I’m a whole-herb gal at heart and don’t use a ton of essential oils (curious about why!? ask me in my newsletter, that’s where I love to chat with you!), but eucalyptus essential oil has earned a permanent spot in my winter medicine chest.

Why?
Because it’s literally just so effective. It’s an amazing congestion buster that can help you breathe easier in minutes, and can even kill airborne germs on contact.

In herbalism, we often aim to get remedies in direct contact with the tissues that need support. These three methods do just that, bringing eucalyptus oil straight to the respiratory system, where it can work its expectorant and antimicrobial magic.

Let’s dive into three practical ways to use eucalyptus essential oil for colds, flus, and winter wellness.

1. Steam inhalation for congestion relief

(How to use eucalyptus oil for blocked nose + sinus pressure)

This is hands-down one of my all-time fav ways to use eucalyptus oil (although I can’t say my kids feel the same… but that’s why I’ve got a few methods here, cause you might find different herbal remedies suit different people in your home!)

The warm steam opens your airways, and the eucalyptus helps loosen mucus, soothe tissues, and kill microbes on contact. It’s a gentle but potent remedy for colds, sinus infections, and that stuffy, muddled-wombat-headed feeling.

How to do it:

• Add 2 drops of eucalyptus essential oil* to a bowl of boiling water (yes it’s ok if a few more drops dribble out, that’s why we aim for 1-2 drops, but try not to get more than 3-4 drops. Essential oils almost have this soul lesson reminding us that more isn’t always better!)
• Very carefully, put your head over the bowl and cover with a towel. Breathe deeply for 5–10 minutes.

*Don’t have eucalyptus essential oil or don’t like using essential oils?? You could also throw in 1 big handful of dried thyme (thymus vulgaris) or sage (salvia officinalis) leaves.

👉 Grab full instructions in my FREE eBook

2. Diffuse it (or try this no-diffuser trick)

(Purify the air + support better breathing at night)

When someone’s sick, I love getting eucalyptus right into the air. Diffusing eucalyptus essential oil can help cleanse the room, reduce exposure for others, and support better breathing overnight.

No diffuser? No problem. Try the old-school method:

• Add a few drops to a tissue, cotton ball, or scrap of fabric
• Place near the bed or in the room

This is especially great at night to help unblock sinuses and get some healing sleep.

3. Make a simple natural room spray

(A germ-busting, air-cleansing spray for sick days)

A homemade eucalyptus room spray is a great way to freshen the air and minimise the spread of viruses.

✨ DIY Germ-Away room spray recipe:

1. Fill a 500ml(ish) spray bottle with water
2. Add 8–10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil (if using a smaller spray bottle, use less)
3. Shake well before each use, otherwise the essential oils float on water
4. Mist into the air, especially in bedrooms or wherever the sick person’s hanging out.
   🚫 Don’t spray directly on faces

Eucalyptus essential oil is an affordable, accessible ways to bring potent natural healing into your home. Whether you’re using steam, diffusing it, or making a DIY spray, this plant ally can help support your respiratory system and keep the household breathing easy this winter.

Also – cause I’m a big fan of use-what-you’ve-got herbalism, you could also work with: thyme, sage, tea tree or lavender to freshen the air, clear congestion and kill viruses in the respiratory system.

Want more winter wellness tips? I’ve got heaps on the blog, or get hands-on making your own with my DIY Immunity Herbal Remedy Kit

The post 3 Powerful ways to use eucalyptus essential oil for colds, flu & winter wellness appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

She DIDN’T want our usual sore throat remedy!

Ha! Kids always keeping us on our toes!  Luckily for us, I’ve got lots of little tricks up my sleeve, so wanted to pass them on the best natural sore throat remedies.

As always, home herbalism is best when it’s SIMPLE. You don’t NEED all these options, nor are any ‘the BEST’. They’re all effective, and you might find each person in your home prefers a different method.

I know for me, I’ll never choose to gargle, cause honestly, I just sound like a dying whale before I accidently spit it out on everything around me 🤣

So, find what works for you (and just keep the other ideas tucked in your back pocket if you ever need them).

Sage (Salvia Officinalis)

Sage is one of the best natural remedies for sore throats (not the only herb tho!) because it’s an antimicrobial, astringent herb with a particular affinity for the throat. It’s widely available and grows easily (in a pot if you’re in the subtropics) making it easy to have on hand when a sore throat strikes.

