In addition to staying warm, there are a number of other concerns including colds and the flu that you need to consider if a SHTF scenario happens during the winter months. Cold weather can be lethal to the old and the sick so your main priority is to remain healthy.
Throughout the following paragraphs, we’re going to review several natural remedies to help you stay healthy and survive the winter.
Eat and Store Plenty of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of the main tools that your body used to maintain a healthy immune system and absorb iron. You need it to survive so you need to make sure that you have plenty stored. Citrus is, of course, the most well-known source of vitamin C but there are many others that you may not even know about.
- Bell peppers
- Rose hips
- Guava
- Kiwi
- Strawberries
- Brussels sprouts
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Kale
- Nasturtium leaves and flowers
The list goes on and on. Can your foods or dry them and make sure that you’re getting plenty of vitamin C as a natural remedy to stay healthy and survive the winter. Men need about 90mg/day and adult women need about 75mg/day.
Thyme
In addition to making your food taste delicious, thyme has been used forever as an expectorant. In other words, when you cough, thyme helps to break things loose so that they come up instead of sitting in your chest and causing pneumonia or infections. It’s easy to dry and can be either eaten in your foods or brewed into a tea. To make the tea, just add 2 teaspoons to boiling water and steep.
Garlic
We would be totally remiss if we didn’t include garlic in our list of preventative herbs. Seriously folks, this pungent little clove is so mighty that it can help you avoid colds, high blood pressure, and any number of other agues. It’s an anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial agent so eat as much as you want! Since it stores well either fresh or dried, it’s a great addition to your winter stockpile. Keep it in the cellar and it will stay good for months, just like your onions.
Licorice Root
For centuries, licorice root has been used to treat colds and other illnesses. It contains a chemical call glycyrrhizin that we now know has some pretty potent antiviral properties. As a matter of fact, it’s so powerful that it’s being studied as a tool to fight such whoppers as AIDS, SARS and the Avian Flu, in addition to the regular flu. It’s also an expectorant so you’re getting a double bang for your money. Licorice root may interact with other medications so if you’re taking anything, talk to your doctor now about it.
Echinacea
You’ve probably taken Echinacea in pill form at home but this is also an easy plant to grow if you’d like to make it part of your herb garden. The leaves are great to treat bug bites if applied topically and to boost your immune system if made into a tea. The roots have antiviral and antibacterial properties and have been used in holistic medicine for centuries to treat coughs, colds, bronchitis, tonsillitis and the flue. It’s even good for ear infections.
Elderberry
You can grow these fresh and store them or you can stock up on the extract from your local herbalist. Either way, elderberries can shave up to four days off of a bout with more than 10 different strains of the flu. In addition to the extract, there’s also a liquid supplement called Sambucol that you can order from several different places.
The bottom line is that if you lose your health in a SHTF situation, your chances of survival plummet. Keeping these herbs on hand will help keep you healthy and many of them are also multi-purpose, so it’s just good prepping to include them in your stockpile. Remember to rotate them just as you do your food unless, of course, you’re growing them fresh.
We’d like to stress again the importance of hand washing and maintaining good personal hygiene in the fight against disease. Many of those in the know swear that it will be the mass spreading of disease that will be the downfall of most of our race in the case of a long-term SHTF situation so keep that in mind and make sure that you have plenty of soap, bleach and other sanitation items stored. It will literally save your life.
This article has been written by Theresa Crouse for Survivopedia.
Photo sources: Dreamstime.
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