Journey With Healthy Me - Page 43 of 43 - My healing journey from chronic pain and illness to a vibrant, healthy me

Four Drinks that Help Fight a Cold

We are in the middle of cold season. And while not life threatening, the sniffles make us miserable while the bug runs its course. There are many over the counter cold remedies available, however these products can create side effects such as drowsiness, dry mouth and eyes, and digestive distress.

I’ve discovered four natural alternatives to cold medicine. These powerful drinks not only help me in my fight against colds and allergies, they support and strengthen my immune system so that I am less likely to catch what’s going around next time.

Banana Orange Pineapple Smoothie

We typically think of hot drinks when fighting a cold. However, this nutrient packed fruit smoothie is a great drink to boost the immune system and increase vitamin C.

Bananas are a powerful antiviral food that also soothes sleep disorders and reduces anxiety. Oranges are high in vitamin C and bioactive calcium. They help combat the strep virus and a host of other disorders. Pineapple is anti inflammatory and supports the immune system as well.

In a blender, combine 1 banana, 2 oranges and 1 cup frozen pineapple chucks. Add 3/4 cup water and blend well.

Sipping on a banana orange pineapple smoothie is a great way to start the day, boost the immune system, and soothe a sore or scratchy throat.

Spiced Apple Cider

This fragrant hot drink not only tastes great, it also smells wonderful as it simmers on the stove. And the spiced cider is full of health benefits.

Apple cider is a great digestive aid and is very soothing to the digestive tract sipped before or after a meal. It also helps to reduce stress damage and keep the body energized and active. Cloves and ginger are especially good for warding off respiratory ailments and any cold or flu symptoms. They also help relieve headaches, nausea, muscle spasms, tension, and nerve pain. Cinnamon is very good for reducing inflammation. Star anise is highly beneficial in the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and sinus infections. (Recipe and info from Anthony William, the Medical Medium).

This warming drink is soothing, easing a sore throat and clearing a stuffy nose. Save the left overs in the fridge and drink cold or reheat. Drink spiced apple cider often to ward off cold symptoms and strengthen the body’s immune system.

Big Magic Chai

I discovered this hot drink via Elizabeth Gilbert’s Facebook page. Full of anti inflammatory spices, this hot drink is a great end of the day treat. Liz swears that it will cure anything!

Ginger is loaded with nutrients and bioactive compounds with powerful antioxidant and anti inflammatory effects. Cardamom is a pungent spice, related to ginger, that helps alleviate cold symptoms. Cinnamon also has antioxidant and anti inflammatory properties.

This is another aromatic drink that makes me feel better just by inhaling the spicy scent.

Nettle Tea

This tea can be purchased in tea bag form, or it is simple to brew from loose dried leaves, purchased in bulk, at a health food store.

Nettle leaves have anti inflammatory properties that work with the body in relieving and preventing cold and allergy symptoms. I brew a pot of tea and keeping it warm under a tea cozy, sip on it all day.

Place 3-4 teaspoons of dried nettle leaves into a large mesh tea ball. Steep in teapot, in very hot water, for 15 minutes. Add a spoonful of raw honey to each cup of tea, as a sweetener, if desired.

A single cup of tea can be prepared by adding 1 teaspoon of dried nettle leaves to a small mesh tea ball or mesh basket and steeping for 15 minutes in a cup of very hot water.

I start drinking nettle tea as soon as I feel a cold coming on. It not only feels great to my throat, it soothes my body and clears my head.

The next time a cold threatens to bring you down, try one, or all, of these natural drinks. Your body will thank you.

Weighing in on Ideal Weight

I love when synchronicities occur, calling my attention to something important, usually a vital message for me. When I opened my iPhone to Google this morning, I discovered a list of unusual holidays for today. Three of those jumped out at me.

The focus of my journey this year is on health, and making life a little more tender and art a little more robust. Those three areas appeared on the holiday list today. Please read about Artist as Outlaw Day and Tenderness Toward Existence Day on my Cindy Goes Beyond blog.

I was intrigued by Women’s Healthy Weight Day, leading me to think about my relationship with my weight, and that oft dreaded bathroom scale. What is an ideal weight, anyway, and who decides on that number for me?

Losing weight was not my intention when I stopped eating meat, sugar, gluten, dairy, corn and soy. Feeling better, walking better, releasing pain was my motivation. However, weight loss has occurred as a result of eating fruits and vegetables and avoiding the foods on my no list.