Think sage in any form – tea, gargle, infused honey, electuary, spray.

I love to make a sage and echinacea throat spray, because in a research study, this combo was found to be as effective as pharmaceuticals.

Get recipes for sage tea, sage-infused honey and sage throat spray in our DIY Immunity Kit if you want those recipes, herbs, spray bottle etc – we’ve got you covered!

Thyme (Thymus Vulgaris)

A close friend of sage, thyme works a treat for sore throats. I personally only really think of thyme tea or gargle for sore throats, but that’s cause I usually have sage on hand. Thyme’s a great warming antibacterial herb though, so it’s gonna pack a punch.

Salt water gargle

I feel like this is the ultimate winner for simplicity, good ol’ salt water gargle. Super effective and perfect for people who want natural home remedies without any fuss and fanfare (and those who can gargle without spitting it everywhere!). Dissolve 1 teaspoon salt in 1 cup of warm water. Gargle 10 – 30 seconds. Repeat as needed.

You could also combine this is a soothing remedy, like marshmallow tea or a spoon of honey to help coat the throat.

Marshmallow tea (Althaea Officinalis)

If you’ve got a sore throats where it feels excruciating to swallow, marshmallow root tea is going to feel just so darn soothing.

It’s slimy, mucilaginous properties will coat your throat to create a protective barrier.

I think of marhsmallow primarily for its soothing properties and would personally opt to combine with another stronger antimicrobial remedy, like a sage gargle or throat spray.

To extract the slimy polysaccharides from marshmallow root, make a cold infusion.

Marshmallow Root Cold Infusion Recipe

Put 1 tablespoon marshmallow root in 1 cup room temperature water. Let sit for 4 hours (you can drink earlier, but the longer you leave it, the more slimy polysaccharides will be extracted into the water). Strain then sip as needed. Can store in fridge for up to 1 day.

Learn more about how to make cold infusions in my self-paced Mastering Herbal Teas course – we look at the 3 ways herbalists make tea, there’s heaps of recipes in there and you learn to create your own perfect tea blends.. and heaps more. Gosh, all that for $37 – bargain!

You might be able to use marshmallow leaf too, but I haven’t personally done that, so can’t say from experience.

There are more herbs you might use as well, these are just the ones I’ve worked with the most often for sore throats.

Remember also – a sore throat is often the first sign we’ve coming down with something. If we work with these natural sore throat remedies and other immune stimulant remedies at the earliest sign, we’re more likely to not get sick.

However, it’s also an invitation for us to rest and care for our body, regardless of whether we do get sick or not. Let’s not just use natural remedies as bandaids but as a way to deeply and intentionally care for ourselves (and yes, I know there’s lots of situations that make this difficult).

Hopefully you’ll find one, or all, of these natural remedies for sore throats helpful!

Take care and stay well.

Head to the Articles section for more winter wellness recipes – like how to use elderberry syrup effectively, make your own fire cider, best herbs for winter wellness etc.

The post Best natural remedies for sore throats appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

Every home needs at least one immune stimulant remedy on hand to quickly turn to when winter lurgies are doing the rounds. Fire cider could be that for you! Whilst my family tends to favour elderberry syrup, it’s so interesting how sometimes I’ll crave fire cider instead – the wisdom of the body at work. And fire cider is a great remedy to take with you if you’re on hols as it’s shelf stable.

This is a foundational kitchen medicine recipe, using many easily accessible herbs and foods! I love recipes that cross the food-medicine divide and brings herbal remedies right into our kitchen and that was the inspiration of Rosemary Gladstar who first created this remedy.

While we made this recipe at a recent workshop, I had this seriously old song stuck in my head – and I tell ya, I didn’t hold back from sharing 😂

🎤Give it to me baby, uh huh, uh huh…. pretty fly for a white guy… on repeat….. for 2 hours….🎵🎶 (ok, ok, half the time I sang in my head, I wanted people to want to come back to the workshop after all! – I run regular herbal medicine workshops on the Sunshine Coast – come join us! )

So in honour of that earworm, I wanna call this new recipe:

Give it to me Baby Fire Cider Recipe

Which also works, cause hopefully it’s so delicious your friends and family will be begging for more!😉

Recipes are great, but understanding the principles (or the ‘why’ behind things) is even better than that’s the how I love to teach herbal medicine.

So this fire cider recipe is more of a recipe framework than a recipe per se as I show you how to easily customise according to taste and what you’ve got on hand.

