• Vitamin A, D3, and Vitamin C during the Flu Season are HUGE! Basically eat a rainbow.  If you chose to take Vitamin C, eat it with a bell pepper or an orange so your body knows where to distribute.  If you chose to take Vitamin D3, have some fat with it like coconut oil or avocado.

• Rainbows of foods (this time of year is limited : frozen berries, purple cabbage, purple potato, hydroponic lettuce, bell peppers) +

• Herbs for Vitamin C: Rosehips & Hibiscus

• Strong Antivirals: FRESH Ginger Juice, Astragalus, Elderberry, Lemon Balm, Mushroom, Licorice (ask your Integrative Dr. about this one first). Echinacea is good at many things.

• Thermodynamic or Warming: Cayenne, Ginger, Cinnamon

• When nothing else works: Consult your Physician and Herbalist

• Always load on the mushrooms and adaptogens (herbs that buffer  stress with other immune boosting properties).  Cortisol, “the stress hormone,” directly affects your immune system when it is unbalanced.

Keep a scarf on, get adequate sleep, and nourish your adrenals during the watery season of rest (Winter)

• MOVE! The lymphatic system plays a huge role in immunity ! 15 minutes a day is a great start if you have no movement practices, add this challenge, which consequently I just found as I was looking for a good recommendation.  I have done her 30 day home challenge & she is extremely careful with alignment & a wonderful teacher.

I have very few oz of my housemade Elder syrup left, so if you want some, please get to me ASAP. (Elder, Rosehips, Fresh Ginger, Astragalus, Devil’s Club, Cinnamon + Echinacea Tincture).  I also have the big gun herbs in case you have been hit hard by the flu, so don’t forget to use your Concierge Plan wisely.  If you are sick, I always leave a bit of room in my schedule for my current patients.

Having remedies prepared in your natural medicine arsenal is necessary in order to become an empowered Physician and/or Caregiver, especially if you are a Mom / Dad.  There are many home articles floating around about general flu prevention and herbs to take both prophylactically and during the flu.  As integrative Physicians,  it is my diligence to be able to coach patients through how to heal themselves.

Most general over the counter herbal recommendations are correct and well researched, yet they do not contain proper dosage.

It is essential to have these herbs well stocked along with preparation for the flu such as wearing scarves, sleeping adequate hours, washing your hands and burning herbs such as sage in order to clean your home air from toxins.

• Food As Medicine

If you ask any herbalist around, we will say that we regularly make our soup broths with mushrooms, astragalus, ginger, garlic, and calendula.  Teaching our patients food as medicine gives them an empowering tool to know that they have the knowledge to combat the flu on as a daily exercise rather than waiting to get sick and get a supplement from their Doctor.

• Fresh Ginger Juice: I regularly add fresh ginger to my juices & soups during the cold and flu season as it is a warming herb.  It turns out that drinking loads of ginger not only prevents the flu, but treats the flu.
• Herbs listed above.
• Steam Inhalations with particular plants are very effective
• Fever? There are many different ways to take Boneset, Yarrow, Elder.
• First Sign of the Flu: Wet Socks!!

• Place wool socks by your bedside.
• Soak cotton socks in water & place the freezer until nearly frozen solid.
• Make sure your feet are warm.  If they are not rinse them c hot water (or even better, do this after an Epsom salt bath)
• Sit on your bed and put on nearly frozen solid socks and then put wool socks over them.
• Trust me, you will wake up with dry feet and feeling super refreshed

Special Thanks to these References, my Teachers, and of course the Plants :

• Buhner, S. H. (2013). Herbal antivirals. North Adams, MA: Storey Publishing.
• Fischer-Rizzi, Susanne. Complete Aromatherapy Handbook. Sterling Publishing Co, New York 1990. p. 212-213.
• Grieve, M. (2016). A modern herbal: the medicinal, culinary, cosmetic, and economic properties, cultivation, and folklore of herbs, grasses, fungi, shrubs, & trees with all their modern scientific uses: complete volume. United States?: Stone Basin Books.

About Dr. Alexana

Dr. Cope deeply enjoys and appreciates working with patients to holistically balance hormones, manage depression and anxiety, and weight management. Dr. Cope also manages diabetes, endocrine conditions such as thyroid, and cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure and cholesterol. Dr. Cope's treatment comprises of a unique combination of nutritional supplementation, body work, custom herbal formulations, flower essences, personalized cooking and shopping plans. Dr. Cope truly believes minor changes in your daily routine is a key factor to health. Alongside treating the current symptoms, Dr. Cope investigates & addresses the root cause of your disease so that you may shift closer to centeredness and health with more ease. She will work with you in order to establish a daily routine that works with your schedule and most efficiently nourishes you so that you may go out in the community a more joyful beautiful you.

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