It is getting colder by the day, which means the cold and flu season approaching rapidly. People are stocking their medicine cabinets with vitamins, medicine, and other cold remedies. Hand washing is happening much more frequently, as is the use of hand sanitizers, and the avoidance of crowded spaces. We will examine some remedies that you may not have considered.

Vitamins and Dietary Supplements

Vitamins and other dietary supplements may not offer health benefits and may even cause harm to some people. Recent data has prompted people to conclude that vitamins are a waste of money unless you have a specific nutrient deficiency, medical condition,  or illness. The research seems to indicate that vitamins don’t make healthy people healthier.

An article sheds some light on the need to make sure you have a balanced diet with the right nutrients to fight infectious diseases like influenza.  Some key information in the article:

Vitamins and minerals are necessary to produce immune cells. If you do not consume enough vitamins and minerals, the immune cells you produce may be compromised, making it more difficult to respond to infections.

Obesity and diet play a key role in not getting sick.

Where to get Your Vitamins

Getting vitamins and minerals from food is the best way for your body to absorb them. Multivitamins are a good addition for many people’s health regime.  Always consult your doctor before changing your diet.  Some supplements can be toxic especially if taken in large doses.

Dr. Beck of the University of North Carolina performed the study of mice infected with the flu virus. He found that obese mice infected with the flu were more prone to die, as compared to lean mice. He is expanding his trials to test this result in lean and obese humans. Here is another reason to lose weight.

Popping a pill does not work as well as eating right.

We are now looking at expanding our diet to incorporate some of the foods high in vitamins and minerals that we previously ignored.

Nasal Sanitizers

Being near a person who coughs or sneezes can infect you with their cold. Recently several products have been released that help clean the nose and reduce the amount of bacteria in nostrils. These products include:

• Nozin Nasal Sanitizer
• GermBullet 

You can also wear a scarf or other anti-bacterial winter covering to achieve the same effect.

Sambucus, Natural Cold Care, Elderberry Extract

It is cold and flu season. We have been taken Sambucus for years and find it really helps to shorten the duration and intensity of a cold. We take it at the first sign of when we feel that something is coming on, a scratchy throat or slight headache.  This supplement contains black elderberry extract.

We’ve tried many other items from Airborne to Iscillococcinum to Chinese herbs. This product is also sold under the trade name Sambucol. It comes in versions for kids and in pill form. Amazon and Whole Foods sell this product.

NIH Medline has information on Sambucus and gives it a grade B for Influenza. As always, check with your doctor before you take any medicine.