This article brings bad news and good news.
The bad: Living in a country with a tropical climate, we have no clear flu season. We can contract the flu any time of the year, especially during the cold (December to February) or rainy days (June to November). The peak time, however, runs between July and August.
The good: The Philippines is home to a multitude of herbal plants. A lot of these can be used for making home remedies for the flu.
The second good news: Whether you live in the province or the urban jungle, you can easily access these plants to make quick and easy home remedies.
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Before we go to our handy list there are some things we need to know about the flu. There is no sure cure for flu yet. The medicine and remedies prescribed to us are really for relieving the symptoms. You can, however, take preventive measures, like getting vaccinated annually against the influenza virus before the rainy season. In the unfortunate event that you do contract the flu, you can go to your kitchen and mix up some of these soothing babies.
Warm calamansi juice with honey
This remedy is not only comforting, it’s also delicious. The calamansi is a rich source of Vitamin C, helping the body recover quickly from the flu. The honey helps soothe a sore throat, helping you drink more fluids and sleep better. Taken often while sick, they help rehydrate the body and lessen congestion.
The good ol’ salabat
The salabat or ginger juice isn’t just for aspiring singers. Ginger has antiviral, antioxidant and pain-relieving properties. It is used for many applications in Chinese and Ayurvedic Medicine and healthy food groups rave about their many benefits. Use honey with ginger juice and you have a tonic that can help with your cold, runny nose, cough, and sore throat.
Aroz caldo, misua soup and other healthy hot soups
Wanna know why hot soups are great for sick people?
The amount of liquid in the broth prevents dehydration. The fluid intake and steam from the soup help decongest your nose. And the various ingredients play a role in helping with your symptoms.
Let’s take the aroz caldo for example. First, it has shreds or slices of ginger. It also has garlic, another super food that has antioxidant and antiviral properties. The garlic has expectorant and decongestant effects as well. If there are shreds of chicken or a piece of boiled egg, you also get a source of protein that is manageable to eat. If you squeeze calamansi over your aroz caldo, you increase its beneficial effects again.
The same goes with the garlicky misua soup. The patola or sponge gourd, although used for other ailments, is a source of fiber and other vitamins when your appetite is limited.
Those who like their soup hot and add chili peppers, benefit from the pepper’s Vitamin C and capsaicin. Capsaicin, the substance in pepper that makes them hot, can help decongest your nose and clear your throat.
As you can see, with just a quick trip to the kitchen, you can concoct a drink or soup for your flu. There are so many other home remedies Pinoys can be proud of. If you have access to turmeric root or leaves of lagundi or oregano, you can make tea with them. A lot of families even have their own twist to well-known Filipino remedies.
How about you? Do you have any remedy to share?
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