Don’t have an ingredient? Leave it out.

Want it to have a gentler flavour? Amp up the yummy herbs

Ingredients

• Parchment paper
• Apple cider vinegar
• Honey
• jar with lid (you can use any size jar, match ingredient amounts to your jar – see instructions below)

Core herbs

Make sure at least half your jar consists of these core herbs as they’re the ones doing the immune system heavy lifting (although they all have a role to play!).

I’ll tend to pick 3-4 of these core ingredients and then use in roughly equal parts, although use 1 or 2 herbs if that’s what you’ve got on hand.

• Onion
• Garlic
• ginger
• Horseradish*
• Thyme
• Rosemary
• Nasturtium leaves and flowers
• Chillis*

*horseradish and chillis are both strong flavours, even amongst a crowd of strong flavours, so tone these down or leave out if you don’t like things overly spicy

Optional Herbs

For added vitamin C and bioflavonoids: Lemon – sliced, including peel, rosehips, lemongrass (which also has antimicrobial and antiviral properties)

To soften the taste for kids: raisins, cinnamon, blueberries or apples (I haven’t tried, but imagine it’d be nice!?)

Random ideas: herbs like cardamon, cobblers peg, echinacea etc

(Got any other herbs you like to add to your fire cider? I’d love to hear! Just reply to one of my newsletters, or use the contact form to reach out 😊)

To make:

1. Chop and slice your herbs and foods
2. Add to your jar. If using mostly fresh herbs, fill jar ¾ full, if using dried, then fill jar ½ full.
3. Fill jar ¾ full with apple cider vinegar.
4. Fill remaining way with honey (if your honey’s too stiff, gently warm jar in a saucepan of hot water)*
5. Cut parchment paper to cover jar, then screw on lid tightly (the parchment paper is super important if you’re using a metal lid as the vinegar will corrode the lid – yes I’ve had personal experience 😂) Skip if you’re using a plastic lid
6. Shake jar
7. Label jar with ingredients and date made
8. Keep jar in a handy place as you’ll want to shake daily or 3x a week for 4-6 weeks.
9. Strain and taste. If you need to, you can add a bit more honey to make it sweeter.

*Another way to make this (and you might see this on other recipes, is to infuse the herbs in only vinegar. Then once you strain them you’ll add the honey. Depending on your taste, you’ll add 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup honey for every 1 cup vinegar (and you can even increase the honey if needed, although I’d personally explore adding yummier herbs to the blend).

To use:

Preventative immune tonic: 1 tablespoon/ day for adults and 1 teaspoon for kids, diluted in water.

Acute: 1 tablespoon every 3-4 hours for adults and 1 teaspoon for kids, diluted in water.

As food: use in marinades, salad dressings etc

Hope you love this fire cider – as you make it over the years, take note on favourite batches and flavours. After a while, you might have your own favourite recipe with particular herbs and foods you like to use each time! That’s one of my favourite parts of home herbalism, as it’s a living legacy and family health culture you can pass on for generations.

Love learning herbal medicine understanding principles, rather than just recipes? You’ll adore my Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 minutes a day course where I lift the curtain on how to craft your own tea blends for tummy troubles, anxiety and stress, sleep, vitality and more! And yes, there are a tonne of recipes too, I wouldn’t leave you hanging! Although with my simple and intuitive BASE-BUILD-EXTEND process, I know you’ll be confidently blending your own teas in no time at all! Learn more

Want a simple version of this recipe on a recipe card? Grab the DIY Immunity Kit– comes with recipe cards, herbs, bottles etc – our remedy kits are convenient, expert-backed recipes and saves you oodles of time sourcing all the bits ‘n’ bobs you need!

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This broth has a place in EVERY home and I reckon has to be one of my most used recipes.

Why? Cause it’s so versatile and super quick hands-on time.

I love versatile recipes cause when you make them regularly you get to go on auto-pilot which reduces overwhelm and simplifies herbal medicine-making in your busy life!

Today we’ll talk about my immunity broth version – and some of the herbs you might want to include. At the end I’ll talk about how I like to use this broth

Benefits of herbal immunity broth

The benefits will depend on which herbs you use, but some herbs I always like to include:

Astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus) Astragalus has an affinity for the immune system and is an immunomodulator herb, meaning it brings the immune system into balance – whether it’s under or over-functioning (learn to decode herbal jargon around immunity in this article (click here).

