The second part of “The best natural remedies for colds” comes with 7 other alternative methods of fighting colds: Take garlic supplements, Gargle, Drink whiskey and hot toddies – adults only, Take probiotics, Take vitamin D or stay in the sun!, Get a good massage, Take colloidal silver.
Find out which one suits you best!
9. Take garlic supplements
By now we all know that garlic has been shown to be very effective for a lot of conditions: high blood pressure, fungal skin infections, diabetes, high cholesterol, tick bite treatment and prevention of certain cancers. It is also used with very good results in prevention of common colds.
It is easier to take garlic as supplements, they contain a bigger amount of garlic than we can normally eat at a meal, can be taken three or four times a day (we cannot eat garlic at breakfast!), it’s easy to transport and it doesn’t burn our lips and tongue. I do not recommend taking the odorless type, because much of garlic’s benefits are contained exactly in the substance producing the smell.
Personally I use them a lot when I have a cold. I take 2 tables 3 times per day. And it works. Too bad I cannot give them to my kid, too.
10. Gargle
This will help clear the throat from microbes, and calm the membrane. For this it is used a saline solution, or a baking soda solution, or, even better, colloidal silver. Some use a mild antiseptic solution. But, a simple water and salt mixture will do.
Very good results offers sage tea. Make a more concentrated tea and and gargle with it while it is still warm.
Some people say the gargling should be done for couple of minutes, till your throat hurts. I find this a little exaggerated and do it for 10 or 20 seconds. And it works just fine.
After that we should take one spoon of honey, so it remains on the throat to calm it. I always feel great after that.
11. Drink whiskey and hot toddies – adults only
Should we stop enjoying life and just lay down on bad feeling sorry for ourselves? Neee…
There is much hystory of using whiskey and strong alcoholic beverages to fight infections and prohibit the growth of microorganisms.
Nowadays, drinking a shot of whiskey or adding it (or bourbon, rum, or scotch) to a hot toddy recipe is frequently used to treat colds. And we shall not forget that alcohol is used in many over-the-counter cough syrups.
Moderate alcohol intake, on a regular basis, has been linked to improve lung function and fewer colds (except among smokers). Yet, the researchers are still not sure about the effects on immune system or inflammations. There are no scientific evidence that it can reduce the symptoms in a cold. They say the toddy functions because of the hot beverage and honey. (At least they admit that honey does help!)
I remember my grandfather was always having a shot before dinner, and now looking back in time, I don’t remember seeing him having colds too often.
I don’t think I should write here about the damage too much alcohol can bring, so no, a drunk person can still get colds. 🙂
12. Take probiotics
I would add here that it is better to take them with honey, because honey contains prebiotics, which are the probiotics food.
How can probiotics help?
Today probiotics are used for diarrhea and irritable bowel syndrome. They are also used to treat skin problems or as an aid in the treatment of arthritis. They speed healing of gastrointestinal cancers and were found to be helpful in preventing and treating respiratory infections. The most common probiotics are lactobacillus and bifidobacteria.
Where can we find them?
In fermented milk products, yogurt mainly. If you buy them from the store, you risk getting a sterile one. Because after the products have been done, they are pasteurized, so they can last longer on the store’s shelves. If you want real yogurt make sure you can see written on their label that contain live probiotics.
If you don’t, then either you start making the yogurt at home (which is not difficult at all), or buy supplements (the easy way). I have found some good probiotics on Amazon – click the picture above.
And make sure you take a lot. Apparently there is no such thing as an overdose when taking supplements. And the quantity we ingest should be large enough, so that the gastric acid from our stomach would not kill all of them before reaching the gut, the final destination.
13. Take vitamin D or stay in the sun!
Vitamin D is essential for bone health, we all know that. But it is also used to promote heart, circulatory, skin, lung, oral, muscle, and immune health. During summer we get this vitamin by exposing our skin to the sun, but in winter we may find ourselves lacking it. Nordic countries that face less sun due to smaller days and longer winters, always take supplements of it.
In Sweden, when a child gets a cold, any mom will always refer to this treatment. They say “give him Lysi” – which is cod liver oil and Vit D, and this fixes their problem.
Higher doses are not recommended and adults should also take care of contraindications and interactions with other medicines, because they are quite a few.
14. Get a good massage 
There are so many types of massages today, that it really is easy to find one suitable for you. If you don’t want a pro for this, than a friend or a relative of yours can help. But it is also important to use some essential oils for this, added in your rubbing oil. You can use coconut oil or simple olive oil.
In my family we use either a Chinese oil we have bought from the pharmacy, or a local one made of camphor, eucalyptus, and menthol. But we can also use some drops of these essential oil.
We add some drops to a mix made of warm water, some apple vinegar and olive oil. Then somebody is going to rub all your body, really strong, with it. A night of heavy sweating will follow, and a much better day.
Having a wet sauna can also help you sweat a lot. There are all sorts of ways of treatment that include massage, such is the one I’ve recently heard, a Russian type of massage, made with a bundle of tree twigs. They are wet and you get actually bitten up with them! 🙂 But, I would like to try it once!
15. Take colloidal silver
Do you know that before the antibiotics were invented, this colloidal silver was used for all kind of infections: bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and molds? Wikipedia says: “The medical uses of silver include its incorporation into wound dressings, creams, and as an antibiotic coating on medical devices.(…) Silver nanoparticles are used as an antimicrobial in a variety of industrial, healthcare and domestic applications.”
In some countries colloidal silver products are considered dietary supplements just like homeopathic remedies.
First we should all know that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not consider colloidal silver to be safe or effective for treating any disease or condition and has issued an advisory regarding its safety. On the other hand, the science medicine says no case reports, no clinical trials. Why not? When a simple product claims to be better than antibiotics, they leave things like that and don’t do any studies, any trials? Isn’t this at least suspicious?
They keep on warning people with the “blue man” case, that went crazy with this product, took something that he was making at home, in huge quantities and all his life! Of course he turned blue!
Anyway I will always advice people to research more for this product. It is true that nobody is trying something unless the situation is really critical. I was in this position, with my son, who was 2 years old back then, and got himself Salmonella. I tried the scientific way, three intravenous antibiotics, that only tortured my child and didn’t kill the beast. I decided to try colloidal silver and after one month of light treatment (I was too scared not to give him too much and I gave him a smaller quantities on a longer period of time) Salmonella was gone.
There are many companies around the world producing it, so many big shops selling them, including on Amazon, and so many other products made with colloidal silver.
To give only one example, Childlife has made an immunity booster syrup for kids, that can also be given in colds, “Childlife First Defense Immune Formula”. Besides Olive Leaf Extract, St. John’s Wort, Larch Arabinogalactan and Zinc, it also contains colloidal silver. It is considered safe even for 6 months old infants! You can see more details about this product here. ChildLife, First Defense. It is very good to boost child’s immunity system. Adults should go to a simple colloidal silver. One example is Whole Formulas Colloidal Silver
If I have managed to, at least, raise your curiosity, you can start reading about it in the Natural News. And don’t stop researching until you have made a clear opinion. Then, give it a try. Unless you take a lot, every day, for 20 years, you will not turn blue.
See also
The best natural remedies for colds – part 1
The best natural remedies for colds – part 3
The best natural remedies for colds – part 4
references:
“whisky glass” credit Gualberto107 via freedigitalphotos.net
“massage” picture credit imagerymajestic via freedigitalphotos.net
www.nlm.nih.gov
healthline.com
