ThisNexters Kristy Choo and Fanny The Fairy both adore Jurlique Arnica Cream for its divine moisturizing powers. “I always have dry hands - and can’t stand it,” says Fanny. “This cream is a great moisturiser.” Kristy also slathers on the cream to nourish dry hands, one of the occupational hazards of serving as pastry chef for the oh-so-lovely Jin Patisserie.

But arnica’s benefits go beyond its dryness-relieving effects. Often used internally in homeopathic medicine, arnica helps control bruising and reduce swelling for those who’ve suffered injury. So should you happen to take a nasty spill while out on the ski slopes, hiking trails, or elsewhere in the outdoors this season, rub in some arnica-based cream to help speed up healing.

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always gotten sick less frequently than my family members or anyone else around me – apparently, I’ve been blessed with some sort of superhuman immune system, for which I always feel extra-grateful during fall and winter. But there are those times, especially in the midst of the approaching cold and flu season, when something breaks down and I dissolve into a sniffling, sneezing, hacking mess whose only comfort can be found in veggie pho from the nearest Vietnamese restaurant and back-to-back episodes of Freaks and Geeks and/or Sex & The City.

When such dreadful moments arise, I head to Whole Foods and reach for Nature’s Way’s Umcka Coldcare, a cherry-flavored syrup containing some traditional Zulu medicine remedy that helps shorten the duration and severity of colds. I first discovered it during last year’s cold and flu season, and it totally works - without bringing on that spaced-out, crazy feeling you get from downing DayQuil.

...continued: Natural cold and flu fighters

With peak foliage season just around the corner – or already arrived – in spots across the country, it’s time to gear up for some weekend hikes through your nearest deciduous-tree-lined terrain. Unsure what to bring along when you hit the trails? Check out JustHike.com’s list of hiking essentials, then visit ThisNext to get some specific product recommendations.

To protect your feet as your climb, lace up with Vasque’s Sundowner Brown GTX boots, a favorite for Will R. (“When I was researching hiking boots, I read a lot of magazine reviews that basically said these were the best, most durable all around hiking boots you could buy,” Will says. “That was almost 10 years ago, and my pair has never disappointed.”) For the ladies, there’s Ecco’s FYM Ankle Strap sandals, which Deb Schiff calls the “most comfortable sandal I’ve ever worn.” (“They’re somewhat technical, so you can wear them on light hikes as well,” she adds.)

...continued: Leaf peeping

Although I am no longer the (semi-)hardcore runner I used to be, there are still those days when I push myself hard enough to experience some considerable muscle ache later on. When that happens, I usually take the “whine and do nothing” approach to self-care. But the athletes of ThisNext, who know way more about this stuff than I do, each have his/her own secret solutions for soothing sore muscles.

Mariko Hirakawa, a yoga instructor and dancer, favors muscle rubs infused with naturally healing ingredients. First there’s Zip’s Muscle Rub from Indigo Wild, an essential-oil-based salve that works to ease pain in both your muscles and your joints. Says Mariko:

“It is my favorite muscle rub for sore, knotted muscles, because it contains natural, high quality oils that condition that skin, as well as healing herbs, such as angelica, arnica, and goldenseal, which truly aid in healing the muscles underneath. Plus, it has a pleasant, natural fragrance that has an aroma-therapeutic effect.”

Mariko also turns to the anti-inflammatory, analgesic Traumeel, noting that - even though it lacks “the penetrating feel that Ben Gay or Tiger Balm has” - the rub contains homeopathic remedies that “really speed the healing process.”

Those anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties are also found in Pharmanex FlexCreme, a menthol-based product proven effective by a Medical Journal of Rheumatology double-blind clinical study. In her FlexCreme shopcast, Kayaker Tanya Faux announces that “after shoulder surgery, it was the only thing that gave me instant pain relief.”

...continued: (Don't) feel the burn

We’ve got to give Brian at Hey Guess What credit for coming up with a saucy-sounding header for a post about, of all things, homeopathic medicine. In an entry titled “Huh, I’d like to pulse her tilla,” Brian gives the lowdown on some homeopathic remedies that work “just as well, if not better, than conventional drugs for treating just about anything that you would normally take a pill for.” There’s arnica montana (“Great for bruises and sore muscles”), nux vomica (“good for stomachaches, indigestion and all around ickiness due to overeating or overdrinking”), and - of course - pulsatilla (sometimes given to expectant moms who are presenting breech; also great for relieving some types of earache).