How To Best Fight A Cold Or The Flu

More than one million colds happen in the United States alone every year, setting off a storm of sneezes, sniffles, aches and pains. The flu affects more then tens of millions of American with fever and fatigue every winter. You can take steps to prevent those dreaded viruses from knocking you out for several weeks.

You need to build up your immune defense all winter long, follow a plant-based diet, high in vitamin C (kiwi, citrus and broccoli, cabbage), drink lots of fluids (green tea, black tea). Become germ obsessed during the winter months or flu season. Get plenty of rest and relaxation because chronic stress and sleep deprivation are both known to wear down your immunity.

When a cold or flu strikes you, act fas t with natural remedies:

Echinacea: is the king of cold and flu remedies, it is recommended getting 3 grams of Echinacea daily when you’re sick, reducing the dose as you start to feel better. People with several allergies should be careful in taking echinacea. Echinacea can be purchased by pill form, liquid drop or tea bags.

Astragalus: Is a root that can be stirred into soups to bolster your immune system during the cold and flu season. As soon as you feel a cold coming on, taking 2 to 6 grams of astragalus in pill form daily.

Yin Chiao: is a formula that contains nine cold and flu countering herbs. Botanicals like licorice and peppermint are very helpful for colds and sore throat. Take 60 drops of the tincture in water every 2 or 3 hours for the first two or three days. It also comes in tablets, check the dosage on the box.

Garlic: Crushing up a clove, mixing it with olive oil and lemon juice, and putting it on your salad is something easy for people to do every day. When you’re sick, downing at least thee cloves of garlic daily will help keep the flu and cold away.

Elderberry: is used in jams and lemonades because of its sweetness. Elderberry is packed with quercetin. Elderbery helps activate the immune system. Sipping Elderberry tea can also soothe flue symptons

Andrographis: is a traditional Indian and Chinese medicine, this herb activates natural killer cells to fight against infection. When Andrographis is paired with Siberian ginseng, andrographis may attack the flu more effectively than some antiviral drugs.

Ginger:is a pungent root that has the ability to tame nausea but it can also act as an antihistamine and decongestant. Tossing some fresh, chopped giner into your stir fry or soups can lessen cold symptoms;as can making a strong cup of ginger tea.

Olive Lea Extract: Anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial, olive leaf extract interacts with the protein in cold and flu virus particles to halt infections. I would recommend using liquid extract because it is so easy to use. You can put three to four drops in warm water, gargle, its great for sore throats.

Medicinal Mushrooms: Chinese and Japanese healers have understood the magic of mushrooms for centuries, using shiitake, reishi, maitake and others to both prevent and treat several ailments. There are many medicinal mushroom blends available in health food stores that can be taken to prevent illnesses.