Body aches and chills are other notable distinctions between early flu and cold symptoms. When you’re coming down with the flu virus, you may mistakenly attribute body aches to something else, such as a recent workout. Body aches can occur anywhere in the body-especially the head and legs. Chills can accompany the body aches at the same time, or within hours of feeling the pain. The flu often causes chills before a fever develops

Home Remedy for Body Aches & Chills
1) Epsom Salts and Magnesium Oil
Tried and true, a cup or two of Epsom salt dissolved in a warm tub of water works wonders for aching muscles.  Use warm, not hot, water.  Warm water will dry out your skin less.  Soak for 15 minutes or until the water has cooled, up to three times per week.  Not recommended for those with health conditions such as heart problems, high blood pressure or diabetes.

Magnesium oil is typically applied with a spray pump bottle, which makes it easier to target on a specific area, such as a sore calf or foot.

How do Epsom salts and magnesium oil work to help sore muscles?  Epsom salts are made up of magnesium sulfate, magnesium oil is made up of magnesium chloride.  Magnesium is natural muscle relaxant, and as salts, these compounds help to pull excess fluids out of the tissues, reducing swelling.

2) Heat or Cold
A warm shower or bath is a natural muscle relaxer, which can be great for tension knotted shoulders or muscles tight from overuse.  For bruising or inflammation, an ice pack applied to the affected area for up to 20 minutes can reduce swelling and soreness.

3) Oral Magnesium
Low levels of magnesium in the body can lead to general muscle aches and muscle cramps.  You may want to consider a magnesium supplement, but you can start by including foods that are high in magnesium in your diet.  Some of the top food sources for magnesium are molasses (see below), squash and pumpkin seeds (pepitas), spinach, Swiss chard, cocoa powder, black beans, flax seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds and cashews.  (See World’s Healthiest Foods and Healthaliciousness.com for more info.)

4) Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
15 people on the Earth Clinic Muscle Cramp page give Apple Cider vinegar a thumbs up for treating sore muscles and leg cramps.  Most folks mix a tablespoon or two in a glass of water and drink it down, some drink a tablespoon straight like a shot.  Still other rub the vinegar directly on the area of the sore muscle/cramp.  A variation of this is a fellow who drank pickle juice and achieved similar results.  Judith recommends 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 1 teaspoon of honey, a sprig of fresh mint and 8 to 10 ounces of cold water, well mixed.

5) Blackstrap Molasses
Another Earth Clinic user (Ackbar) says 1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses in a cup of coffee each day cured his chronic muscle pain.  This is likely due to the magnesium content.  Another way to get combine ACV and molasses is the old fashioned drink called Switchel, which was commonly used before the age of brightly colored sports drinks and juices shipped from around the world.  This version of the drink is from Hillbilly Housewife.