For my friends and family, colleagues and clients, what they have noticed most hasn’t been that I no longer use a cane when I walk. At least, that’s not what they first comment on. They remark about the weight loss.

I understand. We are a culture that notices physical changes. I like to point out that what they are seeing is me, being healthier. Me, feeling so incredibly good, I am euphoric.

What isn’t immediately noticeable are the changes within, and the shifts in my beliefs about health and food.

I have long had a hate relationship with the bathroom scale. I’m not sure when this object got to decide for me how my day was going to go, but one peek at a number either made me feel elated or made me feel like a failure.

With health as my goal this time, the scale has become unimportant. I rarely weigh, relying primarily on how my clothes fit as an indicator that I’m slimming down. I’m not free from the need to measure progress entirely. I still own a scale and I know approximately how much I’ve lost. However, I am letting more and more time pass by, in between checking in on my weight.

My desire is to let my body discover her own ideal weight. Rather than rely on the scale or a chart or someone else’s ideal, I am trusting my body to find her way to the perfect size for me. I am so much more than a statistic or a number on a graph. I am uniquely me. As I heal from viruses and inflammation, as I consume clean, wholesome food, simply prepared, my body will continue to respond by becoming healthier, leaner, stronger, more fit and vibrant.

Who I am and how I feel is so much more crucial to me than how much I weigh. Losing pounds has not been a strong enough motivator to succeed at maintaing my ideal weight. However, health, wellness, vitality and life are powerful inspiration indeed.

Very soon I will toss the scale. And check in instead with my body, my heart, my sense of wellness, to see how I am doing. That sounds pretty ideal to me.

Welcome to My Healing Journey Blog

I am excited today to launch a new adventure. This blog focuses on my healing journey that began six months ago, and continues on. Check out my About Page, for a brief account of what led me to begin this journey of taking back my health and well being. Six months later, I am so grateful that I made the decision to look at my health in a different way, and take full responsibility for it. I embraced a plant based diet at that time. The plant based diet has become a plant based lifestyle. I will not return, ever, to the poor diet that kept me sick and in pain.

Journey With Healthy Me, A Healing Journey

My desire for this blog is to share what I am learning, as I continue to improve my health, vitality and well being. There will be recipes, information about the plant based lifestyle, tips and techniques, and encouragement for those who are considering a change or feel ready to assume responsibility for their health.

Journey With Healthy Me, A Healing Journey

Me fourteen months ago, at the family Halloween party, needing a cane to walk and approximately 50 pounds heavier.

Here are a couple of my most frequently asked questions, in case others are wondering as well.

What foods do you eat? And what foods do you avoid?

By far the most common question I get, this one is an easy answer. I eat fruits and vegetables, raw and cooked, brown rice, nuts, and foods made from fruits and veggies, such as smoothies, salsa and hummus. On the “do not eat” list is meat, dairy products, sugar, gluten, corn, soy, and canola oil. The foods on the avoid list cause, or feed, inflammation and illness. Soy and corn are on the list because they have been genetically modified. I can have a corn product, if it is GMO free, and also free of the other foods on the do not eat list.

What about the holidays? Did you stay on a plant based diet?

Yes, I stayed faithful to the plant based lifestyle over Thanksgiving and Christmas. My family was wonderfully supportive, fixing a traditional Thanksgiving dinner while also offering several plant based options. Christmas was buffet style, with everyone contributing to the meal. I brought along plant based dishes to include, for both meals. I didn’t feel like I missed out at all. The most important part of the holiday season was being with my family, and I did that!

How long are you going to stay on this diet?

I will stay on this path. The diet has become a lifestyle. I feel too good to return to my old way of eating. It isn’t a matter of will power. It is a matter of feeling good. As I like to say, nothing tastes as good as healthy feels.

I will be answering other questions, sharing about the differences between going on a diet, and embracing a lifestyle, and discussing everything from which supplements build up the body’s immune system, to thoughts on a healthy relationship with food, to what I am learning about fighting illnesses and preventing disease.

For more information about Anthony William, who started me on my healing journey, check out his website here: Medical Medium

And join me, on this healing journey, as I become the healthiest, most vibrant version of myself. Journey with healthy me!

Cindy Moore, Journey with Healthy Me

Me now, after six months on my healing journey. No cane, no pain, feeling better than I have felt in more than 20 years.