Robbing Peter - Treating cold and flu symptoms with drugs may provide temporary relief from sniffles, sore throats, aches and pains, but may weaken your body’s own ability to defend itself naturally and protect you from other problems in the future.  Autoimmune problems like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis are becoming much more common as our bodies lose the ability to defend and protect itself.

1) Flu Shots – The effectiveness and potency of flu shots are controversial subjects. Like all vaccines, they provide only temporary immunity. The only way to get natural and permanent immunity to a strain of flu is to recover naturally from the flu. Also, serious effects such as fever, fatigue, headache and Guillain-Barre paralysis can occur. A flu shot every year means that you build no long-term immunity. Visit www.nvic.org/vaccines-and-diseases/Influenza/flufacts.aspx for more info.

2) Cold and Cough Medications – Remember, drugs don’t make you healthy. By constantly covering up the symptoms with medicines you may be ignoring what your body is telling you.

3) Antibiotics – Taking antibiotics for the common cold is worthless because colds are associated with viruses (antibiotics only work on bacteria.) And to make matters worse, many bacteria are now adapting to the antibiotics and developing resistance to it as well. The bacteria are actually getting stronger! Taking antibiotics ‘just in case’ has been criticized as both unnecessary and dangerous.  Garlic is a great natural antibacterial and antiviral remedy.

Paying Paul - 1) Your own immune system – You have many defenses to protect you; your skin and mucous membrane create a physical barrier to invasion; your digestive juices dissolve germs; and skin secretions kill many germs when you’re alive. Fevers ‘burn off’ microorganisms; swelling helps wash the system, special cells attack and devour intruders. You also have an internal defense system that produces weapons: your bone marrow, spleen, thymus, tonsils, appendix and lymph nodes give you many high quality weapon systems.

2) Catch a cold. Now! When you’re sick, be sick. Stay home and fight it off for one day, rather than wrestle with it for two weeks. The only way to get naturally and permanent immunity to a strain of flu is to recover naturally from the flu. Getting sick now and recovering from it naturally will help your system in the future. We want to improve overall quality of life.

3) Nutrition – Eating properly has a profound effect on the immune system. A diet, which includes plenty of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetable, will help to keep the immune system in tiptop shape. Drink herbal teas and warm vegetable broths to avoid dehydration and relieve congestion. Hot, pungent foods such as chili peppers, horseradish and garlic help expel mucus.

4) Natural Remedies  - Zinc lozenges, echinacea, garlic, vitamins D, C, A and E all play a role in combating illness. Ask your chiropractor or naturopath about specifics for you.  There are some great natural homeopathic remedies as well.

5) Laugh our loud– A depressed person has a depressed immune system, a happy person a healthier one. Unexpressed feelings can depress the immune system. Simply watching movies about love increases the level of white blood cells, a defense against cold and flu’s.

6) Rest - Sleep, sleep, sleep. Listen to your body. It’s going to tell you what to do. You might need a lot of sleep. It’s really good for you. Bundle up in blankets and burn the bugs away.

7) Chiropractic and the common cold– Over a hundred years of chiropractic observation has demonstrated to many people that chiropractic improves immune function. Research shows the nerve system and the immune system are closely linked together. Chiropractors adjust vertebral subluxations in your spine that interfere with your nerves. So increase the flow of information and energy between your brain and the rest of your body and get adjusted when you are sick!