While Fall is a beautiful time with leaves changing color and the air having that crisp, clean quality, it usually means spending more time indoors due to cold or rainy weather.  If you work in an office or school setting, or anywhere you have close proximity to others, you also are exposed to more lingering germs and viruses.  As a result, you may have been experiencing a scratchy throat, nagging cough, sore throat, or just a feeling of being run down.  This time of year doesn’t have to be synonymous with illness, if you know the right way to protect yourself.  The following is a short list of things you can do to keep yourself healthy the natural and herbal way: 

1.  Drink more water.  Water keeps the body hydrated and flushes out unwanted toxins from the body.  Drinking herbal tea is also a good way to keep hydrated.  Avoid ingesting too much caffeine, as this can dehydrate the body. 

2.  Stay active.  Exercise is a good way to keep the lymph in your body flowing, which keeps your immune system moving.  If you don’t have a lot of time for exercise, even 20 or 30 minutes on your lunch hour can make a difference.  Yoga is a good exercise that also helps relieve stress, which as we all know, can zap immune function. 

3.  Get enough sleep.  Most adults need between 7 and 9 hours of good quality sleep a night.  That means not waking up in the middle of the night, or if so, being able to get back to sleep shortly afterward. 

4.  Start taking herbal tincture or tea infusions at the first sign of a cold, cough, sore throat, etc.  Herbs that are beneficial for colds, sore throats, and cough include St. John’s wort (while well known for its antidepressant effects, it is also a wonderful anti-viral), echinacea root, olive leaf, licorice root, wild cherry bark, horehound, garlic and ginger. 

These are just a few of the herbs that can be beneficial for your health.  Please feel free to contact me via phone or email if you have further questions about how herbs can help you.  Have a great week!