top 5 tips for treating a head cold naturally.

For the past week I've had a cold.

The sort of cold where you don't sleep all night because you can't breathe.
The sort of cold where you use a box of 120 tissues in 24 hours.
The sort of cold where you get to the point of wondering how on earth your body could possibly produce any more snot!

And I like to treat these things naturally. I like to let my body use its incredible abilities and let it run its course, build immunity and give it what it needs. But surely there's some relief. And there is.

Here are my top 5 tips for treating a head cold naturally, as tested by me in the past week.

1. Vitamin C
You can supplement this guy (and if you've met my mum you'll know the importance of Vitamin C) but getting it through other forms, like oranges and lemons, is an amazing way. Eating seasonally, I think God was onto something with that... My body was craving oranges, so I listened to it and obliged.

2. Tea
Steer clear of caffeine, so no black teas – they just dehydrate you – and when you're sick what you really need hydration. So pump up the herbal tea intake. Lemon in water is what I had a lot of but I also had a lemon, ginger, turmeric and oregano concoction simmering away on the stove. There are also lots of good quality herbal teas you can buy to help with healing and hydration. Check out Immunitea by Burton Health as an example, and read this post on why good quality herbal tea is so good.

3. Saline
Saline is just salt and water and it has many uses. But for a head cold you need it up your nose. Yep. I snort saline. There are nasal irrigation systems you can get and other fancy things but what I do is this: warm water in your hand, add a bit of salt, snort, then hold it in there for 10 seconds (make sure you keep your mouth closed too!). Blow it out and repeat 3 times. I find it easiest to do in the shower. Or even better, get yourself into the ocean. So many healing benefits of the sea!

4. Good quality tissues
I always buy good quality tissues, because seriously, life's too short for having a sore AND runny nose! I like to buy the ones scented with eucalyptus because of its decongestant, immunity and antibacterial properties. And they're just so soft on your nose!

5. Essential oils
Talking of eucalyptus, essential oils are excellent. They have heaps of beneficial and healing qualities. I bought a mix called Ezi-Breathe which I inhaled with steam and put on my pillow at night, but they can be used in lots of different ways and to help with lots of different things. Get onto them!

And obviously, but not so obviously to many people, REST. When your body is fighting something it doesn't also need to be fighting for energy. So stop. Catch up on some zzz's and take some time to slow down.

Here are a couple more ideas, which I didn't test in the past week – but would have used if I were at home – and are proven winners:
- homemade bone broth. This guy is so great in so many ways – get it into you!
- coconut oil. Known for its antibacterial properties – add that to everything.
- probiotics. Your gut is a powerhouse, and if it's not working properly then you're probably not working properly, so get those good guys into you!
- apple cider vinegar. Yes, it's vinegar but it's great. Research it – it's good for everything!

Hope these tips help and you're feeling better so soon!

What natural healing tips do you use? Comment below – I'd love to try them!

Burton Health Tea Club.

Last week I gave you a sneak peak into the Burton Health Tea Club through my interview with Laura. The experience of receiving the package is hard to put into words. The Tea Club is an experience. Sure, it's just tea, but it's so much more than that.

Receiving mail at your door is exciting when you've sent it to yourself but receiving it from someone else, when you're not exactly sure when it will arrive and not exactly sure what's inside, is joyous. I love presents and so this gets me all excited. Even writing about it, a couple of weeks later, I am all jittery – in a good way!

I opened the regular Australia Post box to find a beautifully wrapped gift inside. After stopping to take some photos and not wanting to open it too quickly so the excitement didn't pass too quickly, I carefully unwrapped this gift. I came across tea (as expected) but the surprise was this month's custom blend, aptly named Winter Warmer. The tea was a large bag as well as a small one-serve bag, a beautifully designed postcard with the ingredients and pictures and what they were good for, and a gift. I'd heard it was a good gift this month, and that rumour was true: a Natural Tranquility aromatherapy candle in White Tea and Berries. A candle housed in a beautiful glass jar with a wooden lid (I will definitely be using the jar when I'm done with the candle).

Image from @burtonhealth Instagram

If I could experience this, as well as receive these amazing goodies, every month, I'd be a very happy girl. I love the anticipation and the joy and the presents. I'm sure that even if I'd paid for it myself, it would still feel like a special present, because of the love and care that Laura puts into it.

