Cold and flu prevention

Cold and Flu prevention

Common sense works: wash hands well, get good air ventilation, dress for the weather, strength your resistance by getting adequate rest, maintain a healthy diet, moderate exercise and minimize stress levels.

Vitamin D3 or Sunshine. Who should take it and how much should one take it? The answers will be loud and clear after you watch this must see video presentation done by Dr.Michael F. Holick Ph.D., M.D. who has spend 20 years on vitamin D research. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq1t9WqOD-0 In the presentation, he talks about all the benefit of vitamin D and what happens when one is deficient in it.

Hydro therapy: there are several ways to use water to strength our immune system.
– hot and cold showers – finishing your regular shower with cold water for 1 minute.
– hot foot bath – soak your feet to above the ankles in a bucket of warm water for 20 minutes every night before bed.
– use a netti pot to rinse your nasal passages regularly.

Vitamin C: The RDA of vitamin C is 60mg, it is only enough to ward off scurvy. In order to get the immune boosting benefit of vitamin C, one need much higher doses, generally 1000mg – 3000mg a day for adults.

Zinc: It is an essential nutrient for a strong immune system and to speed up healing. During an outbreak of cold and flu, 15 mg per day for adults is recommended. One may need much higher doses if coming down with a cold or flu, but only for a short period of time.

elder flower tea and other herbal teas, such as rose hip, nettle, ginger, etc are great beverages during the cold and flu season. They have been shown to have immune boosting properties. Elder flower tea has a light and pleasant flavor, you can add some honey and drink it hot or cool. We carry the loose elder flower tea in the office during flu season.

homeopathic such as Mucococcinum have been shown to be effective in preventing colds and flus. If you have been prescribed a constitutional remedy, it will be better to use that remedy.

For people with a weakened immune system or chronic illness, an individual consultation is recommended. We have many tools to help those who need extra care.

If you do come down with a cold or flu, get plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and give us a call if it does not seem to be resolving. We have helped many patients in the past 10 years to have a swift and uncomplicated recovery.