Why Body Aches Floor You When You're Sick, and How to Move Through Them (The Holistic Way)
The deep, heavy ache that arrives with a virus isn't a malfunction. Holistic Health & Life Coach Lauren explains what's happening beneath the surface, why she chooses to support her body through acute illness rather than override it, and the remedies she keeps on hand when it strikes.
When Lauren came down with a virus recently, it arrived as a full set: a streaming cold, pressing sinus pain, and what she describes as "the world's most intense body aches." For someone committed to long-term wellness ("the actual kind," she says, "not the kind at biohacking events"), her response was characteristically different to reaching for the medicine cabinet. Rather than suppressing the symptoms to push through, she rested, asked herself why her system had been low enough for a circulating virus to take hold, and supported her body with a carefully chosen set of holistic remedies.
She wasn't surprised it had happened. "I felt like my feet hadn't touched the ground since summer," she says. Weeks of juggling work and children, trying to make the holidays fun while keeping everything else afloat, had left her stressed, overwhelmed and exhausted. When the aches started and she didn't feel quite herself, the diagnosis was, in a sense, already written.
The Terrain Matters as Much as the Pathogen
Lauren's starting point is one that holistic practitioners have long held and that immunology increasingly supports: exposure to a virus is only half the story. The other half is the state of the body it lands in.
Your immune system is built to deal with pathogens continuously; that is its job. Whether it does so smoothly, or whether a virus gets a foothold, depends heavily on what researchers sometimes call host factors and what Lauren calls "terrain": sleep, nutrition, stress load, recovery. The research here is striking. In a landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, volunteers deliberately exposed to cold viruses were significantly more likely to become ill the higher their levels of psychological stress. Chronic stress, poor sleep and nutritional gaps all measurably dampen immune function.
“When my system is strong, these viruses just don’t penetrate me. This time, not so much.”
Lauren lives with an autoimmune condition, and she is clear that some people are immunocompromised for reasons that lifestyle alone can't address. But in her experience there is still a great deal that can be done to strengthen immune resilience, and she believes the story we tell ourselves matters too. Choosing not to live from the identity of "the vulnerable person," she says, has made a real difference to how vulnerable she actually is.
Why Viral Aches Feel So Different to Muscle Soreness
Anyone who has had flu knows the ache isn't the same as the pleasant burn after a workout. It is deeper, heavier, harder to place. There's a good reason for that: it isn't coming from damaged muscle at all. It's coming from the immune system.
When the body detects a pathogen, immune cells release cytokines: chemical messengers that raise the alarm and coordinate the response. If the immune system is in good shape, that response may stay small and you may barely notice it. When the body needs to mount a bigger defence, the cytokines escalate things.
One of the first things they do is trigger the production of prostaglandins, particularly one called PGE2. Prostaglandins act on the hypothalamus, the brain's thermostat, to raise your temperature and produce a fever. They also travel to tissues around the body and sensitise pain receptors, so that sensations which would normally register as nothing at all are suddenly felt as heaviness, tenderness and ache. Research has also shown that during fever, the same inflammatory signals prompt muscle tissue to begin breaking down protein, which adds to that bone-deep, wrung-out feeling.
So why would the body deliberately make you feel this awful?
"To get you to stop."
Scientists call it sickness behaviour: the cluster of fatigue, achiness, low appetite and withdrawal that accompanies infection. It is now understood not as a side effect of being ill but as a coordinated strategy. An immune response is enormously energy-expensive, and the body is redirecting resources away from movement, digestion and social activity towards the fight. The aches are the enforcement mechanism. They make lying down feel like the only option, because rest is precisely what recovery requires.
Letting a Fever Do Its Work
This is why Lauren is wary of reaching straight for painkillers and fever reducers. "Pushing through with over-the-counter meds is counter-intuitive to the healing process," she says.
There is solid science behind the idea that fever is useful rather than simply unpleasant. Higher body temperatures make it harder for many viruses to replicate, and they speed up and strengthen several parts of the immune response. A fever is not, in itself, a sign that something has gone wrong; it is usually a sign that the body is responding as designed. Some studies have even found that suppressing a fever can be associated with longer periods of viral shedding, though the overall picture is mixed and these drugs certainly have their place.
In Lauren's own experience, the difference is marked. When she supports her body holistically through an acute illness, without suppressing it, and gives herself a few days of genuine rest, she recovers more quickly, feels stronger afterwards, and often goes a couple of years before picking up another virus.
For her, a bout of illness is also something of a reset. We live in an environment with unavoidable exposures, from food and water to the air we breathe and the products on our skin, and Lauren sees acute illness as a moment in which the body clears what it has been carrying, emotional load included. "The body is so intelligent," she says. Whatever framework you bring to it, the practical conclusion is the same: when the body asks for rest, the most useful thing you can do is listen.
How to Support Your Body Through Acute Illness
Not every remedy will be right for every illness. A simple cold calls for a different approach to a fever with full-body aches, so Lauren suggests reading through and choosing what fits.
