How to beat the cold & flu

The following is an extract from the Cold Beater Book which is also available as Cold Beater E-book. If you are forever ill, then this book is vital to ensure you don't get ill again and that you beat it in record time. Colds can be avoided and Cold Beater shows you how. Enjoy the extract...

Certain supplements, herbs, foods, drinks and alike can be extremely beneficial in preventing or overcoming the common cold. Some of what's covered below may be familiar to you whilst the rest can be new or even look strange. They work; use them and see for yourself.

The supplementary remedies below are in order of importance.

Zinc is THE most important supplement you can take if you are coming down with or already have a cold. When you get stressed, overworked or your immune response starts malfunctioning, zinc is the first thing that disappears from your body. It is imperative for you to replace it and provide a good supply of zinc to your cells.

I would suggest taking at least 15mg, 2-3 times a day at the first sign of a cold. Something that I find particularly useful for people is a lozenge which has a mixture of zinc and Echinacea. This is extremely powerful in getting rid of colds. I have not found anything like it in the UK but the US health-stores have quite a few different brands.

One of the most potent concoctions to beat a cold is a mixture of the above 3. You need to get the mixture right in that it can't be too acidic or too sweet or too tasteless.
Squeeze the juice of ½ a small lime or lemon into a mug. Add 1 heaped teaspoonful of honey. Add 1 x tea-bag (black tea) or pour some hot black tea into the mug. Pour water and mix. This mixture should be sweet and slightly tangy and should be drank as hot as you can bear it.

If you feel you are catching a cold, you should make and drink this between 1-4 times a day until the feeling has gone.

If you already have a cold, then you should drink this mixture at least once every 2-3 hours. It will do wonders for you.

If your throat is swollen or infected, then you need to manually remove some of the infection from there. Pour some warm (not hot!) water into a pint. Add 1 x level teaspoonful of salt and mix thoroughly.

Gargle with this solution, making sure you gargle all the way down your throat, trying to get the solution to come out of your nose. Use about half a pint. Repeat 2-3 times a day.

Taking this liquid in through the nostrils is also very good for cleaning the nasal passage.

Echinacea
For every person that swears by Echinacea, there is one that says it has no effect on a cold. Echinacea can be a very effective cold-fighter but you need to use it wisely. Just like antibiotics, Echinacea is not to be taken regularly.

This means don't have Echinacea tea and so one whenever you feel like it, save it for when your immune system is low. Don't get your body used to it. Let it surprise your immune system just at a time when it needs a boost.

If you feel that you are coming down with a real cold, then Echinacea can be a powerful tool to combat it. Make sure you buy a reputable brand and at a good potency. Not all supplements are created equal and this can also explain why something might work for one person and not the other.

Onions are more a food than supplement. They do however have a valuable role as a supplement to your normal diet, especially when you have caught a cold. Mix 1-2 raw onions into a salad or eat them raw with a meal. Onions are a natural anti-infection agent and are excellent for getting your upper respiratory system back up to par.

Teas tree oil can be good if you have an infection. It can be added to your bath water or mixed with some essential oils such as Eucalyptus and massaged into your body.

Unfortunately many people neglect water to the point that it becomes a supplement for them! Water should be your main drink every day. When you are ill, lightly sparkling water can be very beneficial, provided it does not irritate your throat. Still mineral water is also excellent.

As much as I love certain supplements and am a firm lobbyist for the supplements market, I do not believe that the average person needs a multi-vitamin/mineral pill.

I have seen no positive results in terms of cold prevention from any combination vitamin/mineral pill. In fact I have seen people's health change for the worst when they have gone on and come off vitamin/mineral pills. Explanation? I have no idea. I can only assume that the body did not need the great majority of the vitamins/minerals supplied in the pills and that it falls out of balance during and upon termination of intake.

This does not mean that I do not believe in the power of single specific vitamins, minerals or antioxidants for specific problems.
For our purposes in avoiding a cold, I would advise against taking an all in one vitamin/mineral tablet. Sorry if this is against most other books and advices. I am trying to give you the best advice here, one that will work for you and produce results - this is not necessarily what you have read before or what makes sense to you.

Herbal teas are in fashion these days. I am not against them but I would certainly not recommend them for healthy, stress-free individuals. Herbs are a very powerful tool in fighting disease and should not be used unless you have a disease.

Chamomile for example is an excellent anti-inflammatory and relaxant but use it every day and you will find that when you actually need it, it will not work for you! Same with peppermint for stomach complaints, Uva Ursi for bladder/urinary problems, St John's Wort for depression and so on.

Do not get yourself used to drinking herbal teas for the sake of it. Each herb has a specific action and should not be used unless needed for a specific complaint.

Extract taken from Chapter 13 of Cold Beater Book and Cold Beater E-book by permission of the author. Cold Beater is just £9.95. Order the hard copy from this site here or the E-book for immediate download here.