I used to get sick constantly. Every cold going around, every seasonal bug, every little thing—I’d catch it. And then I’d be down for days, sometimes weeks.
That was before I understood how to actually support my body’s ability to heal itself.
I’m not saying I never get sick anymore. I’m human. But over the past decade, I’ve built up this whole approach to wellness that I turn to the moment I feel that first tickle in my throat or wake up with that heavy, sluggish feeling. And most of the time—I’d say 80% of the time—I can stop it before it becomes a full-blown thing.
This is my sick day protocol. I want to share it with you because winter is coming, and I know how exhausting it is to be constantly fighting off whatever’s going around.
Let’s talk about cost first
My most recent haul of health products cost $243. That’s not a small amount of money, and I’m very aware it’s not accessible to everyone.
I have a holistic healthcare fund that I contribute to every month—basically like an HSA but for the naturopathic remedies and supplements that regular insurance doesn’t cover. This has taken years to build up. I didn’t start here.
I’m going to share both the budget-friendly remedies I started with (and still use) and the products I now incorporate. You can absolutely support your body’s healing with the remedies alone. I did for years. The products just make things easier and sometimes more effective, but they’re not required.
What I believe about healing
I take a naturopathic approach to health and healing, especially during winter. Not because I think conventional medicine is bad or wrong, but because I’ve learned that the body has an incredible capacity to heal itself when given the right support.
According to naturopathy, we need to take care of our biological terrain—literally the environment, the fluid that our organs live in. This is the focus. And for as long as I’ve lived this truth—over a decade now—I’ve been able to support myself and my loved ones when we’re coming down with something, essentially catching it early so it doesn’t progress.
Naturopathy recognizes the importance of both allopathic (conventional medicine) and naturopathic medicine working together. We need both. Often, you can use naturopathic medicine to prevent needing conventional medicine. But the reverse is also true—if you’re using conventional medicine, you should include naturopathic support to replenish the body.
The best example is antibiotics. They work to flush out bad AND good bacteria in the body. A round of antibiotics should always be followed by probiotics to replenish the good bacteria that was wiped out. This matters because 80% of your immune system lives in your gut. It’s vital.
About naturopathy and “real” medicine
Naturopathy is often seen as “faux medicine” with no scientific backing. So let me say a few things about that:
There are limited scientific claims from the conventional medical world because there’s no scientific funding for plant medicine research. There’s no big money to be gained, so there’s no big research budget. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t work—it means it hasn’t been studied in the same way pharmaceuticals have.
A lot of conventional medicine was actually derived from plants throughout history. We just continued to manipulate and synthesize those compounds in labs. Which is fine! But the original source was nature.
And this is the one that feels painfully obvious to me—nature IS science. We study nature in science to search for answers, to understand how living things work. It’s not a coincidence that the same vitamins, minerals, and nutrients found in plants are exactly what we humans need to sustain life.
If you want to learn more, there’s a simple book called The Naturopathic Way that quite literally changed my life and, as a result, the lives of my family members.
The goal: alkalize, detox, and support
When I start feeling run down or notice that scratchy throat, my entire approach centers on three things:
Alkalize - Sickness thrives in an acidic environment, so we want to flood the body with alkaline
Detox - This is why it’s mostly liquids. We’re giving the digestive system a rest so the body can direct all its energy toward healing instead of digestion
Support and replenish - Especially gut health, because that’s where your immune system lives
All of this fits within a healthy low glycemic diet, which is perfect since I’m not having to shift away from how I normally eat.
The remedies I recommend (budget-friendly and effective)
These are where I started. They’re the most cost-conscious options and they work. They take more time because you’re making them from scratch, but they’re simple. And honestly, I still do all of these now even though I also have the products.
1. High pH alkaline water
What you need:
1 gallon spring water
2 lemons, sliced
1 teaspoon sea salt
How to make it: Add the lemon slices and sea salt to your spring water. Let it sit for 24 hours in the fridge. Strain out the lemons and drink throughout the day.
Why it works: Viruses and bacteria thrive in acidic environments. This alkalizes your body while providing electrolytes and supporting hydration without any sugar.
I drink this constantly when I’m starting to feel something coming on. Just regular spring water with lemon and salt that’s been sitting overnight. It sounds too simple to work, but it does.
2. Cut the sugar immediately
Sugar creates an acidic environment in your body. So when I feel something coming on, I stop all added sugars immediately.
This includes store-bought orange juice, even the “100% juice” kind. If I want orange juice, I’ll fresh squeeze it or I’ll just eat oranges. The fiber in whole fruit helps moderate the sugar impact anyway.
3. Apple cider vinegar water
What you need:
1-2 tablespoons raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (with “the mother”)
8 oz water
Optional: squeeze of lemon
How to use it: Add the ACV to your water and drink. I do this 2-3 times throughout the day when I’m fighting something.
Why it works: Incredibly alkalizing despite being acidic going down. Supports gut health and has antimicrobial properties.
4. Healing tea
This is my go-to multiple times a day when I’m not feeling well.
What you need:
1 cup hot water
1-inch piece fresh ginger, grated
Juice of half a lemon
1 tablespoon raw honey (or manuka honey)
Pinch of cayenne pepper
How to make it: Boil water. Add grated ginger and let steep for 5 minutes. Add lemon juice, honey, and cayenne. Stir and sip slowly.
