Cold or Flu? Try these easy remedies . . .

Have you been sick and taken a sick day from cold, fever or flu symptoms? Can you afford to do that?? Lots of companies are taking sick days away from employees, so not only do we lose a day's work, we now are potentially lose a day's pay as well. In these tough economic times, we cannot afford time out of work for being sick.

When a sore throat, fever and stuffy nose gets you down, don't reach for the OTC medications. These only mask your symptoms and provides alot of sugar, alcohol and other chemicals. Instead, try some homemade teas such as ginger & cayenne tea or apple cider vinegar tea. These teas will clear your sinus passages and cleanse your blood. These remedies target the problem, not cover it over. Here's how:

Ginger & Cayenne
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled & sliced
1/4" slice of fresh lemon or lime - use juice if you don't have fresh
a bit of lemon or lime zest
1 tsp honey or agave nectar
Dash of Cayenne pepper - more if desired

Boil ginger in two cups of water for several minutes. Pour into a large mug. Squeeze the lemon or lime and add to the mug - drop the slice into the cup as well. Add the honey and cayenne pepper to taste. This is a very aromatic tea, which is sweet and spicy. It is very soothing on a sore throat and clears the sinus passages in no time.

Apple Cider Vinegar Tea
Substitute the apple cider vinegar for the ginger. Boil the water only and add it to one ounce of apple cider vinegar in a mug with the remaining ingredients above. Drink, enjoy, feel better!

OR
Drink shots of straight apple cider vinegar every hour chased by a glass of water. This is NOT the most fun way to take the ACV, but it is effective, and it is quick. It is kind of harsh if you have a sore throat, but the initial shock of it is over quickly, and the benefit of getting rid of the sore throat in a matter of hours is huge. I would say enjoy, but I think endure is a better word for it.

Nighttime Trick
Rub wintergreen oil (or similar) on the bottoms of your feet and put your socks on just before bedtime. This clears your sinuses while you sleep. You will have not be losing sleep with a cold or flu using this trick. Sweet dreams!