YOUR COLD WAR BATTLE PLAN
Don’t let a sniffle scupper your seasonal celebrations. Here’s how to shore up your defences naturally
Don’t let a sniffle scupper your seasonal celebrations. We show you how to shore up your defences naturally
At some point in the next few weeks, you may well swallow and discover your throat’s a little sore. Or wake up feeling achy and craving a day under the duvet. The cold season peaks around December and January, so what can you do to stay healthy?
“First, deal with the things that lower your immunity and can put you at higher risk of colds and flu,” says common-cold expert Ron Eccles, emeritus professor at the School of Biosciences at Cardiff University. This might sound like sensible advice, but pro-immunity behaviour requires low stress, moderate exercise, goodquality sleep, wholesome food… What it doesn’t need is New Year’s Eve parties or round-the-clock comfort eating.
Fortunately, there are some helpful tweaks you can make to your routine, even around the festivities. According to Canadian research, just a few minutes of daily mindfulness meditation (download the Headspace app to get started) could help to calm stress and maintain immunity. And there is some good news about those New Year tipples, too: “It’s fine to have a drink or two on special occasions – some studies have even suggested that moderate alcohol intake may improve immunity,” Professor Eccles says.
Cold viruses can only infect you if they get into your eyes or nose via sneeze droplets or, most likely, fingertips. They can survive on surfaces (including skin) for
24 hours, so good hygiene is your best defence: wash your hands often in warm water, lathering up the soap and taking care to clean between your fingers, backs of the hands, around rings and not forgetting your thumbs. Short of becoming a hermit, however, you can’t sidestep every lurgy at this time of year. “Most colds are spread at home, so if someone in your family is ill, you will be exposed to it, no matter how many times you wash your hands, as the virus will be present on every surface they’ve touched,” Professor Eccles explains. However, there is evidence that certain alternative medicines might help reduce the impact of a cold, too. Some have more science behind them than others, says Professor Eccles, but, with trial and error, you could find a natural cold blitzer that works for you: “People’s immune systems are individual. If you’ve found something that seems to stop you getting colds that are going around, keep taking it.” Here are the supplements with the best cold-beating results…
ELDERBERRY
According to herbal medicines expert Liz Williamson, emeritus professor of pharmacy at the University of Reading, elderberry could help prevent and shorten colds by stopping the virus replicating. “Elderberry
extracts also increase production of cytokines, which can help your body fight off illness,” she says.
ONE TO TRY Sambucol Blackelderberry Liquid Extract Immuno Forte (£9.49; boots.com). Take at the first sign of symptoms.
PELARGONIUM
A species of geranium, pelargonium is a traditional remedy for colds that’s attracting increasing interest from scientists. “It seems to enhance the action of phagocytes, which gobble up germs,” Professor Williamson says. If you start to get a cold, especially with a cough, this is the extract to reach for. One study discovered that pelargonium helped reduce both the severity of participants’ symptoms and the time taken off work as a result.
ONE TO TRY Schwabe Pharma Kaloba Pelargonium Cough & Cold Relief Tablets (£9.25; hollandandbarrett.com). Start taking as soon as you notice symptoms.
ECHINACEA
“It’s not clear exactly how echinacea works, but it seems to stimulate the action of various immune system substances, including phagocytes,” Professor Williamson says. One study from Cardiff University found that taking 2,400mg of echinacea each day helped reduce the incidence and duration of colds. ONE TO TRY A Vogel Echinaforce Echinacea Drops (£11.99; hollandandbarrett.com). Take at the first sign, or when there are lots of bugs about, but not for longer than ten days.
PROBIOTICS AND PREBIOTICS
An increasing body of research supports the idea that a healthy gut is linked to a healthy immune system. According to researchers in the United States, college students who took a probiotic supplement regularly shortened the duration of colds by an average of two days, and suffered symptoms that were a third less severe. Probiotics improve the balance of good to bad bacteria, and “good bacteria help to stimulate parts of the immune response”, says Glenn Gibson, professor of food microbiology at the University of Reading, while prebiotics act like a fertiliser to the good bacteria – so up your intake of prebiotic foods such as leeks, onions, garlic, artichokes, asparagus and beans.
ONE TO TRY Bio-kult Advanced Multi-strain Formulation (£9.48; bio-kult.com). Take it daily over the winter period.
ZINC
Move over, vitamin C – zinc’s the nutrient you really need. “A mineral mainly in meat and seafood, it plays an important role in immunity,” Professor Eccles says, “and it can be hard to get enough in your diet, especially if you’re vegetarian.” It’s thought that zinc helps to prevent the cold virus from replicating – a Canadian review of studies discovered that taking a regular dose might aid the reduction in the number of colds you catch, while other research has found it eases severity. ONE TO TRY Viridian Balanced Zinc Complex (£7.70; viridian-nutrition.com). If your diet is lacking, take 15mg daily, preferably with a meal, during the winter months.