Does it seem like when one person has a cold EVERYONE else does too? Colds definitely have a season and it’s now, Autumn into winter. Viruses thrive when the air is colder and drier. We also spend more time indoors during these seasons, usually with the windows closed. Inside spaces have a higher number of pollutants in the air. Once someone has a cold it is easily spread to another by sneezing, coughing, touching the same things, really just human interaction. We’re social creatures so before you quarantine yourself into your room, remember it’s a long season my friends and we can get through it together! We just need to take some precautions.
I’m excited to share my tips for prevention of colds, though as I write this article I’m currently getting over a cold myself. “Wait a minute,” you might be thinking, you want to take tips from someone who just got sick? Well I’m not a super hero guys, you can prevent sickness as much as possible but sometimes it gets the better of you. I’m so happy to admit I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had a cold. I will say though I am okay with the fact that I recently got one. Here’s my belief, I hardly ever get sick but one cold once in a while keeps my body strong and capable of fighting off viruses. Of course no one wants to get sick though, so first read my tips on prevention. Then if it gets the better of you don’t get mad or upset, check out the tips to make it the shortest cold you’ve experienced so you can go play the very next day (like I am today!)
Prevention:
- Keep your diet in check.
Yes, always. Your body is a hard working machine that uses vitamins and minerals as fuel to work properly. Yes, it NEEDS them! Proper nourishment comes from the food we eat, so we must eat a variety of sources that contains it. Fruits and vegetables have a plethora of good things! I practice the 80/20 rule in my eating habits. About 80% of my diet is foods that benefit my health. 20% is when you crave that comfort food and no other food can satisfy that craving. Plus it fits into my belief of you need a little of the ‘not so good’ to make the good flourish. A small example- I was sensitive to a lot of foods because I cut them completely out of my system. Because life’s not perfect, if something I was sensitive to was in something I ate, I felt it, BAD. Therefore I’ve been practicing incorporating my sensitivities in small amounts to my diet once in a while, so my body can recognize what it is and deal with it without setting off the death alarms. *Do this at your own risk, if willing and keep in mind not to try this with things you ARE actually deathly allergic to. That’s my advice.
- Exercise, regularly.
- Get enough sleep per night
^Yes, sorry it’s all the basic things we always hear but you hear it for a reason. If you keep your body healthy it will keep you healthy, it will be strong enough to fight the onsets of colds and keep virus out of your system. Strong immune system=no sicky.
I’ll confess one non-traditional thing I do in addition to what’s above is drink nettle tea regularly. Nettle is said to be one of the most potent plants on the plant. It is full of vitamins, rich in iron, calcium, potassium, silicon, magnesium, manganese, zinc, and other vitamins and minerals. Sipping on nettle tea as a tonic from day to day will strengthen your entire system keeping you strong to fight bad bacteria.
- Clean up house
Spending more time indoors exposes us to an increase of poor indoor air quality. We must be more particular routine house cleaning. Also, open some windows once in a while to get a nice flow of fresh air. You can even get some house plants to purify the air.
Feeling it:
A slight scratch in your throat, a sniffle here a sniffle there…oh man, a cough. A SNEEZE?! Whelp, you did good at preventing getting a cold but never the less, it’s here. So what now?
- Drink plenty of water
Dehydration can occur when you are sick from not replacing the fluids lost from a fever. Also drinking fluids can help break up the mucus that you’re getting to know all too well at the moment.
- Eat even healthier at the moment; briefly throw out that 80/20 rule go full throttle 100%.
Give your body everything it needs to fight this off. I know it’s harder when not feeling well and mac and cheese sounds so comforting but that will only starve your body from essential nourishment that ITs craving at the moment.
- Garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, lemon, local honey, all together, in a drink.
It may not sound like the tastiest thing because as my husband likes to say, “It’s medicine”.
Garlic- contains compounds that boost the disease-fighting response in our body, crush it 10 minutes before making tea to get the most medicinal properties. Chew a little bit of it as well if you’re brave.
Ginger- soothes upset stomach, relieves sore throats and kills rhinoviruses (the common cold virus).
Turmeric- strong anti-inflammatory and considered a natural antibiotic in Ayurvedic medicine to help strengthen the immune system.