Warm, simple nourishment
Loss of appetite is part of sickness behaviour, and Lauren doesn't believe in forcing food on a body that is busy fighting infection; heavy digestion competes for the same resources. Instead, she leans on hot fluids, and bone broth above all. She calls it "nature's greatest medicine," and has a cup daily whenever she feels her immunity dipping. Broth delivers warmth, hydration, minerals and easily digested protein at a time when little else appeals. She either makes her own and freezes it in batches, using Wellness Mama's bone broth recipe, or buys Freja's bone broth.
Her other constant is hot water with lemon and manuka honey. Honey has some of the better evidence of any home remedy for soothing coughs and sore throats, and manuka in particular is prized for its antimicrobial properties. Lemon brings vitamin C and a welcome sharpness. Any good local health shop will stock a quality manuka.
Calming the inflammatory response
Lauren's most enthusiastic recommendation is black seed oil, pressed from Nigella sativa and used medicinally for thousands of years. Its key compound, thymoquinone, has been shown in research to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, and Lauren finds it helps bring the body back into balance during the inflammatory phase of illness. "If you suffer with inflammation in any way in your life," she says, "this is your best friend."
Elderberry syrup is, in her words, one of the ultimate holistic medicine cabinet essentials. Several trials suggest elderberry may shorten the duration and severity of cold and flu symptoms, and Lauren takes a few spoonfuls a day while unwell. Her children get it at the first murmur of a cough, and a few times a week through winter regardless. She favours this version, which also contains propolis for additional immune support, or makes her own with foraged elderberries using Wellness Mama's elderberry syrup recipe. (If giving it to children, check the product's age guidance.)
Targeted immune nutrients
Day to day, Lauren prefers whole food vitamin C. Because vitamin C is water-soluble, the body doesn't store it, so a steady daily intake matters. During acute illness, though, demand rises sharply, and that is when she switches to liposomal vitamin C, a form designed for more efficient absorption. She takes around three sachets a day from Zooki while unwell (code LAUREN20 for 20% off), but doesn't use it long term, as high doses of vitamin C over time can interfere with copper status, a mineral that matters a great deal.
Then there is the pairing of zinc and quercetin. Zinc levels tend to drop during infection, and zinc has direct antiviral activity; the evidence for zinc shortening colds is among the more consistent in this space. The challenge is getting it into cells, which is where quercetin comes in. Laboratory research suggests this plant flavonoid acts as a zinc ionophore, helping to carry zinc across cell membranes, while also helping to modulate the cytokine response and acting as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in its own right.
Medicinal mushrooms are the other staple Lauren always keeps at home. Reishi and cordyceps have a long history in traditional medicine and a growing body of research on immune modulation. Her choice is Hifas da Terra's Mico-Vir, formulated specifically for immune support, which she trusts for its organic sourcing and its investment in clinical research (code LAUREN15 for 15% off).
Easing the aches
What got Lauren through the worst of it? Epsom salt baths, ideally twice a day. Warm water eases tense, aching tissue, and the ritual of it enforces exactly the kind of rest the body is asking for.
Alongside that, she uses a magnesium butter, rubbed into the aching parts of the body and the soles of the feet before bed. It's something she recommends keeping at home year-round. During illness, she also increases her oral magnesium, using magnesium glycinate or malate alongside the topical form, to support muscle relaxation and sleep.
When to Call a Doctor
Supporting your body through a self-limiting virus is one thing; recognising when something needs medical attention is another. Speak to your GP or call NHS 111 if a fever is very high or lasts more than a few days, if you have difficulty breathing or chest pain, a stiff neck, a rash that doesn't fade under pressure, confusion, or signs of dehydration. Babies and young children, pregnant women, older adults, and anyone who is immunocompromised should seek advice earlier. And if you take regular medication, check with a pharmacist before adding supplements such as quercetin, high-dose zinc or medicinal mushrooms.
Words by Lauren Vaknine for The Well Edit.
FAQ
-
When your immune system detects a virus, it releases cytokines that trigger the production of prostaglandins. These raise your temperature and sensitise pain receptors throughout the body, so normal sensations register as aching or heaviness. It's part of "sickness behaviour," the body's way of making you rest so it can direct energy towards fighting infection.
-
A fever is generally a helpful immune response: higher temperatures make it harder for many viruses to replicate and strengthen parts of the immune system. Many people choose to support their body through a mild fever rather than suppress it, but a very high or prolonged fever, or one in a baby or vulnerable person, needs medical advice.
-
Rest is the most important thing. Warm Epsom salt baths, topical magnesium, hot fluids such as bone broth, and anti-inflammatory support such as black seed oil can all help make the aches more comfortable.
-
Several clinical trials suggest elderberry may reduce the duration and severity of cold and flu symptoms, particularly when taken early. Check age guidance before giving it to children.
-
Zinc has antiviral properties but struggles to get into cells on its own. Laboratory research suggests quercetin acts as a zinc ionophore, helping transport zinc into cells, while also helping to calm the inflammatory response.
The content published by The Well Edit is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended as, and should not be relied upon as, a substitute for professional medical, health, nutritional, legal, or financial advice. While articles may reference insights from qualified practitioners or experts, the views expressed are their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Well Edit. Always seek the guidance of a qualified professional before making changes to your diet, lifestyle, supplementation, or healthcare routine.
Use of any information provided is at your own discretion and risk.
