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There are scores of herbal ways to treat them

by Wendy Smith

I wish I’d written this column a week earlier. Here I was, sitting in

my living room surrounded by wadded up tissues, drinking green tea and coughing my head off while trying to figure out what to write about. Then it came to me with the subtlety of a Harley at a scooter convention, that I should write about colds: how to prevent them and how to shorten them. If only the obvious had struck sooner.

Antibiotics, lowered immune systems, need for rest—all can help a cold establish itself. For example, I’m pretty good at taking my vitamins and supplements and exercising on a regular basis. However, last week, I took a strong antibiotic and didn’t take acidophilus along with it. Antibiotics kill some of the good bacteria in the body along with the bad, thereby making the body more susceptible to other problems; acidophilus helps prevent this side effect. Acidophilus is especially recommended for women because antibiotics also increase the chance of getting Candida or a yeast infection.

Taking care of your body on a daily basis is the best way to prevent a cold or other such illness from cropping up. With cold and flu season arriving, it’s probably good to get on an immune system optimizing program. A good antioxidant, maybe a green drink containing spirulina and vitamin C, will boost your immune system. Most health food stores can recommend a program if you have no idea where to start or need some help tuning up your program.

If a cold starts coming on anyhow, what then? Boost the immune system by increasing intake of vitamin C (with bioflavanoids). A lot of people do this by taking another pill or two, but they’re not increasing their intake enough. Linus Pauling, the two time Noble Prize winner, wrote a book in the 1980s called How to Longer and Feel Better. In his book, he suggests 2000mg of vitamin C every two hours to ward off a cold. That’s the equivalent of 20 glasses of freshly squeezed orange juice. That might be too much for some people, but at least 500mg extra a day is recommended.

Another thing that one can do is take echinacea. Echinacea is a native North American wildflower that works wonders with the immune system and fights both viruses and bacteria. It is thought to help the immune system by increasing the production and activity of white blood cells. Echinacea can be used preventively all the time, but usage needs to be alternated, perhaps one week on, one week off. It can be used when you feel an illness coming on or in the midst of an illness. Many cold supplements contain echinacea and there are several nice tasting echinacea teas out there too. One I enjoy is Echinacea Plus by Traditional Medicinals. This tea contains echinacea, lemongrass and spearmint, and it tastes good.

Zinc is a cold-fighting mineral that lately has been added to all kinds of syrups and lozenges. The lozenges will always work better, because zinc is absorbed better sublingually.

Elderberry is another interesting plant that has anti-viral properties. It’s used to treat colds, respiratory ailments, infection and inflammation. Elderberry contains flavinoids (powerful antioxidants that seem to act as viral inhibitors). It can be taken as syrup, a pill, or as part of a supplement.

Several supplements contain combinations of the plants and minerals I’ve mentioned, plus a few more. Sambucol is an immune-system-boosting syrup recommended for children and contains elderberry, zinc, propolis and licorice, and it is good for fighting viruses. Esberitox is another product that works wonders if taken when symptoms first start appearing. It contains echinacea, wild indigo, thuja (white cedar leaf) and zinc.

If the cold arrives anyway, and the tissues are running out, and the coughing has made you sound like Kim Carnes, there are some other things to try in addition to the ones previously mentioned. Sleep. Getting enough sleep ranks as a very important part of a cold recovery. However, sniffles and a cough can make that difficult. A runny nose is a hard ailment to suffer through, and many colds will turn into sinus infections.

There are a couple ideas to help the body cope. One is to avoid milk products, which increase mucus production throughout the body. Another is to take something to break up chest congestion like MucoStop which is a blend of enzymes that helps break down mucus and decrease mucus production. If a sinus infection seems to be coming on, try Xlear, a nasal rinse containing xylitol. Xylitol is a sugar that has anti-bacterial properties (one of the reasons that children who chew xylitol gum have fewer cavities). Xlear can help clear up a runny nose and stop a sinus infection.

But prevention is the best cure when it comes to colds, and it might be wise to think about boosting the immune system now in anticipation of Indian summer and cooler weather. I’m going to go make a cup of echinacea tea now.

September 16, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 38 © 2004 Metro Pulse