I was taught that Chinese grandma’s would start adding Astragalus to the stock pot in autumn, to build immunity ahead of the winter cold and flu season. And that’s what I do too. It doesn’t stimulate the immune system acutely, but it works as a deep immune tonic, improving immune function when used over time.  

But it’s not just for prevention – astragalus is also a deeply supportive herb to use after illness. It’ll help you recover more fully so you don’t go down the route of recurrent infections.

NOTE – In Traditional Chinese Medicine, astragalus is contraindicated when you’re acutely sick.

Shiitake (lentinula edodes)– another immune superstar, shiitake is both an immunomodulator herb with antiviral and antimicrobial actions. See this article for more info (click here)

Seaweeds: seaweeds are a great source of bioavailable nutrients and will aid in recovery after an illness, or anytime you’re needing extra nourishment and support.

Nettle (Urtica dioica) is another great herb to add if you want a nutrient-dense broth.

Pungent herbs: garlic, onion, cayenne

Depending how you want to use your broth, you can either add these or leave them out. If I’m making a mild broth to cook rice in, or hide in foods, I’ll leave out these stronger tastes. The benefits of adding them is they warm the body, and stimulate the immune system. They’re great to add if you’re sipping on broth to support a fever as their diaphoretic action will help bring the fever to the surface. More info on supporting fevers in our Building Immunity course (click here)

Herbal Immunity Broth Recipe

Base Ingredients

I’m providing this recipe as a starting place for your herbal immunity broth adventures! Adapt to use what you’ve got on hand, and what health outcomes you want to support. Tweak the ratios to match the pot you’re making your stock in. A general guide is to fill about 1/3 – 1/2 way up your pot.

🌿 3 cups* mixed vegetables – I usually include carrots, celery, sweet potato, capsicum, onion (usually steer away from cruciferous ones, although I do use broccoli stems)

🌿 ½ cup shiitake (Lentinula Edodes)

🌿 1 dessertspoon – 1/4 cup astragalus (Astragalus membranaceus)

🌿 Few cloves of garlic, roughly chopped. (leave out if making mild version)

🌿 2 tablespoons fresh chopped or 1 tablespoon dried turmeric

🌿 1 tablespoon thyme (thyme vulgaris)

🌿 1 tablespoon fresh chopped ginger (can add more to your taste or leave out for mild version)

🌿 Salt and pepper

*Depends on your pot size, you might use up to 5 cups if a 12 litre stockpot

Method

🌿 Add all the ingredients to the pot and fill pot almost to the top with water (leaving room for it to gently simmer without overflowing)

🌿 Put lid on and bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer.

🌿 Simmer for 1 – 4 hours or up to 12 if using chicken bones

How To Use Herbal Immunity Broth

This is a mild, palatable broth, easily hidden in foods and great for kids. You can drink warm, or use it in your cooking. You can certainly amp up the pungent herbs to make it a spicier, more flavourful sipping broth.

I like to make a big batch and keep it in the fridge to use in cooking,. You could also freeze as ice cubes to have on hand when illness strikes (just make sure you’re not drinking a broth with astragalus in if you have acute infection).

Prevention: use in cooking all autumn/ winter as a base for stews, soups, as the water component in curries or when cooking rice.

If you feel yourself coming down with something, you can add the pungent herbs to warm you up and stimulate the immune system – make it according to your taste.

Acute illness: sip when feeling rough, especially if you’re not up for eating, a nourishing broth can give your body some nourishing support without adding digestion to your body’s to-do list.  Nettles, seaweeds and bones (if you eat that) are really good additions if you’re relying on your broth for nutrient support.

Note- make sure your broth doesn’t have astragalus during acute phase of illness.

Recovery: this broth can be a star in your recovery as you add herbs to help you kick of the last of the infection, rebuild your strength and focus on nourishment.

Cause yes, you can sip it as a drinking broth, but you can also use it as the base for soups and stews, the water component in curries, or when cooking rice.

Learn more

Get this as a recipe card, as well shiitake and astragalus in the DIY Immunity Kit (click here)

This broth is technically a herbal decoction – a specific way of making tea! The Mastering Herbal Teas in 5 Minutes a day self-paced course is your ultimate roadmap to make effective healing teas at home that you and your family actually want to drink!

