It’s that dreaded time of year, cold and flu season strikes again, as many folks rush in for their annual flu shots to try and avoid the onslaught of fever, sore throats, body aches, and a stuffy nose, there might be a few other options to consider as well.
“To avoid a cold, the best thing to do is replenish your vitamin D levels by direct skin exposure to the sun,” says Dr. Lida Aghdam, MD, an internist at a local hospital in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. “The more that clean skin is exposed to sun, without SPF lotions or any other skin products, the more vitamin D is built up in the body.”
If you can’t expose your body to direct sun, Aghdam suggests vitamin D3 supplements around 5000 IU a day, as well as constantly replenishing vitamin C reserves in the body.
“Avoid all the processed over the counter vitamin C products,” she adds. “Those are not capable of providing enough sources of vitamin C and also, in the case of children’s vitamin C tablets, they are loaded with sugar to make it taste better, but the sugar in it also decreases the immune system.”
Aghdam suggest natural foods and fruits for vitamin C intake, like daily doses of kiwi, berries, or squeezed lemon, or limejuice with the pulp, into a salad and also using fresh herbs like chives, and green onions. She does advise avoiding oranges since the high amount of sugar in oranges counteracts its vitamin C advantages.
As for the flu shot, it’s a small percentage of the over 200 cold viruses that cause the actual flu or “influenza,” as it is called, so some doctors don’t recommend it.
“Influenza virus accounts for less than 10 percent of upper respiratory infections,” Aghdam says. “There are so many kinds of influenza viruses, and the vaccine is only good for certain strains. You can get the vaccine and still get influenza virus infection, but the symptoms are milder.”
Aghdam says considering the side effects of the vaccine, and understanding the fact that only a small portion of all colds are caused by the influenza virus, she recommends only people with a very low immune system take the shot. Otherwise build up your immune system instead, and avoid the causes of the cold and flu in the first place, wash your hands often, and avoid direct contact with people who are sneezing.
“A robust immune system can head off a cold,” says Jill Blakeway, M.S., L. A. c., a licensed and board certified acupuncturist, herbalist, and the Clinic Director of the YinOva Center in New York City. “This explains why some people are able to avoid getting sick.”
If you do get the dreaded cold, complete with a stuffy nose, sore throat, and body aches, or the flu with the more severe symptoms involving not only respiratory problems, but also joint pain, and sometimes intestinal issues, as well as higher fevers, then what do you do?
In addition to loading your body with vitamin C in either food or a mega dose of a vitamin C injection, there are also supplements such as Zinc-citrate, which increases the immune system and shortens the duration of most cold symptoms.
Also a good idea, avoid carbohydrates and sugar, and for all upper respiratory infections, or inflammations try steamed turnips with raw green onion, and raw garlic, or cinnamon tea, three to four times a day.
Not a big proponent of pharmaceutical medicine over natural remedies, Aghdam says. “For viral infection you have to build up your immune system to fight a virus, period. No antibiotic is going to kill the virus. Over 75 percent of all upper respiratory infections are caused by viruses, and giving antibiotics to those people is not the correct management of their condition since antibiotics do not kill viruses.”
Also regarding the flu, “If the person gets the flu and it is confirmed, and if the patient is immune competent then I recommend natural remedies,” Aghdam advises. “If the person is immune suppressed, I recommend Tamiflu, which is a drug that if taken within 48 hours of infection may shorten the time of the infection.”
With so much money spent by pharmaceutical companies to promote and advertise cold and flu remedies, there are definitely many other alternatives to treat and cure a cold or flu over-the-counter and beyond.
However, Blakeman concludes that according to the government statistics, Americans spend $34 billion a year on alternative medicine, so herbs and vitamins do seem to be just as popular with the public these days as many doctors prescriptions.
Sources:
Jill Blakeway M.S. L.Ac., Clinic Director, The YinOva Center, www.yinovacenter.com
Dr. Lida Aghdam MD, Internist, North Richland Hills Hospital, North Richland Hills, Texas