Springtime colds can be annoying and usually involve a lot of mucus and coughs accompanied by a feeling of heaviness. In pregnancy, many women feel weary about taking medicine. Here are a few tips to speed up your recovery without popping pills.   

Light Diet 

As soon as you feel you might be coming down with something, switch to easy-to-digest food like soups, Kitcharee or stewed fruit with some ginger.  You want to make it easy for Agni and enable it to digest the ama that builds in the system from catching a bug. If your Agni is strong, you can digest almost everything – even pathogens.   

Hot Drinks 

Cold drinks dampen Agni, so stick to herbal teas and warm water. Sipping water throughout the day is called “Ushnodaka” in Ayurveda and is used to strengthen Agni and detox the body.  

Herbs and Spices 

Your kitchen cupboard also is a medicine chest. Add antiviral, antibacterial and immune-boosting herbs and spices to your food to support your body when fighting a cold. Think turmeric, ginger, pepper, rosemary, thyme etc.   If you think aggravated Kapha caused your cold, favour foods and teas with bitter, pungent and astringent flavours.   

Fever 

The number one therapy for fever in Ayurveda is Langhana (fasting). We naturally have a low appetite when we have a fever. Therefore, listen to your body and only eat when your appetite returns. Thin soups and broths are great mini-meals and do not worry if you have not eaten much for a couple of days. Your body is made of strong stuff and will recover much better if it doesn’t have to digest heavy meals.  Contact a doctor if your fever is unusually high or lasts longer than a few days.

We hope you feel better soon!