In easily digestible videos, with printable cheat sheets and much more, you’ll what equipment you’ll need, the 3 ways herbalists make teas, as well as recipes and a simple framework to start making your own teas at home — I am so proud of this course and I hope it’ll help tea become a simple, fun enjoyable daily habit in your home! Learn more (click here)

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Benefits of this foraged wild weed pesto are that you can:

• use whatever you’ve got on hand,
• wild plants have are nutrient dense sources of a variety of vitamins and minerals – depending which wild plants you end up using.
• bitter flavours are deliciously hidden
• easy to get into a regular rhythm of making this simple kitchen medicine, which lets face it, is half the battle
• Easy for kids to help you make and forage. The more kids can be involved in making food and medicine, the more likely they are to eat it and learn these useful life skills

So what weeds can you use in foraged wild weed pesto?

In my subtropical area, it depends which season it is. I recommend nibbling the plants so you get a feel for their flavour. They all mix well together, but some will be milder and balance out the more bitter herbs. Helpful hint, young leaves will often have a milder taste.

Coming into winter, great herbs you might forage are

• Cobblers pegs
•  Nodding top
• Tulsi
• Chickweed
• Gotu kola
• Catsear
• Dandelion
• native violets
•  Stuff in the garden such as basil, parsley, rosemary, sage or nasturtium

As with all foraging, make sure each herb is safe for you to consume – check for any safety and contraindications.

 There will be others as well, start by getting to know the plants that grow near you, might include nettle, purslane or plantain (although I never find these growing near me, so I haven’t much experience with them).

You can also mix with other kitchen greens like spinach, rocket or celery leaves

👉 Make sure you forage ethically and safely, only taking what you can 100% accurately ID; not harvesting where it’s sprayed or near main roads; only taking what you  need and leaving more of the plants than you take.

To make the wild weed pesto:

I personally don’t measure anymore (if I ever did), so the measurements are guides for when you’re starting out. I think pesto is the kind of recipe where every family should have its own ‘secret family recipe’ – ie your fav combos of herbs, nuts, ratio of oil and cheese etc.

You can also make smaller or larger pesto batches, depending what you’re using it for and what herbs you’ve got available, so that as your guide and just generally keep the ratios the same.

You’ll develop this over time, but to start off, use:

Ingredients for foraged wild weed pesto

• Handful of herbs (mix of any of above)  – up to 3 cups
• Handful of nuts (I like cashews and almonds, but could use any nuts or seeds on hand – around ½ cup nuts
• Chunk Parmesan (1/4 cup) or 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast and salt for vegan version
• olive oil, to make a paste, can add more to make it saucier (probably around ½ cup)

 optional: add lemon juice (1/4 lemon) or a clove of raw garlic to taste. The raw garlic acts as a great immune stimulant to ward off colds/flu and fresh lemon juice adds a lovely hit of vitamin c and bioflavonoids.

Method

1. Start by blitzing the nuts in a food processor to small chunks.
2. Add the green leaves, parmesan (or nutritional yeast and salt), garlic and lemon juice if using and blitz until leaves are reduced. Can add half the olive oil here (or all of it if you’d rather just do it all at once)
3. Add remaining olive oil to the consistency you desire – you can make it chunkier or smoother, thicker or more oily. The choice is yours!

Don’t have a food, go old school ‘Nonna style’ in a mortar and pestle or using a knife and chopping board.

How to use

 You can use the wild weed pesto as a dip, part of a salad dressing, pasta sauce, on pizza, on toast, in wraps

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1. Strengthening Immunity Like a Champ

Let’s kick things off with a round of applause for shiitake mushrooms’ incredible immune-boosting abilities. These little guys are packed with beta-glucans that help make your immune system stronger by acting as a deep immune tonic – ie restoring the overall function of your immune system. Shiitakes are an immunomodulating, not immune stimulant herb which means they bring your immune system into balance, but aren’t useful to ramp up your immune system when an acute illness strikes (this is a really critical distinction to understand with herbs that are ‘good for the immune system’ and I’ve got a whole article about it – read it here)

• Keeping Hearts Happy and Healthy

Shiitake mushrooms aren’t just good for the immune system, they’re also champions of heart health! With their fiber-rich goodness and special substances like eritadenine, shiitakes can help lower cholesterol levels and keep our blood pressure in check.

• Soothing Inflammation

Like most herbs, shiitake mushrooms are experts at calming inflammation. Thanks to their abundance of antioxidants, these mighty mushrooms help our bodies combat oxidative stress and inflammation, leaving us feeling rejuvenated, and ready to tackle whatever life throws our way.

