Herbal medicine trial

Saturday afternoon I started to get really congested. I could definitely tell that I was starting a cold. I wasn't surprised. I have been pretty stressed with school, and I haven't been sleeping well. Good combination for my immune system to shut down a little.

My colds always run the same course. The sore throat is by far the worst part for me, and I have never had a cold that I haven't gotten a very sore throat.

I was actually kind of excited to be getting sick! What an awesome opportunity to try some herbs!

I chose echinacea root and nettles as my healers. I have been making an infusion of the two herbs and drinking 3 to 4 cups a day. I haven't been eating much, just enough to stay satisfied. I don't have much of an appetite, but I crave the tea (kind of like kids wanting vegetables before sweets until sugar is introduced, they crave what their bodies want).

Almost always, the second day of my colds are the worst. Sometimes it isn't until the third day. Well, it is day 3. My throat never got sore. It is scratchy and a little raw feeling, but totally tolerable. I am still congested, and haven't been able to breathe out of my left nostril for the most part. This is by far the most tolerable that a cold has ever been for me.

I also avoided milk yesterday because I am still not sure that it doesn't create mucous. But I was really craving a glass of milk this morning so I decided to try it. Remember that I am drinking raw milk. After I drank the milk, my throat felt less scratchy, but not mucousy. :) Neat!

Oh yeah.. one more thing. I am going to try to keep this from turning into a rant.
I am getting a lot of people that are on my case about raw milk being $10 a gallon. I want to add how much it cost me to control this cold.

1. Water. I think we pay about 25 cents a gallon.
2. Echinacea root and nettles. I don't remember the exact price of the herbs that I bought, but they are usually about a dollar an ounce. So, a zip lock sandwich bag costs about a dollar.

How much are over the counter cold medicines? A LOT more than herbs. How effective are they? Well, the otc drugs are masking your symptoms while the cold runs its course. The herbs strengthen your immune system and shorten the duration and severity of the cold tremendously. That's a no brainer for me.

And as far as raw milk being $10 a gallon. Let's estimate what people spend of starbucks.
- I would easily say that the average price for a drink at starbucks is $5. We can stop there and say that 2 drinks from starbucks would buy a gallon of raw milk. We all know which one is healthier.
-If you get starbucks 2x a week, that's $10/week or $40/month. That is 4 gallons of raw milk.
-If you get starbucks 4x a week, that's $20/week or $80/month. That is 8 gallons of raw milk.

I'm merely responding to my biggest pet peeve when it comes to taking care of our bodies, and more importantly our kids bodies. People use the "it's too expensive to eat healthy" far too easily. It takes some effort, but most people spend more money than they know on things that add up fast: fast food (Johnnie and I can have a way more healthy dinner for a lot less than fast food if we plan ahead), coffee shops, candy bars, bottles of water, etc etc etc. I am all for people spending their money on what makes them happy, but let's knock off the "it's too expensive" thought process. It is a lot more about priorities than people care to admit.

I will post again and note the progress of my cold.

Have a great week!