Winter is Back! Curl up With Some Hot Tea

Hi everyone, I hope your feeling OK with the winter chill around the world. Flu season has bitten once again and to keep those doctor bills down, you must keep your immune system working well to fight of any pesky virus you might be exposing yourself to during your day.

As a full time student and mother to three children, my immune system is put through the ringer on an everyday basis, so I need something that's safe to use everyday, with breastfeeding in mind, that keeps me up and running. Avoiding over the counter drugs when I'm sick, I turn to teas for a quicker more effective treatment, without the risk of side effects. With a new baby I also have to consider what I ingest and how it will affect my little girl. So much research on what types of herbs are OK for use while nursing is a must during this time in my life, and I have found that Echinacea tea helps me stay ahead of the game when I'm not feeling well. Taken less often than someone who is not nursing, for instance once a day instead of two or three times a day poses no risk to the new born baby, and doesn't affect the flow or production of your milk. Susun Weed states in chapter four; After Pregnancy of her book, Wise Woman Herbal For the Childbearing Years, "Echinacea root (Echinacea augustifolia), the herbalists' antibiotic, I have seen it clear up serious cases of blood poisoning, mastitis, strep, and staph infections, pneumonia, and other systemic infections." (Weed, 1986) As a well known herbalist she uses Echinacea via tea and tincture to cure the above infections. Her book not only goes over how you can use this herb, but others as well, and it offers a good insight to whats OK and whats not.

Echinacea is a wonderful herb that gives your immune system that extra boost it needs to help you fend off unwanted viruses, so stay healthy this winter, and use some tea to scare off the flu.