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Posted by DKat on October 24, 2007, 6:18 pm
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And now I know why the doctor wants to know the color of your urine....
12 Tips to Prevent Cold and Flu the "Natural" Way
There are no known cures for colds and flu, so cold and flu prevention
should be your goal. A proactive approach to warding off colds and flu is
apt to make your whole life healthier. The most effective way for preventing
the flu is to get the flu shot. It may not be natural, but it works better
than anything else. But there are other strategies you can employ as well.
WebMD went to Charles B. Inlander, president of The People's Medical
Society, for suggestions you may want to try:
#1 Wash Your Hands
Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has the
flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the telephone, the keyboard, a
kitchen glass. The germs can live for hours -- in some cases weeks -- only
to be picked up by the next person who touches the same object. So wash your
hands often. If no sink is available, rub your hands together very hard for
a minute or so. That also helps break up most of the cold germs. Or rub an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer onto your hands.
#2 Don't Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs With Your Hands
Because germs and viruses cling to your bare hands, muffling coughs and
sneezes with your hands results in passing along your germs to others. When
you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue, then throw it away
immediately. If you don't have a tissue, turn your head away from people
near you and cough into the air.
#3 Don't Touch Your Face
Cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth.
Touching their faces is the major way children catch colds, and a key way
they pass colds on to their parents.
#4 Drink Plenty of Fluids
Water flushes your system, washing out the poisons as it rehydrates you. A
typical, healthy adult needs eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day. How
can you tell if you're getting enough liquid? If the color of your urine
runs close to clear, you're getting enough. If it's deep yellow, you need
more fluids.
#5 Take a Sauna
Researchers aren't clear about the exact role saunas play in prevention, but
one 1989 German study found that people who steamed twice a week got half as
many colds as those who didn't. One theory: When you take a sauna you inhale
air hotter than 80 degrees, a temperature too hot for cold and flu viruses
to survive.
#6 Get Fresh Air
A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather when
central heating dries you out and makes your body more vulnerable to cold
and flu viruses. Also, during cold weather more people stay indoors, which
means more germs are circulating in crowded, dry rooms.
#7 Do Aerobic Exercise Regularly
Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood;
makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your
blood; and makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help
increase the body's natural virus-killing cells.
#8 Eat Foods Containing Phytochemicals
"Phyto" means plants, and the natural chemicals in plants give the vitamins
in food a supercharged boost. So put away the vitamin pill, and eat dark
green, red, and yellow vegetables and fruits.
#9 Eat Yogurt
Some studies have shown that eating a daily cup of low-fat yogurt can reduce
your susceptibility to colds by 25 percent. Researchers think the beneficial
bacteria in yogurt may stimulate production of immune system substances that
fight disease.
#10 Don't Smoke
Statistics show that heavy smokers get more severe colds and more frequent
ones.
Even being around smoke profoundly zaps the immune system. Smoke dries out
your nasal passages and paralyzes cilia. These are the delicate hairs that
line the mucous membranes in your nose and lungs, and with their wavy
movements, sweep cold and flu viruses out of the nasal passages. Experts
contend that one cigarette can paralyze cilia for as long as 30 to 40
minutes.
#11 Cut Alcohol Consumption
Heavy alcohol use destroys the liver, the body's primary filtering system,
which means that germs of all kinds won't leave your body as fast. The
result is, heavier drinkers are more prone to initial infections as well as
secondary complications. Alcohol also dehydrates the body -- it actually
takes more fluids from your system than it puts in.
#12 Relax
If you can teach yourself to relax, you can activate your immune system on
demand. There's evidence that when you put your relaxation skills into
action, your interleukins -- leaders in the immune system response against
cold and flu viruses -- increase in the bloodstream. Train yourself to
picture an image you find pleasant or calming. Do this 30 minutes a day for
several months. Keep in mind, relaxation is a learnable skill, but it is not
doing nothing. People who try to relax, but are in fact bored, show no
changes in blood chemicals.
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