The Natural Approach To The Common Cold

The Natural Approach To
The Common Cold

The symptoms of the common cold include sneezing, coughing, congestion, headache, sore throat, watery eyes, aches and pains, and fever.

Modern medicine has yet to find a cure. One reason is that the virus which causes colds comes in hundreds of different forms. It is also able to change size and shape making the formulation of a vaccine almost impossible.

The only treatments offered by conventional medicine are decongestants, cough medicines and acetaminophen to mask the symptoms. None of these can actually cure the cold - they just make you suffer less!

However, all the unpleasant symptoms of a cold are your body's way of defending and healing itself and it is usually best not to interfere. The mucus flow is your body's way of ridding itself of the virus - nasal decongestants can prevent this.

A strong immune system is probably the best way to avoid a cold, but if you already have a cold then bolstering your immune system will help to shorten it's duration and make the symptoms less severe. See Boost Your Immune System on this website

Eat a healthy well balanced diet - junk food can stress your immune system and leave you vulnerable to illness. Add garlic to your diet or take a garlic supplement. Studies have shown that garlic has antiviral properties and can help to boost your immune system.

Taking Echinacea for 6 - 8 weeks before the start of the cold season has been shown to reduce your risk of getting a cold by strengthening your body's immune system.

Tips to Help Relieve your Cold
	Rest - your body is working hard to heal itself, it needs rest.
	Drink plenty of fluids - a good rule is to double your normal intake to flush the virus from your body.
	Taking Echinacea at the onset of a cold has been shown to reduce it's duration and lessen the symptoms. Experts suggest taking two capsules immediately then one every two hour for 48 hours or until relief is felt.
	Chicken soup was first recommended for colds by the Egyptians 800 years ago. Recently scientists at Mount Sanai Medical Center found that it appears to increase mucus flow.
	Experts have found that eating hot spicy foods can increase mucus flow and help a cough be more productive.
	Wash hands often and discard used tissues immediately
	Avoid alcohol - it dehydrates your body and stresses your immune system.
	Don't smoke

Nutritional Supplements Worth Considering
	Vitamin C - at least 1000mg daily - Studies have shown that taking 1000mg daily reduced the symptoms of the cold and shortened the duration by as much as 72%
	Zinc lozenges - Sucking zinc lozenges has been shown to reduce the duration of colds.
	Beta Carotene helps to reduce inflammation of mucus membranes and strengthen immune system.