• Stand up to cancer:

Some of the medicinal benefits of shiitake mushroom revolve around their use in cancer treatment. Some parts in shiitakes, like lentinan, might help stop cancer tumours from growing. They’ve been used in adjunct cancer therapy in countries like China and Japan since the 1980s!

• Digest well

Shiitakes are a great support for digestive weakness that can show up as poor appetite or bloating. I’d say this they’re more indicated for this when there’s signs of longer-term digestive weakness. Short-term, acute digestive issues are easily remedies with warming carminative herbs, or bitters before meals.

Learn to use shiitake mushrooms in your home

It honestly amazes me that this humble mushroom can do so much and this is why shiitake is one of six all-star immune system herbs in our DIY Immunity Remedy Kits (click here)

With the Kit, you’ll learn to make:

🍄shiitake honey pearls,

🍄shiitake immunity broth and

🍄Asian Greens with shiitake (dinner and medicine in one – win!)

Along with shiitake mushrooms, 3 shiitake-packed recipes, you get 13 other recipes and 5 others herbs with all the bits and bobs you need to just get started. It’s easy peasy and super practical – you’ll never want to learn herbal medicine any other way!

🌿Check out the DIY Immunity Kit – it’s your ticket to feeling awesome all winter long! 🚀

Building Immunity Course

If you really want to learn the medicinal benefits of shiitake mushrooms, you’ll love our Building Immunity course. This 4 week online course dives deep into understanding how to build immunity in daily life, use herbs to support immunity and breaking it down into actionable steps so you feel confident which remedy to reach for when. Learn more about the Building Immunity Course (click here)

So, in conclusion, shiitake mushrooms aren’t just a delicious addition to our meals – they’re also nature’s secret weapon for promoting health and wellness from the inside out. Whether you’re sautéing them up for a savory stir-fry or simmering them into a soul-soothing soup, be sure to give these marvelous mushrooms the spotlight they deserve.

The post Healing Powers of Shiitake Mushrooms appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

So, in winter, I am thinking about what our immune system specifically needs, and also what we as humans need in this season. Here’s a quick overview, and I’ll explore each in more depth below.

1. herbs that directly strengthen and bring balance to our immune system.
2. herbs that help us slow down, rest and unwind
3. herbs to nourish ourselves
4. herbs to keep us warm

Herbs that directly strengthen and balance our immune system

When we’re thinking of taking herbs as immune boosters long-term, we’re thinking of gentler, safer, more food-like herbs. There is often an overlapping line between food and medicine, and with long-term use that’s generally where we want to be.

These days medicinal mushrooms are a well-known and popular deep immune support. These can include shiitake, reishi, chaga, etc.

My personal favourite “grandma herbalism”-style immune strengthening herb is astragalus. It’s a great herb to add to your decoctions (teas that you simmer on the stove), or broths during the cooler months. If you’re a really strong and robust constitution, you mightn’t need the deep immune support astragalus offers. It is primarily indicated for those who are more frail, weak and ‘deficient’, or with chronic illness or recurrent infections. Having said that, it is commonly used in food-like quantities during autumn and winter.

NOTE – do not take astragalus during acute infections, it is for long-term immune support.

Different types of herbs as immune boosters

You might note this list doesn’t cover a lot of really popular and common immune system herbs. That’s because many of our famous immune remedies, like elderberry syrup or fire cider, aren’t necessarily long-term deep immune tonics, but are more indicated for directly stimulating the immune system when you think you’re exposed or getting sick. Learn more about the difference between deeper immune herbs (immunomodulator) and acute immune stimulant herbs (click here)

I’ve also got a whole article about holistic support for the immune system and who do you know what to do when (click here)

(You can find astragalus and shiitake in the shop, and they’re also in the DIY Immunity Remedy Kit if you want support making your own remedies – click here)

Herbs that help us slow down, rest and unwind

We’ve just got to face it: our culture is at odds with winter. We’re expected, and expect ourselves, to be able to continue a year-round marathon of productivity, engagement and activity. Yet, as natural human animals, we are subject to the ebb and flow of the earth’s rhythms and seasons. Winter is cooler (or outright cold), darker and a time to conserve energy. Around me the snakes will be hibernating, the insects quiet and my garden won’t be an overwhelming jungle of perpetual growth. (phew!)

We’re out of sync and out of touch with the natural rhythms that govern out world and we can use herbs to help us live more aligned with winter’s seasonal rhythm. In doing so, we’re actually strengthening our immune system because we’re working with, not against, the body’s natural inclinations.

