One of the Best Dr. Christopher Articles on understanding the winter flu season!

Atchoo!!  You sneeze and everyone around you thinks you have a cold.  “Are you ‘catching’ cold?” they ask.  The reply is usually, “Oh yes, I feel awful,” or “everyone in the room got a cold yesterday from so-and-so.”  Well, a sneeze is the body’s reaction to foreign matter in the nose.  If you can’t sneeze once in a while in order to discharge the foreign matter from the nasal passage, then you might as well forget having a nose as a safety valve.

You might wonder when we are going to get to the formulas to cure the cold.  Well, dear friends, there is no cure for the common cold, according to current medical beliefs.  Of course, they are absolutely right.  There is no cure for the average elimination, either.  These must take place to clean the body.

You see, when you are following the program of the three-day cleanse (once a month, at least) and the mucusless diet, there is no doubt that what you are experiencing as a “cold” is no more or no less than an elimination of toxins from the human body.

Types of Colds

We believe that all “colds” stem from the basic cause that all other diseases stem from: MALNUTRITION.

The common cold is usually referred to as “a general inflammation of the mucus membranes of the respiratory passages caused by a variety of viruses.”  Most people contact the cold “virus” about 2 or 3 times in one year.

The main reason for a cold is toxic waste matter in the body which cannot readily be eliminated.  You have all heard of the cure for the common cold, ascorbic acid, or Vitamin C.

Vitamin C is one of the great cell cleansers of the body. 

Of course it will clear the toxins from the body just as fast as you can say “Jack Toxic,” but it is by no means the cure itself.  If you ever need to take an inorganic form of Vitamin C, take it with rose hips, acerola, fresh orange juice, or some other source of fresh Vitamin C, to raise the vibration of the straight ascorbic acid.

Causes of Colds in Winter

• Heavier food–equals more waste in body (more grains that people will eat in cold weather).
• Less exercise–(skiers and winter runners exempt) more waste retention because of less circulation in body.
• Stuffy house air–less O2, less waste carried away by cells in body.
• Cold causes pores of bodies to close thus eliminating free flow of toxins out through the pores.

Cough and Sore Throat

Sore throat is by no means pleasant.  The causes are varied.  The tonsils may be swollen from a clogged lymphatic system, or the throat can be sore and irritated from coughing. 

What we need here is instant relief from pain and something to soothe and heal the throat.  For the serious sufferer who wants very quick relief, cayenne pepper taken in juice or water will bring great results.  The stimulating effects of the cayenne will increase the circulation in the throat area, minimizing the pain. 

Jethro Kloss, the self-educated healer and author of Back to Eden, states that pain results from poor circulation in an area of the body.  Warm ginger tea is an excellent remedy for pain of sore throat. 

A hot fomentation of mullein and lobelia over the throat can also speed healing.  It, too, increases circulation. 

The soothing demulcent such as slippery elm and marshmallow root tea can lessen throat irritation. 

Mullein is another valuable remedy.  Sage tea has been used for centuries for colds and sore throats. 

A few drops of the liquid antiseptic formula, consisting: Of Oak Bark, Golden Seal, Capsicum, Comfrey, Garlic, and Myrrh, can be dropped into the throat.  This is one of our most wonderful formulas for the use on cuts and wounds.  We have found that it also obliterates the irritation of sore throat for several hours.  Because it is such a powerful remedy the taste is also very powerful.  It needs to be used very sparingly.

Licorice root has been used in commercial preparations for several centuries.  The 18th century herbalist, Nicholas Culpeper, mentions it as a soothing tea for hoarseness and cough.  It also helps loosen bronchial and pulmonary congestion.  The mild laxative effect that licorice root possesses makes it a wonderful remedy for colds and flu because it keeps the bowels open and satisfies the appetite for food. 

Eating should be discontinued during the period of healing from a cold or flu. 

