No matter what your deadline is an important work project that’s due yesterday, or a cannot-miss businesstrip you’re about to undertake nothing wreaks havoc withthe best-laid planslikethe commoncold.
Of course, the stress of your dreadline did I spell that right? is what weakened your immune system and made you susceptible to illness in the first place.
I’m up against a major deadline right now, and wouldn’t you know, I’m down with a fierce cold. It was all I could do to walk my beloved dogs this morning. Lucky for me, they were deep in snuggle mode and sensing my need to sleep in happilystood up, turned around three times, andhuddleddeeper into the covers.
Have I mentioned lately that I love my dogs?
Since I can’t eliminate stress from my life, I must do my utmost to support my immune system, for my dogs’ sake. Here’s what I’m doing to get through this as quickly as possible, so I canget my work done and spend more time playing with the pups. I hope these remedieshelp you if you find yourself in the same sinking boat.
First, I reached for the UMCKA. This homeopathic cold remedy always works wonders to shorten the duration of a cold. (It also works on kennel cough! I’ll betakingone UMCKA chewable tabletfour moretimes today, for a total of five daily doses until I’m better.) Then I ate two organic Valencia oranges. Yum!
For lunch, I’ll be firing up the stove andstir-frying a bunch of spinach withcoconut oil,garlic, and ginger.I’ll chase that with a serving of bay-leaf-scented lentils (my favorite).
After that, I’ll swallow two teaspoons of Honey Loquat, analternativecough remedy containing, among other ingredients, fritillary (a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine).
Of course, I won’t stint on my supplement regimen, taking care not to skip my probiotics. In between, I’ll be drinking my own sinus-blasting concoction. Here’s the recipe:
One lemon, cut into four slices
Two tablespoons cinnamon
A teaspoonful (about 12) whole cloves
A chunk of fresh ginger, about one inch in length, cut into slices
Cover the above ingredients with water and boilfor a few minutes until the kitchen smells just like Christmas (cloves are amazingly fragrant in addition to being wonderfully antibacterial). Spoon the liquid minus the cloves into a teacup pre-loaded with 2 tablespoons of honey. Drink. Repeat.
As we’ve all experienced, our dogs can sense our stress and they fearlessly take it on and that extra load can adversely affect their health. Happily, an enterprising Dogster Joan Weiskopf, author of the excellent book Pet Food Nation has devised a remedy called Nutri-Stix to helpjump-start the K9 immune system in periods of stress, whether it’s coping with a crazed owner like me or undertaking an unexpected stay at a boarding facility.
Thekey ingredients include several items discussed at lengthin previous columns, including probiotics, coconut oil, and milk thistle (plus it also happens to contains clove and ginger, just like myrecipe, above).
“Nutri-Stix will provide that extra boost for your canine’s exposure to excessive stress, exposure to pathogens and/or communicable disease,” Weiskopf promises. “They’re made with the finest all-natural organic ingredients, and they’rehighly concentrated to provide extremely convenient small servings at an affordable price.” Plus, they don’t require refrigeration a big plus if you’re traveling (another stressful scenario for Spot). Order here.
Joan’s publisher, HarperCollins, is offering last-minute holiday shoppers this perfect stocking stuffer for the Dogsters on your list (and just in time for the end of Mercury retrograde):asigned copy of Pet Food Nation packaged with two packs of Nutri-Stix for $25. This “Book Perk” goes on sale on December 13 (here’s the link).
Dogsters, if you have any secret-weapon, cold-blasting remedies for humans or K9s,kindly share them in the comments!
