Beating colds and flus the natural way: From the Archive

Cold and flu season is in full swing for those of you in the northern hemisphere, so I thought you would appreciate a rerun of this earlier post.

For many of us, this season means resorting to a pharmacy worth of cold and flu meds. But is this really the best way to beat a cold? According to the FDA in the US, a old wives remedy as simple as honey beat over-the-counter cough suppressants for effectiveness.

So what natural measures can you take to beat colds and flu? Just like the old saying goes:

Prevention is better than a cure

Drink lots of water - according to Victor Sierpina MD, author of 1000 cures for 200 ailments, for your respiratory tract cells to function properly and fight off infection, you need plenty of fluid.

Take probiotics - "friendly" bacteria such as acidophilus (often found in yoghurt as well as supplements) are believed to help your immune cells, the majority of which are in your digestive tract.

Eat well - seems like a no-brainer, but it is amazing how many of us forget that a constant supply of fruit, vegetables and protein are essential to your body's defenses working the way they should.

Keep you hands in plain sight - your hands are the major transmitter of the cold virus. Keep them clean, and keep them away from your eyes and nose, which are the main entry points for the virus to enter your system

What to do when you know it's about to attack

Keep your nose clean - carry on with the saline nasal spray, or use a neti pot to flush out your nose.

Supersize your vitamin C - while getting vitamin C from your diet is important, it will only get you about 200mg if you are consistently eating your 2 and 5. Studies have shown that you need 500-1000mg to help protect against infections taking hold

Too late, it's already here

Broken record - keep up with the saline nasal spray! Not only does it flush and disinfect, adding back some moisture helps prevent reinfection.

Honey, honey - stop coughs in their tracks with honey. Coughs are the body's way of clearing out your upper chest, so let it be when you can, but when you need a good night's sleep, then take two teaspoons of honey (one for children over 12 months). It works by soothing the throat, killing the germs, and helping to block the cough reflex in the brain

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