I think the Tea Club is a great idea, and these are the top 3 reasons why:
1. Self-care isn't big enough. It's often seen as extravagant, but I think it's necessary. Always giving to others and not doing some things to look after yourself is dangerous. Go on, treat yoself!
2. Tea is good, herbal tea is better. Organic herbal tea created by a naturopath is best as you get the goodness of the herbs (without the pesticides) and nothing nasty added, in specific blends to help you. And if the blends have punny names, that's even better – you must be on to a good thing! Burton Health tea is delicious – that should be enough to get you to join the tea club – and even better, you get to try a new blend every month!
3. You can never have too much tea, but if you can, this is a perfect gift to pass on. The tea club doesn't only have to be a gift to yourself, but it can be a gift to someone special in your life (for one month or many). The brilliance of the tea club includes a sample tea – this means you can try the tea and if you don't like it, you can pass it on, or you can choose to pass it on and still get to try it. Win-win I say!

Now run, don't walk (or just click HERE) to check out the punny names and get free shipping and wish the online shop a Happy Birthday (until 12 midday 23 July 2015). Just enter 'welovetea' at the checkout. You won't regret it! Or sign up to the Burton Health Tea Club for three, six or twelve months, and it could be your birthday every month! I wonder what punny names she'll think of next.

tea please.

My herbal tea loving has being going strong lately and so you can only imagine what I was like when I discovered a Tea Club. Yes, there are book clubs and sporting clubs and fan clubs... why not tea clubs!? Now it's not any old Tea Club, it's owned by a naturopath, which I could only presume would result in the best quality teas, that not only taste delicious but are good for you too.

So on my wishlist it went. I even told people to buy it for my husband's birthday (so I didn't have to wait so long). But then Laura, from Burton Health (and TEA CLUB) contacted me about trialling it and reviewing it. Excited? Yes!

So, I thought, how about we get to know her too (as I love supporting small business) and we can learn a bit about naturopathy and her tea too! 

In a nutshell, what is naturopathy and who is it for? 

Naturopathy is natural health care that incorporates herbal medicine, nutrition and healthy lifestyle practices to help people achieve increased vitality and wellness. It is perfect for anyone who wants to get sound, evidence-based advice to help them improve their health. We work with anyone from newborns to great-grandparents.

We're in the middle of winter, aka cold and flu season, why should someone visit a naturopath instead of their doctor? 

Naturopathic medicine can be used to boost the immune system to help prevent catching a cold or flu. It's great as the first line of defence. I also find that herbs are amazing for clearing up annoying coughs that linger long after the cold/flu has gone.

What started your love for tea? 

I was born in England so I think that pretty much means I was born with a tea cup in my hand! I can’t remember a time that I didn’t drink tea. As I got older, I realised that the traditional black tea didn’t suit my body and I slowly transitioned into herbal tea. I didn’t really start loving herbal tea until I started making my own. I’m definitely a tea snob now.

What makes your tea "noice, different, unusual"? 

I use only organic herbs in my tea blends. I never add flavouring, sugar or artificial ingredients, instead I let the beautiful natural ingredients speak for themselves. And I use my herbal medicine training to develop blends that not only taste great, but also nourish the body. Ohh and of course, I hand make each blend with love. Love is the secret ingredient.

How do you brew the perfect cup of tea? 

Three vital ingredients: 1. Amazing organic herbal tea 2. A nice teapot 3. A pretty tea cup. 

I add my herbs to the pot, pour in boiling water (you can use boiling water for herbal tea without damaging the brew), let it steep for 5-15 minutes, sit down and enjoy cup after cup. I leave my herbs in the pot so that more of the constituents are drawn out of the herbs the longer it steeps.

MEET THE MAKER:

5 words to describe you: 

Image from here

Noice, different, unusual... Kidding! Tea obsessed, recovering chocoholic, realist.

Favourite:

• flower: Primrose, Snapdragon, Lavender

• breakfast: chia pudding in summer, oat bran breakfast bowl (a.k.a the best organic breakfast bowl in the world) in winter, healthy pancakes on weekends and healthy muffins when I’m not in a breakfast mood.

• colour scheme: white and wood with splashes of colour

• location: Any beach. I love to be near the water. Favourite holiday destination is Tokoriki island resort in Fiji. Favourite city is Sydney. I feel so lucky to live here!

• thing in your home: My bath tub. Such a great way to unwind.

• outfit: My Peter Alexander Booo ghost PJ’s.

• day of the week: Sunday – we call it alarm free Sunday. It’s the only day of the week that I get to wake up naturally and I also get to spend the day with my love.

For more info on her Tea Club, tune back in here shortly for my review, or if you're just too excited to wait, visit here. Visit her online shop here to buy a one-off bag (that will keep you coming back for more).