Fend Off Sickness With Cold And Flu Supplements
The day to day grind and constantly being “on the go” can really put a stress on your body. The fact that we have to live a more fast paced lifestyle from day to day can really have an effect on us, not only causing a lot of stress, but by causing weaknesses in our immune systems. Getting the right nutrition can help to protect and shield your body from getting sick.Because eating right isn't always possible a great way to make sure your body is getting what it needs is by the addition of nutritional supplements.
Sick Of Being Sick?
Lack of proper nutrition will take a toll on the body's immune system and yet, in our fast paced lives we often don’t get the nutrients, vitamins and minerals that we need to stay healthy. We live on the go, often not thinking of avoiding sickness, which of course can not only make you more likely to get sick, but can make you remain sick for longer periods of time than you normally would.
Let's face it we all want to be healthy. If you are one of those people who is always having to call into work because you or a family member is always ill or who seems to be always coming down with something, you are probably sick of being sick!
Never fear though. There are a number of simple solutions to avoid getting sick in the first place. Whether you are just prone to colds or flus, or you have a disorder that causes your body to be susceptible to getting ill, the help you need to boost your immune system is only a few clicks away.
Don’t Let The Common Cold Ruin Your Day
Let`s face it, Cold and flus are just no fun. Nobody wants to be stuck in bed, Catching a viral infection like a cold or flu can keep you from getting out and having fun as well as keeping you from being able to perform necessary household chores such as cleaning, laundry or cooking if you are a homeworker, If you are a breadwinner catching a cold or flu can keep you stuck at home, forcing you to call in sick to work and costing you wages.
How to Fight The Cold and Flu
It can be difficult to tell the cold and the flu apart as both illnesses cause similar symptoms including:
- Cough
- Fever
- Headache
- Muscle Aches
- Sore Throat
- Stuffy Nose
The good news is that the cold and the flu viruses both respond similarly to the body’s defenses. The best way avoid getting sick is making yourself strong enough to ward off these bugs in the first place. However, if you haven’t been diligent in fending off illness or if you have a disorder that makes you prone to getting sick, you may want to begin taking cold and flu supplements as soon as you notice early symptoms.
Of course, these symptoms can sometimes also be similar to those of other conditions. It is always wise to consult your primary care provider if your illness doesn’t go away. While antibacterials such as penicillin are not effective against viruses, you will want to rule out any causes for your symptoms if you have concerns.
The Best Offense Is A Good Defense
In order to keep your body healthy, you need to take care of it. Specifically when you are concerned about the cold or flu, such as during certain times of years or if you are around a lot of people in school or your workplace, there are extra defensive precautions that you can take in order to avoid getting sick in the first place.
Put these habits into good practice to help your body defend itself against cold and flu viruses.
Eat Healthy
Regular exercise and a good regimen to manage stress are of course important, but one of the best ways to help prevent getting sick is to make sure to eat healthy. Foods that are high in antioxidants are helpful for keeping your system strong. Additionally, there are a number of foods and vegetables that promote well-being. Eating balanced meals regularly is one of the best ways to keep yourself healthy.
Wash Your Hands
Rubbing your hands with a hand sanitizer or alcohol based gel for at least thirty seconds or washing your hands with soap and water for as long as it takes to sing two rounds of “happy birthday” is still one of the best ways to protect yourself from contracting the germs that can cause cold, flu or other illness. Germs can travel through the air and from skin to skin contact. Washing them off of your hands is helpful in preventing the spread of illnesses.
Exercise
Don't forget to make sure to exercise regularly to help manage stress as well as to help to keep your body`s immune system healthy to prevent the onset of cold and influenza. Even walking 20 minutes a day three times a week has had proven results in helping the body fend off illness.
Supplements For Fighting The Cold And Flu
Even if you eat healthy, you can find that your body is sometimes lacking in the nutrients that it needs to stay healthy. Supplements are terrific in today's modern society when you need stay active and on the go, enabling you to fill in the nutritional gaps of your diet.
Giving your body a little extra something to help keep it running smoothing and maintaining a healthy immune system is always a terrific idea, and there are some that can specifically help to combat getting sick from the cold or flu, as well as others to treat specific symptoms.
It is always a good idea to be sure to consult your primary care provider before changing your diet or medicinal routines.
Now, let’s take a look at some cold and flu supplements that can keep you healthy during cold and flu season.
Andographis
Andrographis, native to South Asian countries and Sri Lanka is a plant that`s underground stem and leaves are used to make medicine. There is some belief that Andrographis helped to end the influenza epidemic of india in 1919.
How Can Andrographis Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
The bioactive ingredient in andrographis can make you healthier because of a molecule called andrographolide. Andrographolide compounds work by helping to prevent cold and flu viruses from invading the body and replicating on the cellular level.
Andrographis (compounds containing andrographolide) also have shown to contain certain immunostimulant properties as well. Meaning it was confirmed in studies that it helped to stimulate antibodies in red blood cells, helping to act to prevent the spread of some viruses like cold and influenza.
