Eco Lesbo Vego

Review: 20 Natural Health Tips

November 19, 2009 at 12:42 pm Leave a comment

I’m sick today, so when I saw in my twitter feed that Natural Papa had posted 20 natural health tips, it seemed like a timely miracle! Just what I was after. So off I went to look. (I’d just like to note also, that while it might be cold and flu season in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s really not here in Australia. Clearly I didn’t get that memo.)

Natural Immunity Booster Drink - everything is in the cup except the honey and the water.

While I sip my funky drink, here’s a high-level list of Natural Papa’s tips (in bold) with my responses (not bold).

1. Wash your hands frequently. I’m a bit of a serial hand washer with a regular bar of soap. I avoid pump bottles of soap as part of my ‘avoid unnecessary plastic’ gig, and I really dislike antibacterials soaps (dudes, there’s supposed to be some bacteria around the place). I’m being particularly conscious of hand-washing at the moment since I’m touching snotty tissues all the time. Gross.
2. Change your hand towels often. I washed the darned things on the weekend and I was sick by Tuesday. Humph.
3. Clean the places that harbor the most germs in your house (door handles etc). Ok, aside from hand-washing, I could probably do this. But isn’t it a bit OCD to walk around wiping things all the time?
4. Get plenty of sleep. If this was a month ago, I’d totally agree that I need to do this. However, the last couple of weeks I have actually been doing pretty well with sleep. I could probably still use more though… I’ve gone from 4 to 6 hrs to 6 to 7 hrs. Aiming for 8 hrs is probably not unrealistic.
5. Stay hydrated (especially with central heating). Well, I live in Queensland. We don’t do central heating. Aside from which, it’s a week away from summer over here – it’s plenty hot enough, and not dry heat either (humidity is nice). Also, I drink more water than any other person I know (no, I’m not kidding).
6. Take your vitamins. I try to eat foods that have vitamins in them naturally or through fortification (go Milo!), rather than having to remember to pop pills. Good for people who don’t eat like that though.
7. Get sunshine on your body. This is so true. Unless I have a migraine or a fever, sitting in the sun makes me feel better when I’m sick. Some of my paler friends think this is weird, but it really helps! That being said, living in the Sunshine State, I get plenty of sun, so I don’t think this is the problem.
8. Be active – move your body. I have been doing pretty well with walking from work to the busway over the last week or two, and I’m hoping that as of next week I’ll be able to start back at yoga. I could do more though.
9. Be positive. I am usually positive, although sometimes work gets me down. I’ve been ok lately though.
10. Laugh. Yeah, I could do more of this. But all the ‘funny’ movies are full of toilet humour, and that’s not really funny at all. I laugh more in general conversation with family and friends. Maybe I should go visit my folks after I’m well, or organise a social outing with work people. Now I’m in a slightly different position at work, I’m missing the chats and laughs I used to have a lot of with J-Mo. I do laugh with other people too, but I think they’re at a lesser level of crazy that J-Mo and I am. Hmm.
11. Vitamin C. I’ve been drinking orange juice this week, like it’s going out of style.
12. Eat more fruits and veggies. Yeah, I could do this. We’ve started a thing where on Sunday we chop up enough fruit to last the week and pack it into a bunch of containers, so it’s easy to just grab fruit and go. That’s been helping. I could do more with veges though… I really only eat them cooked, so if it’s a lazy night and I just want pizza, then I miss out. I think I eat more than most people… not that it’s a competition. Ultimately, yeah, I could use more.
13. Drink your juice. See point 11 – it’s not fresh though.
14. Use herbs for healing. Tomorrow, you will see this recipe I’ve tried out for a natural remedy drink. Interesting stuff.
15. Use a neti pot. I just can’t make myself do this. All that water going up my nose… nope. Can’t do it. I’d rather go to the beach and let a wave do it for me. (Which is what I was planning for this weekend, if I’m better.)
16. Get a massage. I’d love to do this! Who knows a non-expensive masseuse? Anyone? Really, do I need to ask Beuller again?
17. Take it easy on the coffee and alcohol. I don’t drink coffee, and I think my body has been telling me to lay off the alcohol (not that I drank much in the first place). Every time I drink wine these days, I get heartburn within 15 mins. I don’t think I’ve had more than half a glass a week for the last two months. It gets too painful and Yankee Elv keeps having to finish it for me.
18. Just say no (to going to work when you’re sick). I’m home, for the second day in a row!
19. Avoid taking over-the-counter medications. I have been dosing up on the Sudafed, but only cos it was helping make the headache and fever go away a bit.
20. Hug your family. I spent a fair chunk of last night lolling on Yankee Elv on the couch, and the previous night snuggling with Mr Teeny-bop whilst watching Xena, so I think I have this covered. Plus I hug the kitties and pat the dog all the time!

While Natural Papa’s list is really quite good, I’m unfortunately already doing most of this stuff. Poop. Maybe there was no escaping this illness. One of my colleagues yesterday (when I called in sick) suggested that maybe I’m just run down. There’s probably some truth to that.

I guess it’s just time to rest up and drink weird drinks.

Entry filed under: Review. Tags: blogging, fruit, health, herbs, low impact, Review, vegetables, vitamins, water.