It can be hard to switch off when the world is still swirling around us, and herbs (as well as other lifestyle practices), can help. These are some general areas that I would think about, but please reflect on your life and what you actually need support with.

🌿Herbs to help you sleep better and more deeply: could be hops, passionflower, California poppy, valerian (could be many others! Read more on this article about herbs for sleep, click here)

🌿Herbs that help slow mental chatter and find stillness: lemon balm, skullcap, passionflower, kava kava

🌿Herbs that help you feel calm and settled: lemon balm, chamomile, lavender, tulsi, skullcap, licorice, withania, st john’s wort

🌿Herbs that help you feel grounded and able to slow down: dandelion, withania, valerian, milky oats, lavender

🌿Herbs to nourish your heart and enter winter dreaming: rose, tulsi, hawthorn, mugwort, lemon balm, reishi

(note: many of these herbs could fit in multiple categories, but I didn’t want to repeat myself too much)

Other lifestyle practices can be supportive here too: such as yin yoga, tai chi, journaling, meditation, and breathwork, as well as others – such as having hobbies you enjoy, art, music, etc.

(Note: find lavender, chamomile and tulsi in the shop and in the DIY Herbal Starter Kit if you want support learning to make herbal remedies (click here)

Herbs that help you nourish yourself

Winter is a time to build and conserve energy. Herbs can support us by providing great nutrition, and they can also by support our digestive system to actually transform, and absorb the nutrients from the food we’re eating.

Herbs for a herbal multivitamin: nettle, alfalfa, oatstraw, clover etc.

Herbs to support digestion: mugwort, catnip, chamomile, fennel, gentian, ginger (these herbs are a mix of herbal bitters and carminatives. These categories are commonly paired together and support our digestive capacity in different, mutually supportive ways)

Herbs to keep you warm

Our bodies use a lot of energy trying to stay warm. We can help them by using warming herbs and spices to keep our internal fires going. Think herbs like ginger, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, cloves.

Other lifestyle practices such as socks, scarves, jumpers and hot water bottles are great supports here.

Holistically supporting ourselves, as human animals in winter, goes a long way to having a strong and vital immune system.

I find taking a holistic approach gives us many more options to think about and incorporate into our winter wellness plans. It allows us to see the bigger picture and see what we actually need, rather than just taking a herb cause it’s “good for” something (although that’s a great and natural starting place when we’re working with herbs, it’s not the end place).

What was your aha moment, or take-away from this article!? Feel free to comment below or get in touch

*As with all herbs, please research before using. Whilst all these herbs are generally considered safe, they still might not be quite right for you, due to your health history, current medications etc.

** I’ve just listed a few herbs to start with you off with in each category, but this is not an exhaustive list.

The post Best herbs as immune boosters to take long-term in winter? appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

How it works: Elderberries are a potent antiviral herb. Clinical studies have shown they work by inhibiting viral replication, as well as having other supportive actions such as inflammation-modulating, antioxidant and immune stimulant.

How to use:

*Note – if the elderberry syrup contains honey, don’t give to babies under 1

Shelf-life is usually 6weeks – 3 months. If it tastes fizzy, it’s just fermented but discard for a fresh batch.

Because elderberries work to inhibit viral replication, elderberry syrup is best taken at the first signs of infection.

In the first 12 – 24 hours, you can take small doses regularly, this might look like:

adults: 1 tablespoon/ hour or 2, and

kids:  ½ – 1 teaspoon / hour or 2 hour.

After first 12/24 hours, but still active infection:

Once that first day of active infection has passed, drop the usage down to 3-4 times / day whilst symptoms are present

Once symptoms have passed:

When symptoms have passed, you can still take it 1- 3 times/ day for immune support and to make sure you recover well.

Elderberry primarily stimulates the immune system and will support symptoms, but depending what’s going on you’ll likely reach for other herbal remedies or supplements to support you as well, ie. Fever support teas, cough syrups, or Vitamin C/Zinc.

Recovering well

Something we often don’t do well in our culture is recover well. We’re too often itching for the symptoms to be gone so we can just get back to life (no judgement, this is me too!) but this can lead to us feeling fatigued for longer or more susceptible to recurrent illness.

Depending how sick you were and how often you get sick, you might like to use supportive convalescent herbs such as astragalus and shiitake to help you recover to full strength.

