Article: Natural Cold Prevention and Treatment

Did you know the average adult has about 3 colds per year and kids get about 8 colds per year?

Don't be one of them!

Here are some top tips I’ve put together for natural cold prevention and treatment:

Top Tips for Preventing Colds…and How to Best Treat One If You Get One!

1. Eliminate All Sugar

Studies have shown that 1 teaspoon of sugar can suppress the immune system for up to 4 hours! Not only does sugar have ZERO nutritional value, it actually DEPLETES your body of valuable nutrients that are already in it! This is bad enough under healthy conditions, but when your body is working hard to fight off viruses and pathogens; it needs all the nutrition you've got! Sugar is nothing more than a stress to the body, only pushing you further away from health and well-being.

2. Stay Hydrated

Viruses thrive in dry conditions with low humidity. The cold winter months combined with dry, heated indoor environments provide the perfect habitat for them to thrive! Therefore it is very important to stay properly hydrated so your body does not become a popular hang-out spot for germs!

Warm, sugar-free, non-cream based soups and broths are wonderful winter foods that help get more water into the body. Be sure to stay away from fake, gimmicky sports drinks and "vitamin waters" or high-sugar juices and sodas and stick to what your body craves pure, properly-filtered spring water. For more on water, please see my website, www.zumbadancewithamy.com for one of my two articles on water: Water and Your Weight: How Staying Hydrated Keeps You Healthy & Slim and The Facts About Tap Water: What You Can’t See Can Hurt You!

3. Consume Probiotics

Our bodies contain thousands of strains of beneficial bacteria that are vital to our health and proper function. Yet our digestive tracts and immune systems can also be the hosts to parasites, yeasts and viruses which can wreak havoc on our good health and proper function. It is impossible to be alive and only have beneficial bacteria in our bodies, yet for many people, the proper ratio of beneficial to pathogenic bacteria is imbalanced on the side of bad bacteria. This paves the way for illness, infection and potentially disease.

“Probiotics” is a term used to describe the friendly or “good" bacteria. To keep your immune system happy, regularly feed the beneficial bacteria it the ammunition it needs to keep the bad guys at bay. Foods like organic, plain, sugar-free yogurt, kefir, cultured vegetables and the juice from the young green coconuts are wonderful sources of many immune-boosting components. Read more about why I call these superfoods in my article: Could You Use Some Culture? What Probiotics Can Do for You, which you can find at: www.zumbadancewithamy.com.

4. Eat Garlic

Garlic naturally boosts the immune system due to its anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties. It has been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine for both the prevention and treatment of colds. It is best to consume it raw, which will retain all of delicate compounds that can be destroyed by heat, light and oxygen.

5. Wash Your Hands Regularly

The cold virus can live for several minutes on common surfaces and in the air we breathe, making us susceptible when we touch infected surfaces and then touch ourselves or breath the infected air. During cold season, and certainly if your are around someone who is sick, be sure to regularly wash your hands with warm, soapy water and keep them away from your eyes, nose, ears and mouth.

6. Disinfect Common Areas

As I mentioned in #5, the sneaky, invisible cold virus is potentially in any area or on any surface. Door handles, computer keyboards, telephones and countertops are often crawling with these nasty critters! A good idea to protect yourself is to wipe down commonly used areas and items before you touch them. Soap and hot water or disinfectant sprays or wipes work fine. I leave a small bottle of water-free hand sanitizer in my car and purse for added convenience!

7. Exercise in Moderation

We all know exercise is vital for good health. Our bodies were designed to move. Every system, organ and cell works better when we do. Yet it's important to remember the old saying: Too much of a good thing is not better, it's just too much!

Think of it like this, exercise is a way of using your energy and using nutrition from your body to do so. As I always tell my clients, the more you exercise, the more important it is to eat well and eat right for your Metabolic Type. When you're sick, your body needs any extra energy and even more nutrition than usual to repair and get heal. Don't let exercise be yet another form of stress to your body by depleting your nutrient stores and potentially contributing to dehydration.

8. Ensure Adequate Sleep

Sleep is also a vital component to good health as well as proper immune function.

During sleep the body rejuvenates itself, heals, rebuilds and repairs. While your muscles are resting, your subconscious mind and organs are able to use the available body energy to carry on their vital functions. Thus if we don’t get adequate sleep, these processes fail to occur, setting us up for ill health, decreased function and often disease.

When we are already sick, it is important to rest and take it easy, because the body needs a tremendous amount of energy to fight the viruses and germs so we can be well again. If you are not feeling well yet continue to run around as your usual multi-tasking-super-self, no energy is left over for your immune system to get you well and you will prolong and even complicate your misery!

9. Consume Specialty Teas

There are lots of natural, herbal teas available today that contain specific herbal blends proven over many decades and often centuries to be effective at alleviating cold, sore throat and flu symptoms. Organic is always best. Two of my favorite brands are Traditional Medicinals and Tulsi Tea.

Be sure not to flavor your tea with sugar or any artificial sweetener, you'll only compound the stress to your body! I recommend the naturally occurring herb, Stevia, which is sweet and sugar-free. Combine it with perhaps some fresh cinnamon or pumpkin spice…yummy!

10. Stay Warm

Remember this one rule of thumb: the cold virus, as all viruses, thrives in cold, dry conditions. Therefore, it only makes sense to not provide a comfy place for the virus to live! You can do this by not letting yourself catch a chill or become dehydrated!

Normal body temperature is 98.6 degrees. One reason colds commonly occur in the winter months is because as the thermostat goes down, body temperature often drops with it, hence increasing the probability of catching a cold.

I hope you find my list of Top Tips for Preventing Colds and How to Best Treat One if You Get One to be helpful. For more information, or to hear an audio clip on Natural Cold Prevention and Treatment please visit my website: www.zumbadancewithamy.com and click on the Media Page.

Amy Fournier Constantino is a holistic health and nutrition consultant and lifestyle coach. She is available for speaking engagements, workshops, media opportunities, group exercise classes and private consultation. To learn more about Amy or to contact her, please visit: www.zumbadancewithamy.com, email: therippleeffect@aol.com or call: 978-500-8943.