Results Are In -- Zinc Helps Relieve Colds

Even though every friend you have has already told you that if you take zinc it will lessen the duration and effects of the cold, it's still nice to see studies that prove it.

In Dr. Sanjay Gupta's blog he reports that when researches went through all of the studies on zinc they concluded that " healthy adults and children who took zinc syrup, lozenges, or tablets within 24 hours of their first cough or sniffle experienced shorter and less severe colds than the participants who took a zinc-free placebo. Taking zinc reduced the odds that a person would still be experiencing symptoms at the seven-day mark by more than half."

Where do you find zinc? There are lozenges and syrups or you can find it foods -- nuts, seeds, meats, fruits and vegetables.

Take Your Cold on a Walk

Sometimes it's great when what you think works, actually does. A few weeks ago I was beginning to get a cold but I went ahead with my plans to go snow shoeing in the hopes I could sweat out the cold.

Well, exercise does really help fight colds. A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reports that people who logged at least 20 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise—such as jogging, biking, or swimming—on five or more days per week were sick with cold or flu symptoms for just five days, on average, compared to about 8.5 days among people who exercised one day per week or less.

Furthermore regular exercisers tended to have milder symptoms when they were ill.

Why? An article on health.com quotes David Nieman, a professor of health, leisure, and exercise science at Appalachian State University, in Boone, N.C. as saying that "exercise is thought to boost the circulation of the virus-fighting white blood cells known as natural killer cells. Exercise gets these cells out…to deal with the enemy."

Another reason might be due to the endorphins which are released during exercise that in turn cause a spike in immune cells.

Salt Water Remedies for Colds

While it sounds too easy to be true it is. Salt water can be a powerful way to relieve cold symptoms. An article on WebMD, explains how to create a salt-water solution that can sprayed in the nasal passage or used in gargling.


For nasal congestion, salt-water rinsing helps break up congestion while also removing virus particles and bacteria from your nose.

Here's how to do make up a batch:

Mix 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda in 8 ounces of warm water. Fill a bulb syringe with this mixture (or use a Neti pot, available at most health foods stores). Lean your head over a basin, and using the bulb syringe, gently squirt the salt water into your nose. Hold one nostril closed by applying light finger pressure while squirting the salt mixture into the other nostril. Let it drain. Repeat two to three times, and then treat the other nostril.

And to relive a sore throat that often preceds a cold, you can use a half teaspoon of salt dissolved in 8 ounces of warm water four times daily.

Go To Sleep -- Feel Better

As a mother it seems that sleep is one of the most valued commodities. When the kids are babies sleep is the ultimate goal -- both for your peace of mind and their good mood. As toddlers and little children it's the time their bodies grow. As teenagers it's their joy and our break. I still don't have the heart to wake up my sleeping teenager daughter unless I absolutely have to.

And no matter what age, whenever they are sick I immediately send them to bed.

And it turns out sleep does in fact help prevent against colds. In a recent study published in the Archives of Medicine, those who slept an average of fewer than seven hours a night were three times as likely to get sick as those who averaged at least eight hours.

As Anahad O'Connor reports in an article in the New York Times, sleep and immunity are tightly linked.

O'Connor also cites an interesting fact that mammals that require the most sleep also produce greater levels of disease-fighting white blood cells.

Home Remedies for Nasal Congestion

I'm always amazed, and I don't know why, when I see home remedies that I have used with my family for years, show up on popular websites. On MSNBC, they suggested putting a few drops of eucalyptus oil on the floor of a hot, running shower and inhaling the steam that accumulates.
(Source: Benjamin Kligler, M.D., M.P.H., research director at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing in New York City. Isn't it funny to have to have a source for that?)

A few words about using eucalyptus to ease congestion. I do this all of the time and I will place a few drops on a cotton ball and have my kids breathe it in. Or they can set the cotton ball next to their pillow and inhale throughout the night. You have to be careful not to touch the oil. We have used satchels that contain eucalyptus and place that next to the pillow as well.

My personal favorite is to add eucalptus and perhaps other essential oils to a bowl of hot water and put a towel around my head forming a tent. And then inhale. It's very powerful and the hot water is great for the skin as well.

Many people use neti pots to ease congestion as well. To learn how to use this see Dr. Mehmet Oz's suggestions.

From Web MD come these two suggestions:

Use a Salve Under Your Nose

A small dab of mentholated salve under your nose can open breathing passages and help soothe the irritated skin at the base of the nose. Menthol, eucalyptus and camphor all have mild numbing ingredients that may help relieve the pain of a nose rubbed raw.

Apply Hot or Cold Packs Around Your Congested Sinuses

Either temperature may help you feel more comfortable. You can buy reusable hot or cold packs at a drugstore. Or make your own. Take a damp washcloth and heat it for 55 seconds in a microwave (test the temperature first to make sure it's right for you.) Or take a small bag of frozen peas to use as a cold pack.

Sweat Away A Cold?

A Sauna or steam bath might just be the route to go to prevent cold or flu viruses. A 1989 German study found that people who used a sauna got half as many colds as those who didn't. One theory is that when you inhale air that is hotter than 80 degrees, it's too hot for the cold and flu viruses to survive.

Dr. Andrew Weil, also believes a sauna is a great way to sweat out the toxins and also improve general circulation. He cites a Finnish belief that says a sauna can produce a quart of sweat per hour.

People who have high blood pressure or heart disease should check with a physician before using a sauna.

A Natural Treatment For The Flu That Works Wonders

I have used homeopathetic remedies for my family for many years. We use the little pills that you dissolve under your tongue for sore throats, fevers, canker sores, acne and poison ivy. I had never tried it for the flu.

One of my children was in the third day of the flu last week so I tried the remedy called OSCILLOCOCCINUM. It's by Boiron, a company I have used for years. Generally speaking you are supposed to use homeopathic medicine at the beginning stages of the illness and in fact this type of medicine is great because as your symptoms change you change the formula you use. For example if the cold starts with a sore throat you use one formula for that but when it moves into the chest you use a different one. It's a great way to treat the body as it moves through the stages.

But this remedy worked like a charm on day 3. My child was better after taking only two doses. I am amazed. I know these things work, but it still amazes me when it does so quickly.

To get information about what homeopathy is and how it works visit
Boiron.

Exercise Can Beat Colds

As someone who has exercised her whole life, I can tell you that the many, many, benefits of exercise have yet to be discovered. Yet, we seem to like to study things to make sure they are good before we do them. Amazing how we willingly eat food not good for us before we study that!

Anyway a report today says that moderate daily exercise -- defined as 30 minutes a day -- can prevent colds. This was reported in the November issue of the American Medical Journal.

More specifically, post menopausal women's chances of getting a cold were reduced by 50% in a study conducted at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Are women now classified as pre or post menopausal?

Exercise is good for everyone (especially dogs). It lowers our stress, it builds up our immune systems. It can fight depression and lessen the symptoms of allergies. It keeps our systems oiled and our minds clear.

Let's all exercise... not just post menopausal women!

Tea As A Home Remedy


You might not think of tea as way to treat various ailments, but I have found it be very effective. With more people seeking natural ways to treat ailments, there are now number of companies that produce teas that are for very specific purposes. I have used the sore throat tea, which consists of herbs known for their healing properties specific to sore throats. My son has always used a "breathe easy" type of tea for either his allergies or bronchitis. There are now teas to use for colds, which contain echinacea, as well as teas for digestion, stress and many other ailments.

You only need to take a few cups a day and it's a very easy way to get these beneficial herbs into your system --- without having to buy a number of herbs and combine them yourself. You can just sit back and relax.