Natural Remedies For Phlegm

Common illnesses like flu, cold, sore throat can lead to serious illnesses and diseases if not treated with care. Of course one could always visit the doctor or eat medicine. Recently, I was not sleeping very well and soon, fell sick. This time round, I was determined not to see doctor and allow it to heal naturally. And I did it.

Phlegm Symptoms

In my case, it started off as an uncomfortable at the throat. Whenever I tried to swallow anything, it would felt that there is something stuck in my throat. In the past, it will usually turn into phlegm after a few days and this time round it really did. Although it is not as bad as sore throat, one still needs to take care of the body or it will turn into something worse in the future.

After 1 or 2 days, green phlegm began to formulate especially when I woke up early in the morning. I started to sneeze and before I knew it, I was down with flu. In fact, if you face the same symptoms as me, it usually means that you have eaten too 'hearty' food such as chocolates, fried food, potato chips etc. And after eating so much 'hearty' food, you also had cold water or very sweet stuff.

You will feel your throat and your nose full of germs and you maybe feeling giddy, sleepy, or even having a fever.

Foods to avoid

If you face the symptoms as what I went through, these are the foods that you should avoid in order to alleviate the illness.

* sweet foods - like cakes, white sugar, honey,

* phlegm inducing fruits - bananas, oranges, plums, grapes, watermelon (does not seem to help)

* 'hearty' food - fried stuff, grilled foods, oily, greasy foods

* soft drinks

* cold food or drinks

* chickens, eggs, ducks, pork

* spicy foods

* dairy products

* excessive refined wheat products (usually contained a lot of sugar)

* peanuts

Sore Throat Cure - 5 Easy Ways to Relieve a Painful Throat

An effective sore throat cure needs to address the underlying reasons as to why you have an irritated throat. The majority of painful throats are caused by a low immune system which has allowed the body to be infected by a virus. The common cold, flu, Epstein Barr virus (which causes mono), the cox sackie virus and the herpes virus are frequent triggers. In some cases an infected throat can be triggered by a bacteria like strep or mycoplasma, or by a fungi like Candida.

Irritated throats can also be caused by environmental triggers like exposure to air pollution, dry air, allergens like pollen, dust mite or food allergies. Over use of the voice or breathing through the mouth can also dry the throat membranes out - leading to pain and irritation.

If your painful throat is caused by a virus, bacteria or fungus then your sore throat cure should aim to boost your immune system with nutrients, herbs and a healthy diet. If the cause is an environmental trigger then you will need to avoid or minimize the contact you have with this substance. Overuse of the voice or mouth breathing are both habits which can be eliminated.

Nutrients, herbs, throat gargles and healing foods will all help with these conditions. Let's have a look at these sore throat cures in more detail:

1) Using nutrients as a sore throat cure

The best nutrients to boost your immune system and fight off infections are vitamin C, beta carotene, zinc and selenium. Zinc is particularly effective if you dissolve a zinc lozenge or tablet slowly in your mouth so that the zinc comes in direct contact with the membranes of the throat. This helps to soothe inflammation and pain.

2) Using herbs as a sore throat cure

There are some powerful herbs like echinacea, olive leaf extract, golden seal and citrus seed extract that act as anti-microbials that kill off the infection. Slippery elm bark is another excellent remedy to soothe pain and irritation. Slippery elm comes as a fine powder that forms a mucilage or gel-like substance when mixed with liquid. It coats the inflamed throat and helps to heal the damaged membranes.

3) Gargling as a sore throat cure

Gargling with a pinch of salt mixed in warm water can help flush microbes and toxins away from the throat to bring relief. Adding a pinch of cayenne pepper will give this remedy even more of a punch.

4) Hot fluids as a sore throat cure

Drinking hot fluids like plain hot water, lemon drinks (with a teaspoon of honey if desired), herb teas and broths can cleanse the throat, re-hydrate the tissues and speed your recovery.

5) Using diet as a sore throat cure

Certain foods like garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne and raw pineapple are excellent anti-inflammatories that can help relieve an irritated throat. Chicken soup is a renowned remedy for respiratory infections as it is high in the amino acid cysteine which helps to thin and expel mucous from the throat area.

Recurring Common Cold Symptoms Could Be Allergies

Some people are troubled with recurring common cold symptoms or a large number of colds per year. During cold and flu season, typically from September to April, the grocery store aisles that contain the over the counter and some of the herbal remedies for common cold symptoms are crowded with people. You can become infected with a cold virus any time of the year, but it appears that most of the viruses that cause cold symptoms survive better when the humidity is lower. In most of the United States, those are the winter months.

According to information published by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), you can get relief from cold symptoms by resting in bed, drinking plenty of fluids, gargling with warm salt water, using throat sprays or lozenges for a scratchy or sore throat, using petroleum jelly for a raw nose and taking aspirin or acetaminophen for headache or fever. (Note: Aspirin and aspirin containing products should not be given to children, because of the link to Reye's syndrome, a rare illness that can be life threatening.) Additionally, the NIAID advises that frequently recurring common cold symptoms that last for much longer than two weeks may be an allergy, rather than an infection with a common cold virus.

Opinions vary on the effectiveness of over the counter and herbal remedies for common cold symptoms. Research often comes to contradictory conclusions. Antihistamines, cough suppressants and nasal decongestants are believed to be safe when used as directed, but can cause unwanted side effects, such as nervousness, dizziness, insomnia or drowsiness. Additionally, these products are not believed to shorten the duration of symptoms.

