As we enter the autumn and winter months there will inevitably be some coughs and colds doing the rounds. We missed a lot of these last year and there is talk of a super cold in the community.
So prevention is better than cure so for the next few months I am going to be taking echinacea drops, Vit C, zinc and most importantly Vit D – this is absolutely necessary for us all as we enter low light winter months and helps to modulate the immune system so get some and take it if you with K2 which helps deposit the calcium vit D releases into the bones.
Something else I do if I feel a cold coming on, at that first tickle, is up my vitamin C intake to 1g per hour or every other hr and take propolis. This optimizes the amount of vitamin c in your body and means the immune system always has enough. I have staved off manys a cold with this trick. The only side effect of too much Vit C is a loose bowel movement – I’ve yet to experience this so I tolerate Vit C well however if you have this side effect then you know to stop at that point.
Minimising viral load is important and putting a couple of drops of lugols iodine into a salt pipe can help with this. Iodine kills all microbes in seconds so sniffing and inhaling this coats the sinuses, throat down to the chest and can really help at the first sign of infection.
Ok so we’ve talked about prevention but what if it gets a grip. I would keep taking your echinacea and vit C as these are thought to lessen the severity and duration of a cold. Wrap up, rest and drink plenty of fluids. Ginger, lemon and honey esp manuka honey, is a lovely soothing drink, this echinacea drink is also warming and will give you a good dose of echinacea at the same time.
If the cold goes into your chest and you have a cough then there are a couple of things I use. If it is a hard cough that needs broken then Mullen is great for this – this comvita bottle with mullen can help to break the cough and release that tight hard feeling in the chest. If it is a chesty cough then Ivy Thyme is good.
you can take supplements galore but nothing beats a good diet high in plants, fibre and good oils, low in processed foods and sugar, managing stress is really important as stress and fear will suppress the immune system, taking exercise outside in fresh air and nature, and last but by no means least a good nights sleep. These are fundamental to health, everything else is an added extra.