Echinacea
Echinacea is an herb that is native to the western United States and the rocky mountains region as well as parts of Canada and Europe. Echinacea was used as a traditional herbal medicinal remedy in tribal remedy for ages. Settlers later followed the indians example and echinacea was used as a popular medicinal remedy up until the fifties losing popularity when prescription antibiotics began being used. Echinacea is today growing in popularity because with today's new forms of modern bacteria some prescription antibiotics don't work as well as they used to.
How Can Echinacea Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
Taking echinacea at the first stages of a cold can help to deter a developing cold. Taking echinacea after developing symptoms of a cold can help to lessen the severity of the symptoms of cold or flu.
This works because echinacea helps fight off infections because it is a natural antibiotic, especially upper respiratory infections and their symptoms as well as viral infections like cold and flu. Laboratory research suggest this work by helping to stimulate the body's natural immune system and that echinacea helps to activate chemicals in the body that help to reduce inflammation in the body, like the type of inflammation associated with cold and flu.
Elderberry
For centuries elderberry has been used medicinally in North africa, North America, Western Asia and Europe. Elderberry can be used to help fight off tonsillitis as well as other viral and bacterial infection. Elderberry has also been traditionally used as an immune system booster and to help fight off the coughs, colds and the flu. Elderberry juice was even used as recently as nineteen ninety five to help fight off a flu epidemic in Panama.
How Can Elderberry Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
Used for its antioxidant activity, elderberry can be used to boost the immune system, to help fight off coughs, colds, flu, bacterial and viral infections and tonsillitis. The juice in elderberry contains bioflavonoids. These flavonoids, including quercetin are an important part of the therapeutic action of elderberry .These flavonoids which also contain anthocyanins help to protect the cells against damage.
Other proteins in the juice of the elderberry plant destroy the ability of viruses like those that cause colds or flu to infect a cell by regulating immune response. This is because these proteins are unique and act as messengers in the immune system, and help the body in fending off disease. People who had flu symptoms in studies, reported less severity and recovered from their symptoms using elderberry, faster than those who did not.
Garlic
Garlic, is not only delicious to cook with and aromatic but this pungent superfood is a powerful cold and flu fighter as well. Adding a few extra cloves to a stir-fry, soup or other foods can help prevent colds and flus because ,even if cooked, garlic still contains sulfurous compounds that help to prevent disease.
How Can Garlic Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
Garlic helps to fight off cold and flus because it contains compounds known as allicin and alliin. These two compounds have very powerful anti viral effects. Chewing a raw clove of garlic every three to four hours may be one of the best ways to the most out of garlics flu and cold fighting abilities.
Another way to ingest to cut up the cloves and swallow them like pills or by mixing crushed garlic with honey. But if you can't stand the taste of garlic or want to spare others experience of sharing your “garlic breath”, taking them in natural supplement form is a terrific way to help stay healthy and avoid cold and flu or its symptoms.
Ginseng
Ginseng is a mild stimulant that can help to fight off cold and flu. Ginseng comes in many species and one species, Panax ginseng can even help to boost the protective effects of the flu vaccine.
How Can Ginseng Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
Ginseng works to treat or prevent cold and flu by boosting the immune system and when it comes to upper respiratory infections ginseng is great because it acts as a natural prophylactic. In studies Ginseng, in some studies, helped the body recover up to one third more quickly and reduced cold and symptoms significantly.
Vitamin C
If you are exposed to cold weather or extreme exercise vitamin c may be a go to preventative to help ward off cold or flu. Vitamin C is one of the best supplements to fight sickness because it can boost certain aspects of the immune system and has been used for a long time to help treat common cold and flu symptoms.
How Can Vitamin C Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
Studies have shown that vitamin c can reduce the duration of some colds and flus by twenty four to thirty six hours and can help to actively boost the body's natural immune system. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant that helps to keep cells in your body from damage.
Vitamin C has been used in clinical studies on preventing colds and flu symptoms for over sixty years. Don't forget, before you start taking any new or known supplements, such as Vitamin C, for colds, flus or their symptoms, you should always consult with your primary care provider.
Zinc
Past studies have shown that zinc can help to prevent colds and if taken in the first few days can help to shorten the miserable effects and symptoms that may accompany a flu or cold.
How Can Zinc Help Fight The Cold And Flu?
Zinc is a component of over 200 different enzymes in the body as well as a building block of over 3000 different proteins in your body. In fact zinc is involved in interacting with more enzymes in your body than any other mineral.
Zinc helps fight infection by increasing the production of white blood cells in the body. Because of the fact that zinc is so important to the body and an immune system you may be surprised to know that the body does not naturally store zinc. The is a good reason to look into a good zinc supplement.
Kill Your Cold and Fight The Flu With Supplements
Although eating healthy is always a good idea, with today active and “on the go” lifestyles it isn't always possible. This is a great reason to look into keeping your body healthy by giving it that little extra something by adding a source of quality nutritional supplements that can help fight sickness.
You have the power to take charge of your health.
Additionally, don’t forget to stock up on cold flu supplements that fight the symptoms too. Because even if you are prepared, there is always that chance you can get sick. Stay in the fight and don’t let the common cold or the flu get you down.
