10 ways to naturally skip colds and the flu
You’re buzzing along, loving life, getting ready for the holidays, happy and healthy … or so you thought until that sneeze creeps in. Then you feel more run down. Then that “Oh, no” feeling.
Are you going to lose time you badly need and want suffering in bed with a cold or the flu? Are you going to suffer through that nasty feeling of not being able to breathe, freezing one minute then burning the next, and a body that feels like someone drove a Hummer over it?
Not if you take some precautions, and then know what to do if a symptom still rears its ugly head. And, by the way, those precautions, for me and many others in the holistic community, don’t involve a flu shot either! But that’s a whole ‘nother topic.
Here are my natural, safe hints and tips to avoid colds and the flu or knock either one out fast:
- My top item to kick out the flu or a nasty cold out remains Oscillo. Easy to find anymore, easy to take. You’ll keep on going just like the Energizer Bunny!
- Another natural way to kick out cold/flu symptoms is elderberry syrup or capsules. That’s where I started long ago before I discovered Oscillo, and I remember it being pretty effective. I’m going to keep some on hand this year, just in case, to try again.
- Take probiotics. Preferably in a capsule where you get a really nice dose vs. the relatively small amount you get in something like yogurt. (Yes, even in the ones that promote themselves as great for this. Take the capsule; you’ll get more, and you’ll avoid the nasty ingredients I’ve seen in these products.) The best ones should be refrigerated in the store. A study of others showed many of them didn’t contain any live probiotics.
- Lemon juice does a lot to keep you inhospitable to germs. Four tablespoons creates a climate where healthy bacteria (as in the probiotics) can thrive but harmful bacteria can’t. It also is antiviral and antibacterial. Drinking a glass of water with the juice from one lemon in it may stop a cold in its tracks.
- Simply wash your hands well. Regular soap and water work, just wash well enough and for long enough. Around 20 seconds or the time it takes to sing “Happy BIrthday” … twice! Antibacterial soap has not been shown to be any more effective in killing bacteria than regular soap plus it may create bacteria that are then antibiotic resistant. In addition, it will not kill viruses at all.
- Avoid sugar; it depresses your immune system, leaving it far more susceptible to the bug trying to find a home. Craving that sweet treat? At least keep it for nighttime when you’ll hopefully be around fewer germs.
- Stress … need I say more? Stress weakens your immune system. You’ve got to find your methods to combat stress, which doesn’t do a body good when it comes to fighting off colds and the flu or anything else.
- Get enough sleep. Your body renews and repairs itself overnight. Shorting it of this system might just cause you to get forced rest — that won’t be as comfy and restorative — when you’re down with an illness. Studies show your immune system drops by 60 percent after just three nights of poor sleep.
- Drink plenty of filtered water. Chronic dehydration may be the cause of all sorts of ills. Fill a water bottle a few times a day and keep it where you are — at your desk, in your car, etc. You’ll drink more water easily.
- Vitamin C. I take 1,000 mg. daily and more so at times when I think I may have been exposed to someone ill or am coming down with something. It’s easy; it’s inexpensive.
Never give up
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
~ Confucius
HFCS by any other name is still bad for you
You’ve heard a lot about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), I’m sure. Whether you’ve stopped eating products containing it or not, I’m sure you’re at least aware that it may not be the best choice you can make for your health.
So how about corn sugar? Are you concerned about that? Do you want to buy it? Is it good for you?
What, you don’t know? You’ve never heard of corn sugar? That’s because it’s the new name for high fructose corn syrup. Yep, that’s right. Since high fructose corn syrup has gotten such a bad rap, the Corn Refiners Association has applied to change the name to corn sugar.
Americans’ consumption of HFCS now has fallen to a 20-year low. (Let me take a short interlude to say … YES, finally!) The president of the Corn Refiners Association said, “It (HFCS) has been highly disparaged and highly misunderstood.” Can you hear me say, “Awwww, poor high fructose corn syrup.” (I know — sarcasm is one of my not-so lovely traits. Or maybe sarcasm is just highly disparaged and misunderstood.)
What’s the HFCS debate? At minimum, we don’t need this extra source of sugar added to tons of our food. It’s too much sugar, too many empty calories and low in any nutritional value. To add to that, past research has shown a potential link between HFCS and obesity. Though there has been some recent research suggesting that HFCS isn’t less healthy than other sweeteners, note this: much of that research was sponsored by the beverage industry.
A new, long-term study by Princeton University demonstrated that rats fed water sweetened with HFCS developed more belly fat and had increased levels of circulating triglycerides, fat’s chemical form in the body.
Alternative health practitioners and many others believe this to be true: Not only will HFCS significantly increase your chances of weight gain and dangerous belly fat, it will increase the likelihood that you’ll develop Type 2 diabetes. It raises the levels of bad cholesterol, potentially afflicting you with hypertension, heart disease or a stroke. It can damage your liver. Trying to stay away from mercury? HFCS is often loaded with alarmingly high levels.
Why is HFCS used so widely? It’s cheap, and it preserves all that nice, processed food-in-a-box. Cheap is not a term you should apply to your health. What you save buying that food will vanish in a heartbeat once you’re fighting health issues.
If you’re already avoiding high fructose corn syrup, remember to start looking for the name corn sugar as well, in case this change occurs. Keep the keyword “corn” in mind to help you remember. If you’re not, I hope this convinces you to decide otherwise. You might harm your health with enough ingestion of HFCS. Or you may not. But there’s absolutely no way you can hurt your health by eliminating it from what you eat.
It’s all about perspective
“Ask yourself this question:
‘Will this matter a year from now?’ “
~ Richard Carlson
The choice you have
As I sat down to write, I happened to catch a clip about the death of Brian Wood, who sacrificed his own life to save that of his wife and unborn baby. In brief, a car came into his lane and would have killed all of them instantly. But Brian swerved his vehicle to allow the full brunt of the impact to hit his side, leaving his wife of five years and their baby — to be born in November — alive.
This is the kind of man we all wish to have in our lives — to be blessed with as spouses or partners, to see serve as fathers to our children, to see our sons become. This was a man of true character, as all reports suggest.
And so, with that, it just seemed wrong to complain about mislabeling of foods so you can’t protect your health better … or offer a tip … or anything.
What that story moved me to do is remind you of this:
In the same manner in which Brian sacrificed his life to save two of the people he loved most in the world, you sacrifice to stay around. You take care of being healthy because you don’t want those who love you to suffer and have to go on without you as Erin Wood and her baby must.
It seems to me that we rarely appreciate the gift of life. It’s too short, even if you don’t get dealt Brian Wood’s scenario. So, while you have the choice to stay alive, be well, be available to love those you love, help them out and enjoy great moments, take it. Don’t cut it short making daily choices that can take away your life and ability to care for those who want and need it. They want you around; they need your love and care. Make choices in favor of both you and them.
Brian Wood accepted his only chance to help his loved ones. I’m sure he would have preferred to celebrate the birth of his baby and embrace a long, healthy life with his family.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t get that choice. Right now, you do.
