As gateways to the respiratory tract, our nose and throat like to be looked after.
That means no smoking, heavy drinking or inhaling harmful substances!
Air pollution is awful for the throat, nose and the whole respiratory tract but can't be easily fixed given the world we live in.
Best to focus on being proactive with things you can control and improve.
First keep in mind how upper respiratory infections usually start with a sneeze or throat tickle.
Keeping the nose moist with a suitable natural product is helpful but how do we care for the throat? Once again it prefers to be moist not dry, and doesn't like things with ethanol, harsh preservatives, artificial colours and flavours, irritating chemicals etc.
The throat likes soothing and coating ..... and it loves being gently protected from all kinds of irritants..
Here are some of nature's special helpers to do just that :
* Manuka Honey - must be the real thing with a UMF10+ rating to ensure antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effect. Tastes gorgeous and coats the throat.
* Pomegranate - rich in bioactive compounds including flavonoids, anthocyanins, amino acids, phenolics, tocopherols. Way more antioxidant than green tea, red wine, and most other juices.
* Thyme - a potent antibacterial herb that is also anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and best of candisrupt microbial biofilm which is so often involved in annoying or recurrent throat issues.
* Anise - another antioxidant antibacterial anti-inflammatory antiviral, this one has the extra bonus of being analgesic as well as antispasmodic - soothes throat pain and the cough that worsens it.
* Mint - antimicrobial and inflammatory, but also decongestant and bronchodilating. Best of all it has a cooling anaesthetic effect and Australian River Mint is uniquely free of irritant menthone or pulegone.
There we have a fabulous five for throat care - if you have a persistent or worsening condition be sure to see your doctor. Sometimes it can signal another problem, or require antibiotic treatment.
Written by Dr Jude Lenart, PhD in Natural Medicine and Co-Founder of Bio-First.
*Please note this is not medical advice and you should always seek such advice from medical professionals. Dr Jude Lenart has a Ph.D. in Natural Medicine, she is not a medical practitioner.
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