Winter is here and you know what that means: the cold season is back in full force. The cold virus is highly contagious and you can contract it anywhere- from a simple touch of a doorknob to grabbing a grocery cart at the supermarket. While catching a cold can sometimes seem inevitable, there are ways to avoid contracting this viral infection- or speed up the recovery process, at the very least. Check out the five cold remedies below to help get rid of a cold in no time.
Colloidal Silver
Colloidal is one of the most underrated nutritional supplements out there but it reaps tons of health benefits. It’s especially useful for preventing and treating colds. Colloidal silver is a natural mineral that helps your immune system fight infections and viruses. Electrically-generated silver ions found in colloidal silver boost white and red blood cell production, which aid in immune function and healthy oxygen flow in the body. In a study done at Syracuse Medical University, researchers found that individuals prone to frequent colds and infections had the lowest level of silver in their bodies. A daily colloidal silver supplement can drastically decrease the severity of a cold and also speed up the healing process. It’s recommended adults get 1-3 teaspoons of colloidal silver daily to ward off infection.
Drinking Tea Daily
Another way to prevent contracting a cold is to drink tea daily. Tea can boost your body’s defense against infection, a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found. In the study, researchers learned that regular tea drinkers’ defensive response to infection was up to five times stronger than that of coffee drinkers. Alkylamines found in tea help prime the immune system against disease-causing agents (coffee doesn’t carry this chemical). While coffee provides no harm to the body, it doesn’t have the same immune-boosting benefits tea does. When you feel a cold coming on, switch over to green or white tea from your morning black coffee to give your immune system a healthy kickstart.
Zinc
Zinc is another solid go-to for many individuals suffering from colds and for good reason. The mineral’s health benefits include improving stress levels, metabolism, digestion and the big one, boosting immune function. A recent study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine revealed that people who took zinc daily suffered fewer cold symptoms and recovered in half the time than individuals who didn’t take zinc. According to researchers, zinc binds to immune cells, which prevents the virus from attaching to the cells and thereby interferes with viral replication. In a nutshell, zinc blocks the virus’s ability to make proteins needed to survive and thrive.
Garlic
Not everyone will be a fan of this stinky cold remedy but if you want to cure a cold fast, garlic is the food choice to stock up on. It seems like garlic was almost specifically designed to fight infection with health benefits that are all focused on killing bacteria. Garlic contains strong antiviral, antibiotic and antimicrobial properties which treat cold symptoms as well as vitamin C, selenium and sulfur, vital for healthy immune function. The oil found in garlic helps break up mucus (so long congestion!) and it also contains allicin, one of the most effective antibacterial antioxidants out there. If you can handle the taste, crush one clove of garlic and suck on it for a solid 15 minutes to reap its benefits. To dilute the strong taste, mince a couple cloves of garlic and stir into a glass of water for easier consumption.
Ginseng
Last but certainly not least, if you’re suffering from a particularly strong strain of sinus infection, there’s ginseng to help speed up the recovery process. The ginseng plant has been proven to cut the length of a cold in half. It can also reduce the frequency a person gets a cold and the severity of cold symptoms. The University of Maryland Medical Center recommends taking 400 mg of ginseng supplements daily to prevent or reduce cold symptoms. Try consuming it in capsules or get your recommended intake with some soothing ginseng tea.
