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.
Remember that antibiotics attack bacteria but they are no help against cold viruses.
References
Related Posts
Having a ball?
Previously I have written my guide to foam rolling parts 1 & 2. Now I want to explore the uses for another self-massage tool, the spikey ball. I would recommend you use both a foam roller and a spikey ball the reason is that for some parts of the body it is easier to use a spikey ball, for example: Releasing the feet Stand on one leg use a chair or the wall for balance. Roll one foot at a time over the ball for a good few minutes. Include the heel, the outside edge and the instep. Push down stronger into any area to deepen the intensity. Do each foot separately. Between the shoulders A common area of tension with modern postural habits is between the shoulder blades. You can easily reach this area with a ball placed anywhere between the shoulder blades and move up and down against the wall. One tip to stop the ball dropping it to put it in a long sock or stocking, drap it over your shoulder and then hold it in your hand. Lower back - Under sacrum and glutes You can use the floor of resistance to press your weight into or when lying to let gravity give you a help in hand. Simply lie on the floor, bend your knees but keep your feet flat on the floor. Then place the ball underneath your sacrum – the large triangular bone that forms part of your pelvis. Now move just gently move your sacrum and glutes all over the ball. If it feels safe to do so your can bring your knees into your chest to add additional pressure. This will help release off your lower back.
What can help period pain – Part 1?
It is reported that period pain affects two thirds of women ranging from mild discomfort to pain at some time or other. Period pain happens because of contractions in the uterus, or womb, which is a muscle. If it contracts too strongly during your menstrual cycle, it can press against nearby blood vessels. This briefly cuts off the supply of oxygen to the uterus. It’s this lack of oxygen causes your pain and cramping. The cramping can be felt in the lower belly or lower back or both. The intensity of the cramping can very from mild to severe. In addition to cramping women can get leg pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea or extreme fatigue. When period pain has no obvious cause, it is classified by the medical profession as “primary” while pain caused by an actual condition e.g. endometriosis, fibroids, PID (pelvic inflammatory disease) is called “secondary”. In the next few blogs I want to share some tips on assisting those women like myself who suffer from primary period pain. I personally have found that placing a hot water bottle on your lower back/belly or taking a warm bath may provide some relief. If you are at work, you can put a hot pad on the area. One of the things that got me hooked on reflexology was that it helped it reduced my PMT and I felt that my periods were less painful too.
Action plan for a healthy small intestine
The small intestine is as wide as your thumb and around 5.5m long. It is both a food blender and assimilator as it digests more of your food than your stomach. Food stays in the small intestine for 1 - 4 hours before moving on to the large intestine for further processing. Maintaing a healthy small intestine is all about controlling your bacteria levels and mucus build-up on your intestinal walls which can cause havoc and deplete your energy levels. If you have bloating, gas and loose bowel movements you may have a small intestine issues such as:
- Candida
- IBS
- SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
- Cut out imflammatory drugs e.g. asprin, paracetamol and avoid alchol.
- Take L-glutamine and butyric acid both of these can help heal the gut, but check with a nutritionalist first as dosage is important.
- Drink slippery elm tea which calms inflamation of the small intestine and helps relieve IBS.
- Up your intake of vitamins A and D - liver is an excellent sourch of these vitamins which protect the mucus membrane of the gut.
- Eat more antibacterial foods such as garlic, honey and sauerkraut which preven the growth of Candida, fungus and yeast infections.
- Take oregano oil (Oregnano Vulgaris) which has been shown to stop Candidan in its tracks.
- Take probiotics daily - look for a count of 50 billion or more in each dose.
- Take prebiotics daily - to feed the probiotics. Or eat food prebiotic foods such as sauerkraut or kimchi.
- Go gluten free. Cut out gluten for an entire week and keep a food diary to check if your symptoms improve.
- Mimosa pudica an ayurvedic herb is brilliant at wiping out parasites.
- Eat more ant-parasitics such as garlic, thyme, chilli, tumeric and ginger.
