Natural Remedies to Power Away Cold Flu.

"With alternative home remedies for cold flu, I believe that you can knock out the flu in less than 24 hours," says Dr. Holyk, director of the Contemporary Health Clinic in Sebastian, Florida. The reason you can beat the flu with natural medicine is that these remedies help boost the power of your immune system, allowing it to quickly and easily beat the infection that's
beating on you.

Peter Holyk, M.D., says he's never had a bout of flu that lasted overnight. Think about it: never having to suffer from one of those awful, 24-hour (or longer) bugs that make you feel achy, feverish, and totally fatigued. It doesn't seem possible.

Of course, many doctors suggest that you should still get a yearly flu shot if you're age 65 or over, or if you have diabetes or heart, lung, or kidney disease (or you live with anyone who fits these criteria, since you don't want to infect them). Flu is much more dangerous for people with underlying illnesses, so you don't want to take chances.
If you already have the flu, however, here are a few ways to get rid of it fast.

DR. HOLYK'S ANTI-FLU COCKTAIL: Power in a Glass
There are many different herbs and foods that can help beat the flu, and you can blend quite a few of them in one flu-chasing cocktail, which Dr. Holyk recommends drinking twice a day when you have the flu. Here's what it includes.

• One or two cloves of garlic. Garlic is a potent antiviral food, sparking natural killer cells and other immune factors into action. Chop the cloves of garlic as fine as possible before putting them in the blender, which helps to release the active ingredients.
• Three droppers of echinacea tincture. This classic herbal remedy for upper respiratory infections increases the production of white blood cells, lymphocytes, and macrophages, which are immune system factors that fight the flu virus.
• Three droppers of goldenseal tincture. It helps reduce the irritation and inflammation in the lining of your respiratory tract, soothing a cough or sore throat.
• Three droppers of eat's claw tincture. Used for centuries by people in the Andes, this herb is well-known among alternative practitioners as a powerful immune booster.
• A pinch of cayenne pepper. It helps thin mucus and improves circulation. . The juice of % lemon. Lemon juice helps clean the liver so that it can more effectively process all the toxins generated by the body as it fights the flu.
• Six to 8 ounces of organic tomato or vegetable juice. This is the base of the drink.

Once you have everything ready, put the ingredients in a blender along with a couple of ice cubes to make the drink more palatable. After blending, sip it slowly for a few minutes. Drink the mixture twice a day for the duration of the flu, which, thanks to the cocktail, should be mercifully short, says Dr. Holyk.

WATER: You'll Need a Lot
Fighting the flu puts your metabolism into overdrive. Your body throws off water in huge amounts, says Dr. Holyk. You have to replace that water because your body needs it to expel toxins produced by your immune system as it's destroying the virus.
To make sure that you're getting enough water, Rashid Ali Buttar, D.O., an osteopathic physician who practices emergency and preventive medicine in Charlotte, North Carolina, recommends drinking enough water (in ounces) to equal two-thirds of your body weight daily. The minimum for maintenance is about one-half your weight. If you weigh 150 pounds, for example, you'll want to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day if you're sick and 75 ounces for maintenance.

HYDROTHERAPY: Good for Circulation
You don't have to take water internally to get the benefits. Applying water to the outside of your body, a technique called hydrotherapy, can improve circulation, relieve congestion, and increase the number of flu fighting white blood cells, says Mark Stengler, N.D., a naturopathic physician in San Diego. Here's how to do it.

• Take a comfortably hot bath or shower for 5 minutes.
• Get out and dry yourself quickly.
• Place a towel in cold water, wring it out, and wrap it around your body from your armpits to your groin. Leave it in place for 20 minutes, or until it's warmed. In the meantime, cover yourself with a wool blanket to avoid getting chilled.

Doing hydrotherapy once or twice a day can help relieve many of the worst flu symptoms and make you feel a lot better, Dr. Stengler says.

