It's peak flu season. Cough, runny nose, and breathing difficulties are the most common symptoms you can experience with flu. Your constant worry is if all the coughing or sneezing around you will turn into flu.
No matter how hard we try to reduce our exposure to respiratory viruses, it's challenging despite spending so much time indoors, strictly following social distancing norms amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of flu cases keeps increasing.
The flu is generally caused by influenza viruses, which tend to be far more chronic and aggressive. That is further exacerbated by symptoms like cough, runny nose, fever, fatigue, breathlessness, headache, and body aches. Young children, aged people, and public transport commuters are more vulnerable to contract these viruses. But you may have noticed that illness often strikes when you're stressed at work or are sleeping insufficiently or gorging on processed and unhealthy foods. The health of our immune system plays a vital role in determining how we can fight against attacking cold and flu viruses.
Role of the Immune system: To fight Viruses and Flu
Our immune system plays a vital role in protecting our body from various harmful and infectious germs and viruses. The critical functions of the body’s immune system are:
- Produce, store, and distribute white blood cells (fighter cells) to fight bacteria and viruses that enter your body, especially during cold and flu season.
- Prepare antibodies that destroy abnormal or foreign invaders.
- Fight disease-causing invaders and pathogens like bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi, and remove them from the body.
- To recognize and neutralize harmful substances from the environment.
- To fight disease-causing cells in the body.
- It makes a ‘’cell-mediated immune system’’, which means it creates memories of past defenses against specific threats or invaders. When our body sees that invader again, it calls up that memory and sets out to destroy the potential threat before the infection, symptoms, or disease develops.
Healthy Immune System is the Key to Fight Flu and Infection
A healthy immune system is your best weapon to fight infections and flu. A healthy and robust immune system helps the body fight harmful diseases caused by bacterial, fungal, and viral infections.
Without a healthy and well-functioning immune system, we would not be able to fight germs, bacteria, or toxins and prevent them from entering our body. As long as our immune system is running smoothly, we don’t need to worry. But if it stops working properly, we run the chance of falling ill because it's weak.
Weak or lower immunity levels mean a drastic fall in the body’s ability to fight against infections, especially against aggressive germs, which makes you feel tired and weak at all times.
Ayurvedic Kadha: A Natural Immunity Booster
Our body's immune system needs to be strong to prevent the onset of any infections or diseases. And staying well hydrated helps the body to flush out chemicals, toxins, and foreign materials. Adding more immunity-boosting foods or drinks to your diet can also strengthen immunity. A herbal decoction of immunity-boosting herbs and spices (Known as ‘’Kadha’’ in Ayurveda) is a perfect weapon.
An Ayurvedic Kadha, which is made of a mix of many immunity-boosting, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich, and protective ingredients, including Ayurvedic herbs and common household spices, can help you strengthen immunity. Kadha is an Ayurvedic home remedy that can improve your immunity naturally and help you fight seasonal flu and infections.
It is prepared by mixing spices and herbs like adulsa, bharangi, dry ginger, peppercorn, cloves, and the like. The best way to extract their benefits and medicinal qualities is by making a decoction along with other natural immunity boosters like ginger, basil, Amla, and turmeric. Drinking kadha regularly can strengthen the body’s natural defense mechanism that fights against seasonal cold and flu.
An Ayurvedic Kadha Can Also Relieve Flu-like Symptoms
If you want to avoid medicines and go the natural way, Kadha is your go-to option. It is the best remedy to deal with flu symptoms such as runny nose, cold, cough, sore throat, headache, fever, breathing difficulties, etc.
Blended with potent herbs and spices, Kadha helps to naturally boost your immunity and provides you relief from flu-like symptoms, and helps you quickly recover. Drinking kadha regularly can be the perfect Ayurvedic and herbal remedy to treat the annoying seasonal cold and flu symptoms. However, if you're suffering from a prolonged cold or flu, it is always advisable to consult a doctor.
Kadha Vs Cough Syrup
Cough syrups provide you temporary relief by suppressing the cough. They seldom nib the problem at the bud. Also, most of the cough syrups available in the market contain codeine and alcohol that causes drowsiness (sleepiness). They may be addictive and are thus not considered safe to use, especially for children or for the times you're at work. It is also essential to choose a remedy that can provide fast relief and is considered safe to consume.
An Ayurvedic Kadha is formulated using natural ingredients that are traditionally known to treat infections. An Ayurveda-based herbal Kadha is a 100% natural and safe remedy for everyone, including children. It can provide you fast and more extended relief when suffering from a sore throat, congestion, headache, or body ache, whilst ensuring you don't feel drowsy.
Remember, choosing a safe and natural remedy over chemical-laden syrups is always a better choice. So choose wisely! Unsure of making kadha at home? Keep Wellbeing Nutrition's Grandma’s Kadha handy. An Ayurvedic remedy in the form of an easy and convenient effervescent tablet is all that you need to keep seasonal infections at bay! Just drop a tablet in hot water, and your kadha is ready to go!
Grandma’s Kadha is crafted with a herbal blend of 13 potent Ayurvedic, organic, and adaptogenic herbs and spices, including turmeric, tulsi leaves, mulethi, coriander, black pepper, dry ginger, and all. A potent blend of superfoods to boost your immunity naturally and help in fighting seasonal flu and infections is all that Grandma's Kadha is about! Making it a part of your daily self-care ritual will have numerous benefits leading to a wholesome health and life.
Take Away
Following a healthy habit like drinking an immunity-boosting Ayurvedic Kadha regularly will help you prevent all kind of flu-like infections. Besides, adopting healthy practices like washing hands, maintaining good personal hygiene, getting tested for allergic or unusual symptoms, and using disinfectants for household cleaning can go a long way in preventing flu and other related problems.
Remember, your body is designed to heal by itself. If necessary, try to manage flu symptoms like cold and cough with natural remedies. However, if you're suffering from prolonged or severe cold, flu, or any other infection, consult a doctor immediately.
References:
- Immunity to Influenza. Preventing Infection and Regulating Disease, E. Kaitlynn Allen, and Paul G. Thomas, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201412-2245ED , (https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/full/10.1164/rccm.201412-2245ED)
- A Narrative Review of Influenza: A Seasonal and Pandemic Disease, Mohsen Moghadami, Iranian Journal of Medical Sciences, 2017, (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5337761/)