The very best thing is to take care of your body and immune system so well that you stay healthy instead of catching colds every time there is an infection going around or the weather shifts from warm to cold.
Getting used to a lifestyle that supports and strengthens the immune system not only means you rarely get sick, but also that your recovery is faster when you do.
But if you are unlucky enough to catch a cold, what is the best thing you can do to support your body's defenses?
1. Rest, drink plenty, and keep warm
The body's main needs during a cold are to have more energy available for the immune system and to get help fighting and clearing out viruses and/or bacteria. Therefore, you should first and foremost:
- Sleep and rest as much as you can so your body can use energy where it is needed.
- Drink plenty of clean water to help your body detox.
- Help your body maintain its temperature with socks, a down blanket, warm drinks, etc.
It can be easy to forget how effective this is, so we just want to remind you once more.
It’s easy to keep working as usual when you’re sick and working from home, but if you don’t rest, the illness can drag on longer instead.
2. Use herbs and vegetables you have at home
Often there are things in your fridge or pantry that you can use to strengthen your immune system.
Here are our favorites. Eat and drink them as much as possible while you are sick.
If you don’t have them at home, they are available at your nearest grocery store. A little walk in fresh air can do you good if you’re not too sick.
- Lemon water – preferably warm.
- Ginger – in warm water or food.
- Garlic; fresh and preferably raw garlic has a wide range of health benefits. Eat it as is or add it to your food.
- Oregano & Thyme: Again, preferably as fresh and untreated as possible, but dried works too. Use in food or make warm tea. Oregano oil is perfect to have at home in your natural medicine cabinet.
3. Supplements that provide more energy to the immune system
For deeper support, it can be good to do a boost with one or more of these nutrients. They give the immune system extra energy to deal with invaders of all kinds.
A boost is simply done by taking a dose of these about every three hours for 2-3 days. This usually gives a noticeable lift to the system.
- Vitamin C; 1-2g per dose
- Vitamin D; about 400 µg per dose
- Selenium; about 55 µg per dose
- Zinc; 5-7.5 µg per dose
Note: You don’t have to take all of these (although you can do so safely), but taking one or a couple of them in higher doses for a few days is very helpful during a cold period.
4. Give ammunition to the immune system
Last but not least, there are powerful natural “enemies” of viruses and bacteria that we can take in concentrated form to give ammunition to our immune system.
These are powerful plants and herbs that have been used for centuries to strengthen and balance our immune system.
In recent years, more has been discovered about how and why they work (which among other things led to a pharmaceutical company in Germany trying to patent garlic in the early 2000s, which of course did not go through).
The most powerful herbs for colds that we know of are:
Taking one or more of these as extra support to clear out “unwelcome guests” in your system can be very effective.
If you spend time in environments where many are infected, you can take these herbs preventively. Especially in autumn and winter when we spend more time indoors and get less natural support from fresh air and sunlight.
Want a simple solution?
Buy Holistic Immunbalans, which is a very affordable way to boost your immune system.
Take it preventively or use it to boost your body when symptoms have appeared.
What do you do to shorten your colds? Feel free to share in a comment so we can learn from each other!
