Did you know this reduces your changes of getting a cold or flu?
When I worked in an office, this was the time of the year when everyone either got the office cold or sometimes even worse flu, so I wanted to share something that can reduce your chance of getting one.
Garlic has been used for centuries as both a food ingredient and a medicine. Garlic contains compounds that help the immune system fight germs and has show promise as a treatment for preventing colds and the flu. Studies have shown that garlic reduces the risk of becoming sick in the first place, as well as how long you stay sick. It can also reduce the severity of symptoms.
One study gave 146 healthy volunteers either garlic supplements or a placebo for three months. The garlic group had a 63% lower risk of getting a cold, and their colds were also 70% shorter. Another study found that colds were on average 61% shorter for subjects who ate 2.56 grams of aged garlic extract per day, compared to a placebo group. Their colds were also less severe.
If you often get sick with a cold or flu, eating garlic can help reduce your symptoms or prevent your illness entirely.
However, a review of the evidence found that many of the studies investigating the effects of garlic on the common cold were of poor quality.
Reference
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25961060
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11238820
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22280901
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Can you eliminate the risk of a “preemie” baby?
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More tips on how to reduce severity of a cold
Following on from last weeks blog article on the benefits of garlic in fighting colds and flu, I wanted to share more tips on how to reduce the severity of a cold.
- Take a zinc supplement: Take zinc lozenges or syrup within 24 hours of the start of a cold, as this may reduce the duration of the cold. The important thing is to take the zinc within 24 hours.
- Rest. You body needs rest to heal.
- Soothe a sore throat. I personally like to gargle with sea salt water - 1/2 tea spoon of sea salt dissolved in a large glass of room temperature water. Note: This is in appropriate for children as they may not be able to gargle properly.
- Sip warm liquids. This could be chicken soup, team or warm apple juice. Personally I like a wedge of lemon in hot water with a little chunk of ginger sweetened with manuka honey.
- Vitamin C. The scientific jutry is still out on Vitamin C. Personally I dose up with 1000mg of vitamin C throughout my cold. Taking vitamin C before the onset of cold symptoms may shorten the duration of the symptoms. Vitamin C may provide benefit for people at high risk of colds due the the frequency of exposure.
- Echineacea. Study results on whether echinacea prevents or shortens colds are mixed. Some studies show no benefit. Others show some reduction in the severity and duration of cold symptoms when taken in the early stages of a cold. Different types of echinacea used in different studies may have contributed to the differing results.Echinacea seems to be most effective if you take it when you notice cold symptoms and continue it for seven to 10 days. It appears to be safe for healthy adults, but it can interact with many drugs. Check with your doctor before taking echinacea or any other supplement.
