Cold & Flu Season: More Alternative Ways To Stay Healthy!

by Cari Cole

The following suggestions will assist you in healing more quickly and staying healthy.

VITAMIN C ~ Please use only Ester vitamin C and use it only when you need it as it can contribute to or cause acid reflux, a more serious problem afflicting singers.
ESTER VITAMIN C: Take 1000 to 3000 milligrams of Vitamin C from the first sign of tickle in your throat until you are clear of symptoms.(Use only 1000 milligrams if you have a sensitive stomach). 500 milligrams is not enough to fight the infection.

THROAT COAT TEA ~ To soothe a sore throat drink Throat Coat Tea or slippery elm with licorice. Drinking hot fluids (no coffee or hot chocolate) is good to dispel cold viruses that like low temperatures.

CHICKEN SOUP! It turns out that University of Nebraska Medical Center pulmonologist, Stephen Rennard M.D., found that eating vegetable soup was equally effective at easing (without stopping) the inflammation-producing action of certain white blood cells. Also MISO SOUP is a powerful healer. Have both! Alternate every other day.

GARLIC is nature’s best antibiotic. Eat raw on salads, sauté in olive oil with pasta — take capsules. It is extremely effective for colds and flus viruses and bacteria prone illnesses. Helps the body fight more effectively than any other known natural remedy.

ECHINACEA is an herb that strengthens your immune system so it can fight off your illness. Take 2 capsules 3 times a day or you can use a concentrated form of Echinacea called “Esberitox” found at health food stores or online at www.enzy.com. You can also find this Echinacea in a throat spray called “Throat Relief” with sage and orange at health food stores. This is an excellent way to absorb echinacea faster into your system. Remember that echinacea should be taken 3 weeks out of the month on a regular basis to avoid illness.

DRINK LOTS OF FLUIDS AND WATER – The nasopharynx is lined with protective mucus that traps cold viruses and carries them down to the stomach where digestive acids kill them. Even minor dehydration reduces the mucus layer’s moisture content, enabling cold viruses to penetrate it and infect the throat. Sip water throughout the day and don’t allow the mucus layer to dry out. If you are thirsty it is too late you are already dehydrated!

COLD EEZE ZINC LOZENGES (Ultra Natural Health Food Store also stocks these!) Use flavored zinc lozenges at the first sign of a tickle to relieve cold symptoms and shorten the duration of infection. Be sure to suck on lozenges after eating as zinc can cause slight nausea. The orange ones are the best. Take 6 a day for three days only.

MAKE YOUR OWN COLD FIGHTING TEA – Goldenseal, a natural antibiotic, combined with Echinacea, an immune boosting herb, and ginger, also an immune stimulant, are effective in helping the body fight the cold viruses. Drop 30 drops of Goldenseal and Echinacea tinctures into a hot but not scalding cup of Ginger or Chamomile tea. Drink 3-4 times per day. You can drink the tea without goldenseal if you can’t stand the taste or are ill with a fever.
Warning: Do not take Goldenseal if you have a fever or the flu. Goldenseal is a strong blood cleanser and can push a fever too high or make your symptoms flare up – use for colds only.

FRESH OSHA ROOT -(Sometimes difficult to find. Most easily ordered from herb companies directly) Chew on the root and leave in the pocket between the inside of your lip and your gums for a period of 24 hours. Take it out when you eat and return it when you finish eating. If you catch a cold in the early stages this will knock it out. This is the most talked about drug at Harvard medical study conventions because of its highly curative effect on the common cold..

BEE PROPOLIS – NATURES NATURAL ANTIBIOTIC – Bee propolis has long been referred to as the singer’s medicine. Propolis has proven effective in helping to deal with a wide variety of infections and illnesses, including colds, stress, hypertension, and pharyngitis. The antibacterial and antiviral properties of bee propolis work to raise the body’s natural resistance to disease by internally stimulating ones own immune system. In doing this, propolis also supplies added amounts of Vitamins B1, B2, C, and E and all essential minerals including iron, manganese, and calcium. Normal antibiotics do the opposite. They can kill the friendly bacteria in the system that the body uses to synthesize Vitamins B and K. This can cause a severe deficiency of these important health-sustaining vitamins. ”

TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
Bi Yan Pian – for sinus problems with yellow phlegm & inflammation. Yin Chiao Chieh Tu Pien – for sore throat where it is painful to swallow, general body aches & pains, fever/ chills, stuffy nose. At the first sign of a cold, take six tablets of Yin Chiao Chieh Tu Pien every 3-4 hours until symptoms are gone. Can keep symptoms from developing into a full-blown cold. These can be purchased from a licensed Chinese acupuncturist. Remember that herbs are drugs and it is best to see a practitioner first. Chinese patent formulas are not so easily recommended to people. It’s not like taking an over the counter western medicine where everybody takes the same thing. There are a dozen different cold formulas to take depending upon a person’s symptoms, constitution & overall state of health.

AYURVEDIC TRADITION
Ayurvedic diet for colds emphasizes whole grains and vegetables, plus avoidance of dairy products, all animal fats, oily foods, nuts, sugars, pastries and sweet fruit juices. This diet has proved to offer maximum support for the immune system as it works to eliminate the cold virus from the body.

DON’T DRINK MILK & AVOID DAIRY PRODUCTS
A dairy free diet reduces the risk and severity of colds and flu as well as sinus and ear infections. “Dairy is a tremendous burden on the respiratory, digestive, and immune systems,” says Christiane Northrup, M.D., a GYN in Yarmouth, Maine. “Eliminate dairy foods and you suffer from a lot less colds.” A recent study supports her view. It shows that a chemical in milk triggers the release of histamine, which triggers runny nose and nasal congestion.

EAT LESS FATS – High fat diets force your immune system to work overtime to prevent heart disease and cancer; this could decrease its effectiveness at fighting off colds.

NO SWEETS OR ALCOHOL – Reduce your consumption of sweets and alcohol. All forms of sugar (sucrose, fructose, Sucanat, glucose, honey, maple syrup and others) impair the activity of the infection-fighting white blood cells called neutrophils.

WHY NO COLD MEDICINES! – It is now documented and known that over-the-counter cold medicines do nothing to attack cold viruses or boost the immune system’s fight against them, so they have no effect on the duration of colds. All they do is suppress symptoms, providing at best modest relief and give you side effects that you didn’t ask for like; the jitters, insomnia, drowsiness or possible accelerated tumor growth from antihistamines.

FRESH FRUIT & VEGETABLE juices will reduce your chances of getting sick in the first place. If you are sick, they will speed your recovery. Be sure to always use a fruit and vegetable wash available at your local health food store before juicing to remove harmful pesticides and bacteria.