It’s late August now, which in the northern hemisphere signals the high point of the harvesting season. I’m still planting some of my fall crops and I’m thinking about which herbs are the most important for me to get picked before the bugs eat what’s left and the frost arrives.
Autumn is my favorite season. Partly because it’s when my birthday occurs, but mostly because I love feeling a hot mug of tea or cider between my hands on a crisp, foggy morning.
It’s almost time to start harvesting roots and making fire cider for winter cold and flu season. But why IS winter “cold and flu season”? Why do so many people get sick in winter?
It’s really a combination of factors. The colder it gets outdoors, the more likely you are to want to remain indoors. And inside the house, with the windows closed and insulated (if you’re in an old house like mine, with plastic wrap up over your windows too), the air flow is virtually nonexistent. And if you’re one of those few people in this world that doesn’t have ANY indoor plants, you’re putting yourself at an even higher risk for suffering stagnant air.
With so many people stuck indoors, all amongst each other, we’re crammed into buildings beside people who may or may not have questionable personal hygiene. And you don’t even want to KNOW the statistics on how few people actually wash their hands after using the bathroom!
If you’re interested in having the best chance of keeping your immune system ready for whatever the indoor season has in store for you, here are my tips to prepare yourself:
- Make yourself a batch of Fire Cider before November
- Bring your house plants back inside for the winter (or go buy yourself a spider plat or snake plant! They’re stupid easy to keep alive, I promise)
- Make a batch of Herbal Cough Syrup and keep it in your fridge for the winter
- Keep elderflower tincture or echinacea on hand in case you start feeling ill
- Always keep garlic in the house and cook with it frequently!
- Add herbs to whatever you’re cooking. Oregano, thyme, and sage are excellent antivirals and antibiotics, especially in soup and broth!
- Plan on getting outside for a walk as often as you can… every day if possible! Bundle yourself up and find a place to take a short walk. Getting your body moving helps move stagnant lymph through your system and get all the yuckiness out!
Whenever I get sick (which isn’t very often,) that’s the time I am MOST likely to reach for some kind of herbal tea, or blend something up for myself. I hate to admit this, but as an herbalist I am quite remiss in how often I drink herbal tea… I prefer a cup of black tea most of the time.
However, if I was feeling crappy, mucousy, or maybe the flu was coming on, I’d blend up something like this: 2 parts bee balm, 2 parts ground ivy, 2 parts echinacea flower, 1 part mullein, 1 part tulsi, 1 part marshmallow leaf.
Would you like more guidance on how you can start crafting your own herbal teas to prepare for fall and winter? Get my Blending Herbal Teas mini class here for just $15!