Cayenne- Breaks up congestion.
Lemon- Vitamin C, inhibits the growth of microbes that can cause infection (antimicrobial).
Honey (local)-reduces allergens, antimicrobial, soothing and delicious.
I make a tea with all of that good stuff, though you’re welcome to make your medicinal cocktail however you want with these ingredients.
- Horseradish, apple cider vinegar and honey.
I’ve learned this trick from my favorite herbalist, Rosemary Gladstar. When congested it’s hard to break up the mucus to get it out of the body. When you’re sniffling and trying to blow your nose and nothing happens, do this. Get horseradish root from the store, I found some in Whole Foods market. It’s crucial for the sick patient to grate the horseradish root, till the eyes water and nose begins to water. Then with the grated horseradish root mix with local honey and apple cider vinegar to taste and bon appetit! Eat 1-2 teaspoons till symptoms subside (you’ll thank her after the process.)
* A cheat-cheat if you are in need of this relief and don’t have time to buy horseradish root, I’ve mixed already ground horseradish with honey and APC and still received its clearing properties. Though the first way is best. This is also helpful for allergy sufferers, like my husband. He can tell you how well this clears your sinuses.
- Pine needle tea
Pine needles contain 4-5 times the Vitamin C of fresh squeezed OJ. It is refreshing and serves as a decongestant. Use pine needles from a green white pine (the long soft needles). Check out the recipes online, just type in pine needle tea!
- Steam showers
My mother always said to take a steamy shower when sick, therefore this is what I’ve done and it makes me feel better. The steam opens up the sinuses and will remove mucous so it will not be reabsorbed into the body. When I get sick, my chest usually feels tight and after a steam shower I feel the steam opened up my lungs to help with breathing. Plus it’s proven; an experiment performed by the Medical Research Council Common Cold Unit at Harvard Hospital proved when [someone is] sick steam cuts sick days in half.
*If you’re conscious of water use, boil a big pot of water. Put a towel down on the table, pot on top, your face above that with a towel over your head.
- Eucalyptus oil
The Eucalyptus vapor helps to clear sinus, making it easier to breathe when congested. The active ingredient in eucalyptus oil is cineol or euclyptol. It is a decongestant, has germicidal effects (kills germs) and is antibacterial. It’s great to get the benefits of breathing in this vapor in numerous ways. I personally use it with my oil diffuser and have it in my bedroom. The smell is also soothing and refreshing. Make sure you get a good source of the oil. Organic is best.
- SLEEP!
This one is my favorite because to me it is the strongest way to fight off colds. Resting is great to do when you’re sick, take a sick day and just take time to recover. By this I mean not just lay around at home watching movies (don’t hate me for saying that, it is my favorite thing to do too!) but actually sleep. For hours, and hours and hours. Sleep is our bodies repair shop. When we are in deep sleep, with a slow wave frequeceny our body is healing itself by producing the most growth hormone at this time to repaire tissue. While we are dreaming of grand adventures our body is on a grand adventure of its own! The siren is off calling all troops of the immune response squad. White blood cells are gearing up, they have their detectors in hand and ready to recognize friend or foe, ready to repel the foreign invaders also known as viruses. The defender cells lead the troops into battle, fighting and battling the germs. These germs are strong though, so out come Mr. T. and B. lymphocytes, full of arm tattoos and rage they rip the heads off these puny viruses. Antibodies back them up by seducing the virus to attach to them, enabling the virus from replicating themselves (their famous ability) and tagging them with markers for the blood cells to locate and destroy. The T cells are alerted from their tower and calling more troops to defend, some sacrifice themselves to run into battle and hold off the virus. Other T cells are helping the B cells produce more antibodies to throw on the battle front and wipe out all sign of virus. By working all together that virus made a grand effort but never stood and chance. The specialist of B and T cell units go onto the battle field after it’s over to collect evidence of who these viruses were. They file the information neatly away in the folder labeled DEFEATED to remember who they were and how they were eliminated. Ta-Da! See, It’s hard to do all that while your busy facing your day-to-day activities.
Plus while you sleep you are creating more white blood cells to destroy bacteria that makes you sick.
I hope you all stay happy, healthy and vibrant in this season and the ones to follow. Leave comments below of how these tips helped you!