Mens Health Blog. Medical Blog

Some researchers claim that vitamin C protects against catching cold. However, the protection lasts for only a few hours. If you are exposed to someone with a cold, or are sneezed at, it has been claimed that you can intercept and squelch a cold by taking 600-700 mg of ascorbic acid as soon as possible. Three hours later, the same dose should be repeated.

The same prophylactic dose could protect you if you anticipate being exposed to a cold virus. Take 600-700 mg of vitamin C just prior to the exposure and a similar dose three hours later.

Don’t forget to eat the 80-10-10 way so that your diet contains an abundance of complex carbohydrates (fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains and legumes) and a minimum of fats and oils, meat, whole milk dairy products, eggs, fried foods and refined flour or sugar.

If at least 80 percent of your diet does not consist of complex carbohydrates, you should take a good quality multiple vitamin-mineral supplement together with a timed release B-complex supplement containing the entire range of vitamin B components.

To minimize chances of catching cold, most nutritionists advise a daily intake from all sources of: vitamin A 5,000 IU; vitamin C 250 mg three times a day with each major meal; vitamin D 400 IU; vitamin E 100 IU; calcium 750 mg for men, 1,000 mg for women; iron 20 mg; magnesium 400 mg; selenium 100 meg; (twice a week); and zinc 15-20 mg.

And don’t forget to exercise every day.

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Hot soups act as expectorants by helping loosen secretions from the chest. In our opinion, the very best natural expectorant is a soup made with plenty of onions and garlic simmered in a pot of water with cayenne added.

Tangerines have been found to be effective natural decongestants. In 1960, the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station reported that tangerines contain synephrine, a powerful decongestant. Many people have since reported that a tangerine is more effective than nose drops.

Investigations by Eric Block of the State University of New York at Albany, uncovered the fact that garlic possesses antifungal and antibiotic properties. It was found that garlic contains the chemical allicin which wards off fungi, bacteria and yeast (Later, ailicin turns into ajoene, a substance which inhibits blood clotting and may help prevent a stroke.)

While nothing was found to link garlic with fighting cold or flu viruses, nonetheless eating garlic raw has long been a traditional folk remedy for colds. Garlic is best taken with foods. Or you can squeeze the oil out of a clove and use it to flavor foods. Alternatively, you can take garlic oil in capsule form. Or you could cut open the capsules and squeeze the oil onto food. Garlic’s principal drawback is its unsavory smell.

Plain low-fat yogurt makes a good source of protein and calcium while suffering from an infection. Calcium is essential for metabolism of vitamin C. Yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus appears to possess the added property of being able to help heal cold sores and cankers due to herpes simplex virus which may appear on the lips during or after a cold. Acidophilus yogurt is available in most health food stores.

When antibiotics are given to annihilate bacteria during a complication, the antibiotic frequently destroys all or most of the bacterial flora in the digestive tract. Acidophilus yogurt aids in restoring this digestive bacterial flora back to normal.

During the first two days of influenza, adults and children are often unable to eat solid foods. When appetite returns on the third day, it’s best to start with a bland diet consisting of soups, steamed vegetables, baked beans and broiled chicken or baked fish.

Finally, any new mother who is wondering whether it’s OK to continue to nurse a baby when the mother has a cold, can relax. Most pediatricians concur that a mother can safely continue to nurse an infant. They also advise eating plenty of fruits and not skipping any meals.

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A deficiency of iron has been observed to cause a wide variety of defects in immune system function. However, too much iron can aid bacterial invaders in multiplying. The suggested daily intake is 25 mg during a cold and 20 mg otherwise.

Magnesium dilates arteries and relaxes muscles throughout the body, thereby inducing a feeling of calm. This serenity, in turn, helps to enhance immunocompetence. All evidence suggests that an adequate magnesium intake is essential for keeping arteries relaxed and for remaining at ease during the stress of a cold or flu infection. There commended daily intake is 500 mg during a cold and 400 mg otherwise.

Summing Up. The massive build-up of white blood cells and antibodies needed to overcome a viral infection can occur only when sufficient vitamins A, C and E, the B complex, zinc and other essential nutrients are present There is considerable evidence that megadoses of a single nutrient, such as vitamin C or zinc, achieve no greater result than more moderate amounts. For optimal benefit, most evidence seems to support a more holistic form of nutritional therapy based on taking the smaller amounts of essential nutrients. Since no study has been made using a holistic nutritional approach, we cannot say with certainty how swiftly your cold is likely to disappear.

But every indication is that cold symptoms should vanish more rapidly than by using a single nutrient such as vitamin C or zinc. The smaller amounts of each nutrient should also eliminate any risk of intestinal or other discomfort. However, if you do experience any adverse effects due to supplementation, you should cease taking the supplements until you can identify the specific nutrient that is responsible.

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Because the respiratory tract is a series of cavities (sinuses, lungs etc.), connected by air passages, viruses can spread from the nose to the sinuses and throat and into the middle ear trachea, larynx, bronchial tubes and lungs. Secondary infections spreading to these locations can cause complications, some quite serious.

Sinusitis is a common dysfunction which frequently occurs after a cold is complicated by a secondary bacterial infection. Sinusitis is inflammation of the mucous membranes of the air-filled sinus cavities, which are hollow spaces in the bones of the skull. The frontal sinuses are above the eyes, the maxillary sinuses behind the cheeks. They are lined by mucosal cells which produce mucus that drains into the throat.

When the nose is blocked by a cold, this discharge accumulates and blocks the nose still more. The sufferer must then breathe through the mouth and speech often becomes nasal. Tenderness and headache pain are also often experienced in the cheeks and forehead; below, behind and above the eyes; and in the upper teeth, especially in the rear upper jaw. Vision may also become blurred. Adding to the discomfort is further pain caused by irritated nerve endings in the sinuses themselves.

If the frontal sinuses are affected, headache pain usually appears over one or both eyes, especially upon waking or on bending forward. If the maxillary sinuses are affected, one or both cheeks may be tender and painful, and pain may be experienced in the upper jaw.

Sinusitis is not normally dangerous but when it appears together with a cold, and then continues to produce a copious green discharge after the cold ends, it may be due to a bacterial infection. Or it could be due to an allergy. If you suspect a bacterial infection, a physician can confirm sinusitis by X-ray diagnosis. Otherwise, treatment is similar to that for a cold.

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However, exciting new discoveries are emerging to show that the type of optimal, or peak, immunocompetence that can consistently annihilate a cold in a very brief time can be achieved only by a holistic or whole person approach.

It has been found that three principal factors can enhance immunocompetence. They are:

1. Nutrition and light eating; 2. Regular exercise; 3. Positivism, which translates into thinking positively, staying emotionally calm, and being physically relaxed and free of tension.

While our eating habits, and how we exercise, form an important and essential contribution to bolstering immunocompetence, recent advances in immunological methodology have confirmed that Positivism is the largest single influence on the body’s health and well-being.

Put together, Nutrition, Exercise and Positivism interact synergistically so that the sum total of their overall results is many times greater than the cold-fighting power of any one of the three factors considered alone.

This explains the varying results and the controversy which has surrounded such unholistic therapies as taking vitamin C without the support of other essential nutrients, and without the wider support of exercise and Positivism.

When vitamin C therapy is supported by other essential nutrients, and by exercise and Positivism, immunocompetence can be dramatically boosted, often in a matter of hours.

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