Why I Love Goldenseal

I suppose today should be Day 28 of my health fiesta.

Please forgive my brief failure. I had my Mom in town for her first visit to our new place here in Texas. Then, my mountain man lover came home for a week only to return to Alaska- this may have interfered with my success slightly. Not to mention I've been down for the count since Saturday morning so I will be starting over beginning Monday. 

Throughout my life, I've likely had strep throat.. ten times? I don't know how odd this is but it seems that I have had it more than anyone I know. Call me a weirdo, but I don't like the idea of taking antibiotics unless absolutely necessary either. 

As they say, there is more than one way to skin to cat. I began having real, indicative symptoms as of Saturday morning. By the end of the day both tonsils were in pretty scary shape with pus and blood (sorry). Of course, no doctors are open on Sunday and the Emergency Room is ridiculous so Saturday evening I began a serious regimen for ridding my body of this illness. 

To boost my Vitamin C and antioxidant intake, I switched out the almond milk in my morning smoothie with orange juice. 

1 & 1/2 cup Simply orange

1 cup frozen organic blueberries

1 scoop vanilla whey protein

1 Tbsp Peanut Butter

1 Tbsp Fage 0% Greek Yogurt

3 cups Spinach

1/3 of a banana 

Essentially, I've been packing my heaviest meal of the day (considering the loss of appetite) with Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Niacin, Zinc, Fiber, Protein, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper, Manganese, and probiotics to boost my immune system and take my throat back. 

Most of these vitamins (of course) are thanks to spinach and it is hard to believe that I've gone years without even a bite of it in the past. 

In addition, I began taking Garlicin & Goldenseal twice daily, with food and gargling a glass of warm salt water at least 3-5 times daily. As you may know, Goldenseal serves as a kind of natural "antibiotic" increasing the production of good mucous to push the bad out of your system. Garlicin, although usually marketed for cardiovascular health, also provides immune boosting and can fight off germs that cause cold an flu.

Although I began feeling much better, I went to the doctor yesterday morning (Monday) just for peace of mind. While my symptoms point to Strep due to the lack of viral symptoms such as runny nose, coughing, congestion- my strep test came back negative and they didn't seem to know what else it could be except for a "viral" sore throat. They sent out a culture and the results will be in within 3-6 days. 

My hope is that soon the test will be irrelevant since it's Tuesday and I've kicked a lot many of the symptoms and am starting to feel like a functional human being again. 

In the meantime, I will continue eating soup, drinking my immune boosting smoothie, drinking LOTS of water & tea, gargling, and taking my vitamins (including goldenseal/garlicin) until I can confidently continue down the path of health and fitness from earlier this month- without keeling over. 




My favorite sickness aids/cures:

• Traditional Medicinal Throat Coat Tea
• Traditional Medicinal Breathe Easy
• Nature's Way Goldenseal
• Nature's Way Astragalus
• Nature's Way Garlicin
• GT's Kombucha
• Epsom Salt (Bath)
• Emergen-C Acai Berry