We recommend going off all food and drinking plenty of red raspberry leaf tea at the first sign of cold or flu.  My son, David, did this one time and after one day, he started feeling much better, so he and his wife went out to dinner to celebrate by having a regular meal.  Well, this overworked his digestive system and his influenza symptoms came back.  The second time wasn’t so easy to feel better soon.  It took several days and several courses of our Anti-Plague remedy to cure him.  The curious thing about Anti-Plague remedy is this; some people can’t stand the taste of it while others maintain that it tastes as good as high quality salad dressing.  David is one of those people in the first category.

Respiratory Nasal Congestion

Mucus in the body usually takes the nearest route to the outside.  The stuffiness in the head, nose and chest area is the result of mucus plugging up the nasal passages in an effort to be eliminated quickly.  If you are uncomfortable in this area, a nose ointment, made from peppermint and spearmint oils in a base of petroleum jelly to prevent burning, can allow you to breathe easier. 

Two formulas which provide relief in breathing

1. The General Lung Tonic (marshmallow, comfrey, mullein, chickweed, and lobelia) or;
2. The Allergies & Hay Fever Formula (Brigham tea, marshmallow root, golden seal root, chaparral, burdock root, parsley root, lobelia and cayenne)

When these formulas are not on hand, you can make a tea of golden seal root (1/4 teaspoon to a cup of water) which can be inhaled into the nose to disinfect and cleanse the area. 

We have even used the old formula of sea salt water inhaled into the nose to cleanse this area.  This may be slightly uncomfortable at first but is not harmful and will do the job of “housecleaning” within a few minutes.

Snuff

A simple powdered herbal snuff can be prepared by combining a few simple ingredients. 

Since the middle ages, bayberry has been used as a traditional snuff.

Other ingredients can be added to this base.  Garlic, a pinch of cayenne, golden seal, or lobelia may be some that you would like to experiment with. 

After combining the desired powders, take a small pinch of snuff and inhale it into the nostril, holding the other nostril shut. 

In some persons we have seen a wave of sneezing with accompanying nasal discharge. 

At one of our recent seminars we demonstrated to the class the preparation and use of herbal snuffs.  One gentleman tried it and was so excited at the results that he loudly exclaimed, “Hey, I can breathe easily again after ten years of nasal blockage!”

During the time of a cold, an electric vaporizer or a simple vaporizer made by letting a pan of water steam on the stove should be used to introduce moisture into the air.  Some oil of eucalyptus or eucalyptus tea leaves in the water puts eucalyptus fumes in the air and aid in opening up stopped nasal passages.

The headache that often accompanies a cold will be greatly relieved by keeping the nasal passages and the bowels open. 

The migraine-type headache that people often experience is due to the impaction of the transverse colon. 

Headache can often be alleviated by taking some tincture of wild lettuce and valerian or nervine herbs for pain.

Dr. Shook, gave us a time-tested remedy for colds, influenza and fevers:

This is equal parts of elder flowers and peppermint combined as a tea and taken very warm. 

This formula should never be forgotten because it will work wonders. 

Dr. Shook has stated that more lives are lost for want of a simple remedy through influenza. 

Elder flowers and peppermint will break a fever so a person could sweat out toxins within about one hour.  Children are especially responsive to this remedy.

We have several herbal formulas that are blessings during cold or flu. 

Garlic Paste to the Feet; this procedure can save a life by quickly clearing the lungs of congestion.

The Infection Formula (composed of Plantain, Black Walnut, Golden Seal Root, Bugle Weed, Marshmallow Root, and Lobelia) is great for the cleansing of the lymph system as well as purifying the blood and fighting infection.

The Herbal Antibiotic: Garlic, Dandelion Rt. Goldenseal Rt., Ginger Rt., Horseradish, and Cayenne, is a proven germ fighter, clearing even the worst symptoms from the system.

Winter is known as the cold and flu season.  It needn’t be.  The dangers of the flu shots such as swine flu shots and other insipid immunizations are great.  Some of the older folks received these and serious consequences resulted.

Rafinesque, an early botanic physician, once said: “There are several modes of effecting cures by equivalent remedies; but vegetable substances afford the mildest, most efficacious and most congenial to the human frame.”