The more you work with elderberry syrup, the more you’ll get a feel for how to use it effectively for your family.

See my other blogs for more info

Elderberry Syrup – 3 things I wish I’d known sooner  – to really learn from my mistakes and what I do now.

What to take to prevent a cold/ flu naturally?

The post How to use Elderberry Syrup appeared first on Everyday Empowered.

To work out what you need – there’s two parts to consider.

Part 1: How to assess your risk and susceptibility

Everyone is different – are you the person who always catches every cold or do you rarely get sick? Do you have overstuffed schedules and are tired and run down? Do you have an issue – relational, financial etc that’s causing a lot of stress? Are you sleeping well? Are you moving every day?

All of these directly impact your immune system function and how effectively your body can mount an immune response. Take a moment to take stock of your overall level of health and lifestyle pillars as one factor in your susceptibility matrix.

And what’s your exposure like? Are you in contact with a wide range of people every day, or work in a place where people are regularly sick?

This all paints a picture of your level of susceptibility.  If your risk level is higher, or you have an intense work period, you might like to draw on more supports. If you know you’re pretty strong and healthy, have great lifestyle foundations, then you might only want to take one herb or supplement…

And know –  it will change over the months that cold and flu season last. So when considering what herbs, supplements,  lifestyle/ self-care habits to incorporate, reflect on your current risk and exposure levels.

Part 2 – Prevention Strategies – what can I take or do?

When it comes to prevention, there’s a host of strategies and I like to categorise them in 4 ways.

1. Physical prevention. Our physical body is our first line of defense and there’s lots of simple strategies we can use:
   • Hand washing (not antibacterial, just soap is fine)
   • Nasal oiling (an ayurvedic practice)
   • If you or others are actively sick, maybe don’t go too close, or meet up outside — but not from a place of fear and worry – use common sense and have faith in your immune system
2. Good foundational lifestyle pillars- immunity is built on good nourishment and having a healthy gut, quality sleep, adequate natural movement, reducing stress, sunlight and enjoying life (there’s more, but you get the picture)
3. Supplements
   • A, C, E, D NAC and Zinc – just a personal opinion, but unless there’s a specific need, I don’t believe in just supplementing (everyone’s got a different opinion on this, and there def, initely is a case for some supplements – ie. Magnesium or individual health history – so decide what you think and your preferences). Hopefully you’ll get most of these nutrients through nourishing whole foods. At times of greater exposure or susceptibility you may want to take Vit C, NAC and Zinc. If you know you’re more likely to have sub-optimal Vitamin D levels, it’s a good idea to supplement with that or commit to increasing your sun exposure (which can be hard at really southern latitudes).
4. Herbs
   • Immunomodulator  or immune tonic herbs– build resilience and overall function of the immune system over time. It’s good to be taking these herbs regularly over autumn and winter and they’re often easy to incorporate into your everyday food – taking a simple food as medicine approach (see previous blog for more info)
   • Immune stimulants – good to take when you know you’ve been exposed as they directly increase immune function in a variety of ways. (see this article for examples)

(and I want to mention, there are other strategies –  you can turn to yoga, qi gong, breathwork, bodywork, homeopathics etc but I don’t know specifics on these)

This is a long list though. How do you CHOOSE which ones to take, or do you take them all?!

Firstly, without knowing you –  you mostly likely DON’T need to take them all. We can get a bit carried away with supplementing and believing ALL THE THINGS are better than just a few.

We know all of these are effective, so we can trust our remedies and find what works for you and then leave the rest.

To find what works for you, there’s a few things to consider:

1. What’s your susceptibility today?
2. What actually helps you to not get sick? Track your experience over time
3. What are your preferences? ie. do you prefer herbs or supplements, or supplements only when you’re acutely sick?
4. What fits in your daily rhythm so you actually take it – it might mean you can take capsule Vit C but not powdered, or maybe you prefer powdered reishi to pop in your hot drink
5. Know that not all herbs and supplements will suit us. I don’t know why, but my body doesn’t like reishi even though it’s a super trendy and an effective immune herb. So just because it works for everyone else doesn’t mean it’ll work for you, and that’s ok, we’ve got so many remedies to choose from.

Hope you find this list helpful and stay well this winter!

If you want to learn to use herbs – I’d love to support you practically –

Check out the DIY Immunity Remedy Kit –you get the herbs and recipes in one handy box!

The post What do I take to prevent colds/ flus naturally? appeared first on Everyday Empowered.