COLD-FIGHTING FOODS
Relief from cold symptoms may be as close as your kitchen cupboard or fridge. You can speed your recovery---and perk up your flagging appetite while you're at it---with the following foods:
Broccoli: a potent source of vitamin C, this vegetable can help send your cold packing faster. For an added boost, saute broccoli with fresh ginger, which helps soothe irritating coughs.
Sweet potato: a vegetable high in beta-carotene, a powerful antoxidant that your body converts into virus-fighting vitamin A.
Chillies: they get their heat from capsaicin, which breaks up the mucus to make breathing easier. Use them in a fiery salsa.
Garlic: it contains allicin, which can relieve congestion by regulating mucus flow. Cook it with onions to help shrink swollen airways.
Grapefruit: pink in particular is loaded with flavonoids, which fight infections and increase immunity. Drizzle with honey for a sore throat.
Horseradish: It's the allylisothiocyanate in it that makes your eyes water and helps to thin mucus.
Oysters: a great source of zinc, they're a known immune-booster that may help lessen the severity and
duration of a cold.
Tea: all teas contain tannin flavonoids, which help to ease breathing by expanding bronchial passages. Brew your tea strong, inhale the steam while it's hot, then drink a cup or two after it cools down a little.
If you have a stuffy nose, decongestants come in two forms: nasal and oral. Nasal decongestants (drops, sprays and inhalers) work fast but have to be used frequently. And overuse can make your nose even suffer; called the rebound effect, this is exactly what you don't want. Oral decongestants have more side effects than drops and sprays, including insomnia, a sense of anxiety, a rapid heart rate and urinary retention in men with prostate problems. Anithistamines are not helpful because they dry up runny noses only in people with allergies, not those with colds.
>I've heard there's a new drug out that 'cures' colds. Does it work?
Indeed, a medication has been created that actually attacks a virus that causes colds. In clinical trials, pleconaril cleared up cold symptoms an average of a day earlier than a placebo. However, concerns were raised that the drug may spark new germ-resistant strains of cold viruses. The US Food and Drug Administration is currently evaluating the registration of pleconaril.
If you have a dry, nagging cough, try a cough suppressant with 'DM' (for dextromethorphan) on the label. A suppressant is especially good at bedtime to help you sleep without coughing. Though it may be unpleasant, your cough helps clear mucus from your throat. You should use an expectorant if your cold develops into a more serious bronchial infection, usually characterised by a yellowish or greenish mucus, as opposed to the clear mucus that comes with a cold. Saline nose drops or nasal wash also can offer relief from congestion.
Natural methods
Vitamin C, a potent immune-booster, may help cut your cold short and relieve symptoms. At the first sign of a cold, take 100 mg of vitamin C daily. Just be aware that high does can cause diarrhoea in some people. when they first came out in the mid-1990s, zinc gluconate lozenges were touted as being able to cut a cold's duration in half but the results of more recent studies have been mixed. Nasal zinc spray may be a better choice because the zinc stays in the nasal passages long enough to affect the virus. Some studies show that echinacea helps shorten a cold's duration and eases symptoms in some people. For best results, take the herb at the first sign of symptoms.
Relief from cold symptoms may be as close as your kitchen cupboard or fridge. You can speed your recovery---and perk up your flagging appetite while you're at it---with the following foods:
Broccoli: a potent source of vitamin C, this vegetable can help send your cold packing faster. For an added boost, saute broccoli with fresh ginger, which helps soothe irritating coughs.
Sweet potato: a vegetable high in beta-carotene, a powerful antoxidant that your body converts into virus-fighting vitamin A.
Chillies: they get their heat from capsaicin, which breaks up the mucus to make breathing easier. Use them in a fiery salsa.
Garlic: it contains allicin, which can relieve congestion by regulating mucus flow. Cook it with onions to help shrink swollen airways.
Grapefruit: pink in particular is loaded with flavonoids, which fight infections and increase immunity. Drizzle with honey for a sore throat.
Horseradish: It's the allylisothiocyanate in it that makes your eyes water and helps to thin mucus.
Oysters: a great source of zinc, they're a known immune-booster that may help lessen the severity and
duration of a cold.
Tea: all teas contain tannin flavonoids, which help to ease breathing by expanding bronchial passages. Brew your tea strong, inhale the steam while it's hot, then drink a cup or two after it cools down a little.
If you have a stuffy nose, decongestants come in two forms: nasal and oral. Nasal decongestants (drops, sprays and inhalers) work fast but have to be used frequently. And overuse can make your nose even suffer; called the rebound effect, this is exactly what you don't want. Oral decongestants have more side effects than drops and sprays, including insomnia, a sense of anxiety, a rapid heart rate and urinary retention in men with prostate problems. Anithistamines are not helpful because they dry up runny noses only in people with allergies, not those with colds.
>I've heard there's a new drug out that 'cures' colds. Does it work?
Indeed, a medication has been created that actually attacks a virus that causes colds. In clinical trials, pleconaril cleared up cold symptoms an average of a day earlier than a placebo. However, concerns were raised that the drug may spark new germ-resistant strains of cold viruses. The US Food and Drug Administration is currently evaluating the registration of pleconaril.
If you have a dry, nagging cough, try a cough suppressant with 'DM' (for dextromethorphan) on the label. A suppressant is especially good at bedtime to help you sleep without coughing. Though it may be unpleasant, your cough helps clear mucus from your throat. You should use an expectorant if your cold develops into a more serious bronchial infection, usually characterised by a yellowish or greenish mucus, as opposed to the clear mucus that comes with a cold. Saline nose drops or nasal wash also can offer relief from congestion.
Natural methods
Vitamin C, a potent immune-booster, may help cut your cold short and relieve symptoms. At the first sign of a cold, take 100 mg of vitamin C daily. Just be aware that high does can cause diarrhoea in some people. when they first came out in the mid-1990s, zinc gluconate lozenges were touted as being able to cut a cold's duration in half but the results of more recent studies have been mixed. Nasal zinc spray may be a better choice because the zinc stays in the nasal passages long enough to affect the virus. Some studies show that echinacea helps shorten a cold's duration and eases symptoms in some people. For best results, take the herb at the first sign of symptoms.
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