted postures, including Shoulder Stand and Headstand (hold for only about 1 minute), as well as Forward Bend, help to prevent postnasal drip and help to drain the mucus through the nose.

BREATHING EXERCISE. Use the Breath of Fire breathing exercise to help burn up your cold. Inhale normally and passively, but exhale forcefully, and repeat rapidly several times. This exercise will help to eliminate mucus from the respiratory tract. For more detailed instructions, see chapter 6.

• Another effective breathing exercise is deep Alternate Nostril breathing, without retention of breath. This will also help to relieve congestion (see chapter 6).

PREVENTION. As a preventive measure, take the herb amalaki. It is a rasayana (rejuvenative tonic) and a good source of vitamin C and iron. Taking 1 teaspoon of amalaki daily, with warm water at night, will help to prevent the common cold.

If you are taking triphala at night, you are already taking amalaki, it is one of the three herbs that constitute triphala (along with haritaki and bibhitaki). Taking extra amalaki is not recommended, as it would create diarrhea.