FOOD: Wait for Dairy until You're Better

Dairy foods increase mucus production, which makes the nasal congestion caused by flu even worse, Dr. Stengler says. Also, since many people are sensitive to dairy products, your body may be wasting immune cells on the food instead of fighting the virus, he explains. So avoid dairy products until you kick the flu.

GINGER: Good for What Ails You
Ginger tea fights flu on a number of fronts, says Dr. Stengler. It helps relieve nasal congestion. It can improve blood flow through the muscles and the rest of the body, helping to eliminate chills and muscle aches and allowing immune cells to circulate more effectively. It even helps reduce the pain of sore throat.
Have a cup every 2 to 3 hours until your flu is better, says Dr. Stengler.
"Make enough for the day and warm it up before you drink it," he adds. You can buy ginger tea bags in health food stores, or you can make tea from scratch by boiling a 5-inch piece of fresh ginger in 2 cups of water for 5 to 10 minutes.

ASTRAGALUS: Multiplies T Cells
This potent, immune-stimulating herb from the pharmacy of practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine helps defeat the flu by triggering the production of virus-fighting T cells, says Nedra Downing, D.O., an osteopathic physician who practices alternative medicine in Clarkston, Michigan. She recommends taking three drops of astragalus tincture in water three times a day for 10 days.

VITAMIN C: Keeps Your Body Strong
When you have the flu, your virus-fighting white blood cells need vitamin C to be most effective, Dr. Downing says. The vitamin also shores up your adrenal glands, which help your body resist the stress of the infection. She recommends 3,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day in three divided doses. It's best to use the buffered form, which is easier on the stomach, she says. You can take this for several months during flu season.

IP-6: A Virus Killer The supplement IP-6, short for inositol hexaphosphate, is thought to stimulate the natural killer cells of the immune system, which are true to their name, says Dr. Downing: They kill flu viruses. Take two capsules twice a day as long as you're sick, she advises.

THYMUS EXTRACT: More Help for T Cells
Supplements of thymus gland extract are thought to help the body generate hormones that spark the formation of T cells, which work as important virus killers. Take 350 milligrams of the extract according to label directions for 1 to 2 weeks, starting at the first sign of the flu, says Kenneth A. Bock, M.D., codirector of the Rhinebeck Health Center in Rhinebeck, New York, and the Center for Progressive Medicine in Albany, New York. Do not take this supplement unless under the supervision of a knowledgeable medical doctor.

STEAM: Force Out the Virus
Coughing is essential when you have the flu. Otherwise, virus-laden mucus that isn't expelled may harden and travel to the lungs, possibly leading to pneumonia, says Guillermo Asis, M.D., director of Path to Health in Burlington, Massachusetts. Using a steamer or humidifier to keep mucus moist and moving out of your body will help prevent this, he explains.
It's best to keep a steamer or humidifier running in your bedroom until the flu is gone. Add six to eight drops of thyme, eucalyptus, or rose geranium essential oil to the water to help moisten mucous membranes, Dr. Downing says.

Why You Should Favour A Fever.
Conventional medicine often views a fever as an enemy to be vanquished quickly-with drug intervention. Alternative healers take a decidedly different view.

"We don't view most fevers as a problem;' says Mark Stengler, N.D., a naturopathic physician in San Diego."A fever is stimulating your immune system to defeat the virus. If you eliminate the fever, you can prolong the flu:' Even though fever is good, however, you don't want to get too hot, Dr. Stengler adds. If your temperature is higher than 104°F, you should see a doctor.

A quick way to reduce fever is to drink a cup of yarrow tea every few hours. "Your fever should be reduced after you've had two or three cups," says Dr. Stengler.

Both feverfew and elderberry have long been used to help calm fevers, says Rashid Ali Buttar, D.O., an osteopathic physician who practices emergency and preventive medicine in Charlotte, North Carolina. He recommends taking 250 milligrams of feverfew two or three times a day in pill or capsule form. If you choose elderberry, drink some tea every few hours.