October 10, 2019 Tom Poon

Got a cold? Here's some quick fixes!

Don't just wait for a cold to go away, there are many things you could do to either reduce the chances of getting a cold or spend less time being affected by it.

Less downtime feeling ill means more uptime for you to do what you enjoy!

Being in contact with germs is inevitable, every social interaction in life is a new way for germs to spread.

So it is only a matter of time till you end up getting a cold.

It is the worst feeling, that tingle you get just before a cold. You know it's coming and you dread it. Don't just endure it, do something about it!

Cold, begone! Quick tips to get rid of that cold naturally

Add things like essential oils, epsom salts, and bentonite clay to turn your relaxing soak into a detox bath.

Detox bath. You can turn a regular bath into a detox bath by adding epsom salts, essential oils, or bentonite clay to soothe symptoms and draw out impurities.
Garlic is a very versatile ingredient with amazing remedial properties. You can mince two cloves together with some olive oil and salt and put it on whatever food you want!
Ginger helps ward off the cold virus. It also soothes a sore throat and headaches. You can add some ginger to some hot water to make ginger tea.
Vitamin D, Zinc & Copper work together to strengthen your immune system and it can help shorten your cold by up to 3 days!^[1]
Vitamin C depletes faster when you have a cold, so increasing your Vitamin C intake can help prevent deficiency, shorten your cold and reduce symptoms.^[2]^[3]
Glutathione is a powerful antioxidant that your body creates and it strengthens the immune system and boosts cellular energy. You can get more from taking a supplement/high-quality whey protein.
Curcumin regulates your immune system and has antimicrobial properties. Curcumin is the main active ingredient in turmeric. It has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a very strong antioxidant. It can reduce inflammation to relieve congestion.^[4]
Bone broth can be consumed to bolster the immune system and take the edge off your cold symptoms. You can add some ginger, garlic or turmeric for extra effectiveness.

Just take a soothing bath...

Just taking a bath The benefits of bathing in warm water doesn't necessarily cure the cold, but it certainly helps your entire body relax, clear congested sinuses and calms down coughing.

Make sure that the water is not too hot! High temperatures can put unnecessary strain on your heart.

Transform your bath to a detox bath by adding things like essential oils, epsom salts and bentonite clay.

ESSENTIAL OILS

Essential oils cannot be diluted in water so make sure you dilute the oils in a teaspoon of carrier oil before adding them to the bath.

Your skin absorbs the essential oils added to the bath and the steam helps diffuse the oils so that you can breathe them too. Some benefits include:

Eucalyptus can help open up a stuffed nose.
Lemon can help boosting the immune system
Lavender provides an extra calming effect

EPSOM SALTS

Epsom salts are easier to use as you just simply add some to your bath without mixing it with anything beforehand.

These salts are magnesium sulfate crystals that your skin absorbs while you soak. Magnesium is known to have calming effects, so adding some to your relaxing bath is a perfect match that'll help you sleep better and recover faster.

Make sure to always stay hydrated, especially because your body will be absorbing electrolytes in an epsom salt bath. A hydrated body is essential for flushing out your system.

BENTONITE CLAY

Bentonite, also known as Montmorillonite or healing clay, is a volcanic ash with strong drawing powers. It draws out bacteria, chemicals, impurities and heavy metals. This can speed up healing and act as an all-natural antibiotic topical treatment.

Garlic, the natural cold remedy

Traditionally, garlic has been used for centuries as a natural cold remedy. Garlic, the natural cold remedy
Raw garlic is a strong antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic and antifungal that gives your immune system a boost.^[5]Garlic is known to inhibit alpha brain waves, which may affect your mood so it might not be ideal to consume it every day, but having a cold is one of the times that you could really use the boost.

The active compounds in garlic take some time to develop so after you mince some, it is best to wait a few minutes to get the maximum effectiveness out of it.

Sipping ginger tea literally kills the cold

The germ rhinovirus is the most common type of cold. Sipping ginger tea literally kills the cold

Ginger is a perfect remedy for the cold because it contains sesquiterpenes, which are antiseptic and anti-inflammatory chemicals that specifically target the rhinovirus.^[6] As well as warding off the virus, ginger can help ease headaches and sore throats too.

Like garlic, ginger is also a very versatile cooking ingredient. It can be added to tea, broth, cake and even salads! You can even eat it raw, if you really wanted to...

Turmeric isn't just for curries

Turmeric isn't just for curries Turmeric has been used in Eastern cuisine for thousands of years, but apart from making tasty curry, it also has health benefits such as lowering inflammation and even has potential to be an anti-tumor agent.^[7]The active compound found in turmeric is curcumin, which has antimicrobial properties and helps regulate your immune system and can shorten the duration of your cold.^[8]Curcumin isn't readily absorbed by your body by itself, it needs things like fats and black pepper to increase its bioavailability. Only a pinch of black pepper is needed.

Vitamin C doesn't prevent a cold, but it helps recovery

Each person has their own limits to how much extra vitamin C they could take, taking too much could lead to digestive discomfort so try to take note how much is too much for you personally!

It is helpful to experiment with this when you're feeling healthy just to know your tolerance level so you know how much you can take when you're feeling sick.

Once you know the dosage you can handle, it is a good idea to spread the dosage throughout the day as when you have a cold, your body burns through much more Vitamin C than usual.

As always, ask your doctor before you start taking too many supplements as it may make the symptoms worsen if you have other issues such as acid reflux. There are other methods to increase Vitamin C intake that may be better than taking supplements, your doctor would be able to advise you on what's best for you!

Want more glutathione?

Glutathione is a super powerful antioxidant that your own body creates. It strengthens your immune system and helps your body fight off infections like the cold.^[9]

Stress can cause your Glutathione levels to deplete quickly so it is a good idea to replenish it. A high-quality, grass-fed, undenatured whey protein gives your body everything it needs to keep your glutathione supply up.

Shields up! Vitamin D, Zinc & Copper

Vitamin D is one of the most important nutrients to supplement, there are too many benefits to list but at least one of them provides defensive support to the immune system.

Vitamin D supports the "cytotoxic T cells" and play a key role in the signaling mechanism that calls the cells to action to search and destroy invaders such as the cold virus. The call to withdraw is also just as important as the call to action because if they continued to search and destroy, they may inadvertently attack healthy cells.

It is important to take enough vitamin A to balance out the vitamin D.

Vitamin D isn't the only thing that helps the defences of your body, zinc and copper together form an antioxidant powerhouse called copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD). It’s one of your body’s most effective defences that you make.

Your zinc supply is usually quite low because your body cannot store it, so it is a nutrient that must be regularly replenished. But doing this alone will be no good because your body will try to find copper wherever it can to make CuZnSOD, so you need to make sure your copper supplies are balanced with the zinc. If you take too much copper, is can put yourself at risk for a heart attack.^[10]