If you've caught a winter cold, Mother Nature can lend a helping, healing hand
With winter well on its way, it’s the perfect time to make sure you have all you need to ward off cold symptoms. Statistics show that adults can get up to four colds per year, while children are at even greater risk and may get as many as 10 colds annually.
Not all cold symptoms are the same: a runny nose, tickly throat or cough. Some colds can even bring on nasty chesty coughs with difficulty breathing and heavy mucus congestion. Here’s what you can use to help beat the winter colds, coughs and congestion.
Ignore the worries about bad breath and add a proven garlic supplement to your winter health routine. One study found that people who took a specially developed extract of garlic every day for three months had fewer colds than those who didn’t take it. And even those who did get a cold experienced a shorter duration of symptoms.
If you or your loved one is down with a chesty cough, it may be time to bring out the big guns. A clinically trialled extract of Ivy Leaf, known as EA 575®, has been shown to provide relief for adults and children suffering chesty coughs and congestion due to a cold. One study found that 95% of those who took the Ivy Leaf extract EA 575® reported an improvement in their symptoms.
A hot cup of lemon tea may help soothe a sore throat. It may add to your Vitamin C and zinc intake which both have been shown to help with symptoms and severity of colds. Add some grated ginger and a drizzle of honey to taste.
A spoonful of sugar may make the medicine go down, but honey can help take the sting out of winter colds. Research shows that for some children, giving them 10 grams of honey at bedtime helped them sleep better due to reduced cold symptoms, which in turn likely helped them recover more quickly from their illness.
Adding some probiotic-rich foods to your diet, or better still an evidence-based probiotic supplement could not only help your digestion but may help to support your immune system too. It’s believed that the probiotics may assist in the body’s immune function and offer support against upper respiratory tract infections.
References available on request.