Some research has shown that zinc nasal gels or sprays can shorten the duration of common cold symptoms when taken during the early stages of a cold, but other research concluded that they were ineffective and may have caused the permanent loss of the sense of smell in some people. Zinc lozenges, tablets or dietary supplements are sometimes recommended to shorten the duration of symptoms and have no unwanted side effects when taken in appropriate dosages.

Vitamin C is not really one of the herbal remedies for common cold symptoms, but because it is a natural product, it is sometimes grouped with them. Many studies have been done concerning the effectiveness of vitamin C for recurring common cold symptoms, both as a preventative and a treatment. The conclusions of these studies have sometimes been contradictory, but it is known that available amounts of vitamin C circulating in the blood stream are quickly depleted during an infection. When taken in appropriate amounts, it can shorten the duration and severity of symptoms and has no unwanted side effects. Mega doses of vitamin C can cause diarrhea, so it is important to follow the supplement manufacturer's directions and reduce the dosage if diarrhea occurs.

Echinacea is one of the popular herbal remedies for common cold symptoms, but again research results do not always support its effectiveness or safety. Indian echinacea or andrographis paniculata is included in some herbal remedies for common cold prevention and has been shown to have very low toxicity in animals, even when used in large amounts. Curcumin or turmeric has been shown in studies to be a mild expectorant, while causing no unwanted side effects. Piperine, from black pepper, has been shown to enhance the beneficial effects of Curcumin.

Many vitamins, minerals, plant components and herbs work best when accompanied by others. This may be the reason that some research supports their use and others are inconclusive. Some of the best health supplement manufacturers take these facts into account when creating proprietary blends to be used for specific purposes, such as reducing recurring common cold infections. To learn more about these products, please visit the Immune System Booster Guide.

Sore Throat Cure - 5 Easy Ways to Relieve a Painful Throat

An effective sore throat cure needs to address the underlying reasons as to why you have an irritated throat. The majority of painful throats are caused by a low immune system which has allowed the body to be infected by a virus. The common cold, flu, Epstein Barr virus (which causes mono), the cox sackie virus and the herpes virus are frequent triggers. In some cases an infected throat can be triggered by a bacteria like strep or mycoplasma, or by a fungi like Candida.

Irritated throats can also be caused by environmental triggers like exposure to air pollution, dry air, allergens like pollen, dust mite or food allergies. Over use of the voice or breathing through the mouth can also dry the throat membranes out - leading to pain and irritation.

If your painful throat is caused by a virus, bacteria or fungus then your sore throat cure should aim to boost your immune system with nutrients, herbs and a healthy diet. If the cause is an environmental trigger then you will need to avoid or minimize the contact you have with this substance. Overuse of the voice or mouth breathing are both habits which can be eliminated.

Nutrients, herbs, throat gargles and healing foods will all help with these conditions. Let's have a look at these sore throat cures in more detail:

1) Using nutrients as a sore throat cure

The best nutrients to boost your immune system and fight off infections are vitamin C, beta carotene, zinc and selenium. Zinc is particularly effective if you dissolve a zinc lozenge or tablet slowly in your mouth so that the zinc comes in direct contact with the membranes of the throat. This helps to soothe inflammation and pain.

2) Using herbs as a sore throat cure

There are some powerful herbs like echinacea, olive leaf extract, golden seal and citrus seed extract that act as anti-microbials that kill off the infection. Slippery elm bark is another excellent remedy to soothe pain and irritation. Slippery elm comes as a fine powder that forms a mucilage or gel-like substance when mixed with liquid. It coats the inflamed throat and helps to heal the damaged membranes.

3) Gargling as a sore throat cure

Gargling with a pinch of salt mixed in warm water can help flush microbes and toxins away from the throat to bring relief. Adding a pinch of cayenne pepper will give this remedy even more of a punch.

4) Hot fluids as a sore throat cure

Drinking hot fluids like plain hot water, lemon drinks (with a teaspoon of honey if desired), herb teas and broths can cleanse the throat, re-hydrate the tissues and speed your recovery.

5) Using diet as a sore throat cure

Certain foods like garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne and raw pineapple are excellent anti-inflammatories that can help relieve an irritated throat. Chicken soup is a renowned remedy for respiratory infections as it is high in the amino acid cysteine which helps to thin and expel mucous from the throat area.

Phlegm in the Throat - How to Get Rid of Phlegm in Throats?

Phlegm in throat is normal in healthy human beings, and its purpose is to filter the air we breathe by trapping tiny particles, like dust, and preventing them from entering our respiratory system. The mucus in a person's nose and throat is made by the cells which line the sinus passage and is typically a clear color and quite thin.

However, occasionally a build-up of bacteria can cause phlegm in throat to become a greenish-yellow color, or sometimes even gray. These bacteria can lead to infections and also cause a tonsil stone on the back of the throat or tongue.

These stones are usually caused by a sulfur-based bacteria or debris that builds up inside the pockets of the tonsils and generally appear white in color and can be both irritating and painful. They can result in bad breath, coughing, earaches, difficulty swallowing, and phlegm in throat. A tonsil stone can be expressed with a Q-tip or pulsating jets of water, but if tonsillitis develops, in many cases the tonsil themselves may have to be removed instead of just the stones.

The glands of the throat typically produce one to two quarts of mucus on a daily basis, which serves to moisten and cleanse the membranes of the nose, trap foreign matter that has been inhaled, and fight infection. Excess amounts of mucus in the nose or throat can cause irritation, constant throat clearing, and even bleeding. If you suffer from excessive phlegm in throat, see your doctor for treatment options.