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Winter warmers: Aromatherapy for respiratory health in cold and flu season

  • Ellen Rowland
    Ellen Rowland

    I am the founder of AmberLuna Apothecary, a social enterprise aiming to make natural wellbeing accessible to all through aromatherapy and herbalism talks, workshops, digital content and holistic therapies. I am a professional Aromatherapist, Massage Therapist, Facialist and Communications Specialist. I am also a course tutor for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. I am also a keen gardener, plant lover and trainee Medial Herbalist.

  • 15:54 reading time (ish)
  • Making herbal remedies Western Herbal Medicine

Written by Ellen Rowland

Winter woes

The winter months often present a challenge for our respiratory health, whether there’s a pandemic happening or not. Viral illnesses such as colds and flu, as well as their accompanying bacterial infections, can cause blocked noses, chest infections and difficulty breathing. All this can make these darker, chillier months even less pleasant to bear than usual!

What’s to blame?

Whilst colder temperatures are not the sole cause of our common winter illnesses, they can play a contributing role. However, in the northern hemisphere, it’s generally accepted by health professionals that the lack of sunlight we experience during winter, and the subsequent reduction in Vitamin D that this can cause, is a primary cause. Lack of Vitamin D can significantly reduce our body’s immunity, and therefore our resistance to diseases (1).  Couple this with more time spent indoors and colder, drier air which might make it easier for viruses to survive, and there you have it – the perfect cocktail of conditions for the transmission of coughs, colds and flu, and their associated pathogens (2).

Ellen Rowland

I am the founder of AmberLuna Apothecary, a social enterprise aiming to make natural wellbeing accessible to all through aromatherapy and herbalism talks, workshops, digital content and holistic... Read more

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