Regardless of where you live, winter is a time that often brings a chorus of coughs, sniffles, and sneezes. Falling temperatures challenge our bodies, and as we adjust to a new climate, our body systems are temporarily strained, making them more susceptible to feeling under the weather. The cold air not only weakens our immune system, it also brings everyone indoors, meaning less exposure to vitamin D and more to possible pathogens. Plus, the holiday season, while full of joy, also changes our daily wellness habits. We might exercise less, eat less nutritious foods, and stay up late, all of which negatively affect immunity. The combination of these factors makes winter wellness a challenge.
Although many forces are working against you in winter, you don’t need to resign yourself to getting sick. Whether it’s a cold, cough, or other minor illness, there are ways to build your immunity throughout the winter season. We like employing these winter homeopathic remedies to help bolster the immune system and better protect wellness in the winter and all year round.
1. Protect Your Skin
The first of our cold weather remedies is to protect your skin from the harsh, drying, cold air. Cold air can make your skin itch, and scratching can lead to potentially harmful bacteria entering your body. Your skin is vital to your immune system, protecting you from head to toe. To keep yourself healthy, bundle up when you go out into the cold air, layering to keep your extremities warm, especially your neck and head.
Another way to avoid dryness and promote winter wellness is to reconsider your soaps and lotions. Many lotions, soaps, shampoos, and conditioners are made with chemicals that can dry your skin and scalp. Look for hygiene items made with natural ingredients that lock in moisture. And, while you’re in the shower, turn down the heat. Showering in hot water can also have the drying, irritating effect you want to avoid.
2. Hydrate Your Body
Hydration is another essential winter wellness tip. Drinking water or other hydrating liquids helps with dryness and is a crucial tool in fighting fatigue and a weakened immune system. Warm beverages, like broths or herbal teas, are beneficial in the winter as they bring warmth to your body along with much-needed hydration. Herbs like lemon, ginger, echinacea, and nettle are great winter homeopathic remedies to add to your drink as they’re especially potent in bolstering your immune response.
3. Flush Your System
Part of hydration’s benefit for winter wellness is that it moves potentially harmful pathogens through your body, expelling them in your urine. Gargling salt water and saline rinsing are other great cold weather remedies to help flush toxins and harmful germs from your body. Try gargling warm salt water in the morning as part of your wake-up routine. If you’re feeling stuffed up, you can also try a saline rinse, find a Neti pot or nasal spray, and use filtered water with salt to flush your sinuses.
4. Eat Nutritious, Warm Foods
Like warm liquids, nutritious, warm foods can help improve your winter wellness by fighting against the chilly air and building up your immunity. Food packed with fiber, vitamin C, vitamin D, and beta carotene are excellent winter homeopathic remedies to keep your defenses up. Try foods like sweet potato, broccoli, kale, and hearty grains like farro and quinoa to get these essential vitamins. Many of these nutrient-packed foods are great in soups, stews, or roasted, helping you warm up while building immunity.
While you focus on adding nutritious options, you should also reduce your sugar intake. Sugar can suppress immune responses, making it difficult for your body to fight infection.
5. Stay Active
Moving your body may be one of the most challenging cold weather remedies. It can be tough to get exercise in the winter as you try to avoid being in the cold for too long, and holiday festivities promote sitting and lounging, yet you don’t want to let these winter wellness obstacles stop you! Use your home in creative ways, like listening to a podcast for 20 minutes while you walk up and down the stairs. Exercise helps with your circulation and heart health, both of which are critical body systems that help maintain your bioenergetic health. The more you move your body, the better it will be at fighting off unwanted pathogens.
6. Get Rest
Our bodies need balance to be healthy, which is why rest is another essential part of winter wellness. When your body is resting, it can focus intently on getting rid of potential diseases and strengthen your immune system. That’s why good sleep hygiene is part of our winter homeopathic remedies. To ensure good sleep, make a habit of going to bed around the same time each night to ensure you get enough sleep for the next day, and use your bed only for sleep. Bedtime routines like turning down lights, reading, or relaxing with a warm, hydrating beverage can also set you up for restful sleep success.
7. Get to Know Your Body
Your body is unique, and so, too, are your winter wellness needs. Changes in your environment and eating habits can affect your body’s defense systems, requiring you to recalibrate your routines to compensate for imbalances. One of the best ways to help understand what your body needs is with our wellness scan. This scan identifies the balanced formulas that might include cold weather remedies for your body, allowing you to best address the winter season. Another helpful tool is our Full Scan for total bioenergetic analysis. The Full Scan shows your specific hormonal and nutritional imbalances, resonating toxins, and sensitivities to help you adapt your lifestyle for peak wellness in the winter and beyond.
For more information about each of our bioresonance scanning, you can visit each scan’s description page or go to our FAQ section to learn more. Once you have your results, you can check out a wealth of holistic remedies in our online store. And, if you’re interested in more winter wellness advice, visit our blog post on specific homeopathic flu remedy tips.
Cold Weather Remedies
Winter homeopathic remedies are based on the principle of “like cures like,” where highly diluted substances that would produce symptoms similar to those of the illness are used to stimulate the body’s natural healing response. Here are our top five winter homeopathic remedies:
Eupatorium perfoliatum (Boneset): Eupatorium perfoliatum is often recommended for flu-like symptoms accompanied by intense body aches, especially in the muscles and bones. It may also be used for fever and chills.
This remedy is one ingredient in our INFL:Combination for support of symptoms when the flu hits you!
Oscillococcinum: Derived from duck liver and heart, Oscillococcinum is a popular homeopathic remedy for flu-like symptoms, including body aches, fever, and fatigue. It’s often used at the onset of flu symptoms.
Allium cepa (Red Onion): Allium cepa is used for symptoms such as watery eyes, a runny nose with burning discharge, and frequent sneezing. It is commonly recommended for colds that involve irritation of the mucous membranes. This is a versatile remedy that is used for many different instances of coughing, respiratory symptoms, throat irritation and can be found in MYC:Combination.
Gelsemium sempervirens (Yellow Jasmine): Gelsemium is indicated for flu symptoms with weakness, fatigue, and a heavy, droopy feeling. It may be used when there is a lack of thirst, headache, and general achiness.
Our remedy Viru Tox is one that supports the immune system through the flu season.
Aconitum napellus (Aconite): Aconitum is often used in the early stages of a cold or flu, especially when symptoms come on suddenly. It may be recommended for symptoms such as fever, restlessness, and a dry, croupy cough.
Aconitum napellus is one component of Breathe for temporary relief of symptoms related to the respiratory system.
Lastly, Flu Milieu is another all round family support that addresses discomforts of the flu season, and is part of homeoprophylaxis, or natural prevention.