Why it works: The ginger is anti-inflammatory and helps with congestion. The lemon provides vitamin C and alkalizes. The honey soothes the throat and has antimicrobial properties. The cayenne stimulates circulation and helps break up mucus.
[Important: when you’re sick, make sure you’re actually expelling that mucus from your nose and throat. Don’t just let it sit there. Your body has brilliantly trapped the virus or bacteria in that mucus, so you need to get it out of your system by blowing your nose and clearing your throat.]
I’ll make a big thermos of this and sip it all day.
5. Healing vegetable and chicken soup
This is the big one. I make a huge pot and eat it for days.
What you need:
1 whole chicken with bones
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 cups leafy greens (kale, spinach, whatever you have)
Fresh rosemary and oregano (or dried)
Sea salt and black pepper
8-10 cups water
How to make it: Put the whole chicken in a large pot. Add all vegetables, herbs, salt, and pepper. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours. Remove chicken, shred the meat, return it to the pot. Save those bones for bone broth.
Why it works: The vegetables provide minerals and vitamins. The garlic has antimicrobial properties. The herbs support the immune system. It’s nutrient-dense, easy to digest, warming, and healing.
6. Bone broth
After I eat the soup, I take those chicken bones and make bone broth.
What you need:
Leftover chicken bones from your soup
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Water to cover
Optional: more vegetables, herbs, salt
How to make it: Put the bones back in a pot. Add the apple cider vinegar (this helps extract minerals from the bones). Cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a very low simmer for 12-24 hours. The longer, the better. Strain and store in jars.
Why it works: The gelatin and minerals from the bones are incredibly healing for the gut. And since most of your immune system lives there, this is crucial. I sip this throughout the day, sometimes adding a bit of sea salt.
7. Rest, rest, rest
This is non-negotiable. It’s during sleep that your body repairs itself.
When I’m getting sick, I cancel everything I possibly can and I sleep. I rest during the day. I go to bed early. I let my body do what it needs to do.
The more we rest, the more we free up internal resources for the body to direct all its efforts toward healing instead of keeping us upright and functional.
The products I now use
After years of doing the remedies above, I started adding in some products that make things easier and sometimes more potent. These are what I reach for now:
Essentia pH water - Pre-made alkaline water for when I don’t have time to make my own
Trace mineral drops - I add these to regular spring water to alkalize it quickly
Fresh-squeezed orange juice (no added anything) - From the store, but checking ingredients carefully
Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar - The one with the mother, easier than making my own
Manuka honey - More potent antimicrobial properties than regular honey, worth it when really sick
Bonafide bone broth - For when I don’t have time to make my own, though homemade is always better
Oil of Oregano by North American Herb & Spice - This stuff is powerful. Antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal. I take it at the first sign of anything
Beekeeper’s Naturals Propolis - Both the nasal spray and throat spray. Propolis is what bees use to protect their hives from infection
Flora Biome liquid probiotics - To support gut health and therefore immune function
Again, this most recent order was $243, and I’m not pretending that’s accessible to everyone. I am sharing what actually works for me now that I have the resources for it.
Other things I do when I’m under the weather
Baths - Lots of them. I use epsom salt (budget-friendly) or magnesium flakes (if you have more resources). The goal is to literally sweat it out—detox through the skin.
Simple epsom salt bath: Add 2 cups epsom salt to a hot bath. Soak for 20-30 minutes. After, replenish with alkaline water and electrolytes. I use Dr. Price’s electrolyte powder, but you could also just add a pinch of sea salt and lemon to your water.
Sleep position - If I’m congested, I sleep propped up on pillows to help drainage
Humidifier - Especially in winter when the heat is running and everything is dry
No intense exercise - I rest. Walking is fine, but this isn’t the time for hard workouts
This fits with low glycemic living
This protocol fits seamlessly with how I already eat.
The soups are vegetable-forward with protein. The bone broth has no sugar. Even the healing tea—I’m using raw honey which, while it is sugar, is used medicinally in small amounts and paired with all those other healing ingredients.
I’m not having to abandon my low glycemic lifestyle to support my body when I’m sick. They work together.
What this has meant for me
Since implementing this protocol—really consistently, over the past decade—I rarely get seriously sick anymore.
I might wake up with a scratchy throat or feel that heaviness starting. I start the protocol immediately. The tea, the oil of oregano, the propolis spray, rest hard that day. Usually, it doesn’t develop into anything.
The times I do get fully sick are when I ignore the early signs or can’t rest properly for various reasons like travel. That’s when it becomes a real thing.
But with this protocol, I’m not constantly at urgent care (growing up I as there every single winter). I’m not constantly taking medications that just suppress symptoms. I’m supporting my body’s natural ability to heal.
And that feels really good.
You can start wherever you are
If you’re reading this thinking you can’t afford supplements right now, start with the remedies. They work. I used only those for years.
Make your lemon salt water. Cut the sugar when you’re getting sick. Make the healing tea. Make the soup and bone broth. Rest more than you think you need to.
That alone will make a massive difference.
And if you can slowly add in a few products over time—maybe start with good quality apple cider vinegar and manuka honey—do that. Build your own holistic healthcare fund if you can, even if it’s just $10 or $20 a month. It adds up.
The point isn’t to do everything I do. The point is to start supporting your body’s natural healing capacity in whatever way you can.