What do you use to get over a cold?

Hey guys!

My immune system over the past year has gotten pretty run down for some reason. I'm guessing it has to do with overtraining and some accumulated stress from life stuff.

I think I've dealt with it but I seem to get a cold once a week.  I'm in the middle of switching my doc, so any natural/dietary approaches would be awesome. I've tried megadosing vitamin C among other things.

What do you guys use to get over a cold?

Rest, no physical or mental exercise, wait it out.

I'm not sure how you can get a cold once a week - how long do they last, lol? Any time I "get a cold" it lasts a few days or maybe more.

If you are getting a cold that often you are overtraining. That is one of THE symptoms to look for.

More food, more rest, less working out. A lot less, for a few weeks. I'd do single sets.

Oh no!

Alright, thanks guys, I'm going to scale it back a bit, and get some more z's.

Btw: Joshua, is there room in your inbox? I want to ask your opinion on something

My Grandmother's recipe for colds was one bowl of hot water with one table spoon of rum, drink, tie your dirty socks around your neck, sleep.

I got rid of the dirty socks, and tweaked the brew to 1 bowl of hot rum, and if you are really hardcore, add a tea spoon of water, sleep...

Works well for me!

Chicken broth, loratadine, some green veggies and lemons

citrus, vitamin c, vitamin d, glutamine, zinc, raw garlic, raw honey, hot tea with lemon, cayenne pepper, chicken boullion

No mental exercise?? I think that thinking is ok. Just don't over stress about something.

Sleep tends to cure what ails me. Some nights I need only 7. Others I need 9.

The things yuri mentioned will help your immune system and make you feel a but better. Most people could use the extra nutrients from those things.

Klaudius Petrulis said:

Oh no!

 

Alright, thanks guys, I'm going to scale it back a bit, and get some more z's.

 

Btw: Joshua, is there room in your inbox? I want to ask your opinion on something

Not at the moment, it's been full forever despite me emptying a lot of things out. Should be space soon.

 Sleep. As much sleep as possible. If necessary, a tidbit of liquor or whatever will make you drowsy when you close your eyes and feel that warm feeling. Hottie Tottie's though I prefer an Irish liquor called Irish Mint ( has some honey mixed into it ).

 Besides that tea with honey and lemon to hydrate and when I would have to coach or work a job. Gotta get through the day somehow. Water other times. Sometimes sports drinks or pedialyte.

 Eat whatever basically. This is hard when you would rather sleep and you start losing your appetite. Or if you are throwing up. But I still try to eat like I'm about to go hibernate. I have a hard time eating leafy veggies when sick so it generally becomes celery and carrots. Fruits.

 Vitamins C and D. I like to get some sunshine and fresh air besides plenty of showers and baths when sick. This is miserable when you have the chills though.

IF you're really "serious" about killing cold or flu virus as quickly as possible,

then you've GOT to drink Ginger Tea - NOT ginger tea you buy at the store though.

What you do is you heat 16 oz water just enough so it won't burn your lips, then you

add ~1/2 tsp of ground ginger [McCormicks]. Stir and drink it as fast as possible.

Although it tastes HORRIBLE, you must resist temptation to add sugar or honey

which will only help the virus survive longer. Kill 'em quick with a few glasses

of Ginger Tea per day!

Jim Murphy said:

(...) sugar or honey (...) will only help the virus survive longer (...)

Really?

I'll stick to my hacked Grandma's formula...

Whatever kills 'em quick, Fred. Perhaps add a little ginger with your rum.   

Jim Murphy said:

IF you're really "serious" about killing cold or flu virus as quickly as possible,

then you've GOT to drink Ginger Tea - NOT ginger tea you buy at the store though.

 

What you do is you heat 16 oz water just enough so it won't burn your lips, then you

add ~1/2 tsp of ground ginger [McCormicks]. Stir and drink it as fast as possible.

 

Although it tastes HORRIBLE, you must resist temptation to add sugar or honey

which will only help the virus survive longer. Kill 'em quick with a few glasses

of Ginger Tea per day!

That sounds like an excellent placebo. 

In Biosignature we were told that 150,000 IUs of vitamin d for three days would end a cold. Worked pretty well when I tried it.

Alex Chubb said:

In Biosignature we were told that 150,000 IUs of vitamin d for three days would end a cold. Worked pretty well when I tried it.

This placebo sounds a bit less good. It would probably have the desired effect of making you feel better, but it should be noted that prolonged heavy Vitamin D supplementation can be toxic and damage your kidneys. 

Alex Chubb said:

In Biosignature we were told that 150,000 IUs of vitamin d for three days would end a cold. Worked pretty well when I tried it.

As in 300 times the daily recommended dose...

FredInChina said:

As in 300 times the daily recommended dose...

It is a toxic dose, in fact, if you keep it up for a few months. 

These sorts of 'cures' are based on overly simplistic reasoning: "some part of the body needs X to do Y: therefore if I eat a lot of X, my body will be super-good at Y!". 

The things you can do that will *actually* help you recover from a cold are quite mundane:

- Get rest. Sleep at least 8 hours, and decrease your activity levels during the day.

- Make sure you're eating healthy food in sufficient quantity. Your body needs fuel and nutrients when it is sick.

- Keep warm. Cold makes the immune system sluggish.

Do you know what you have to do to actually be considered toxic from Vitamin D? If not, I would research that before calling it placebo or writing it off.

As well, I am willing to guess that most of you are deficient so 3 days of mega dosing won't kill you. In fact, afterward, you will still probably be deficient.

The recommended dose is pathetic. It is enough to prevent rickets. That's it.

Don't knock it until you try it. I am not saying you should go out and do it without consulting a physician or whoever, but you also should research past the mainstream beliefs. Even water can kill you if you drink enough. Do you know how much water you have to drink for it to become lethal?

Alex Chubb said:

Do you know what you have to do to actually be considered toxic from Vitamin D? If not, I would research that before calling it placebo or writing it off.

The burden of proof is on the party making the positive claim. The null hypothesis in this case is that it is yet another placebo. Unless and until someone has conducted extensive double-blind trials showing that massive doses of vitamin D have a statistically significant effect on cold recovery time, there is zero reason for anyone to believe that it does. 

"Anecdotal evidence" is an oxymoron. 

Alex Chubb said:

Don't knock it until you try it. I am not saying you should go out and do it without consulting a physician or whoever, but you also should research past the mainstream beliefs. Even water can kill you if you drink enough. Do you know how much water you have to drink for it to become lethal?

I have no doubt that it is an effective treatment: all placebos are effective to a degree (unless they happen to have deleterious effects). However, the effectiveness of any given treatment is not evidence that the treatment has causal effect beyond placebo. 

Discussing this Vit D thing is worse than discussing politics or religion it seems...

I am out of it!

The topic asked what I use. If you want to make a study for it, be my guest. However, if you want to knock my suggestion, I suggest that you at least know what Vitamin D toxicity requires. If we aren't on that same page then there isn't an reason to continue.

I actually have to agree with you Fred, I am not really one to argue on the internet anymore. It's a waste of time.

Thank you guys for your replies! I appreciate them.

Also, lets chill out! Where's the brotherly love? We're all here to discuss our love for GST, not bicker. Different strokes for different folks right?

Pull ginger root out of ground, rinse off most dirt, crush with knife.  Add to 2 cups boiling water, After 3 min add a tea bag.... black, green, fruity, whatever you have on hand.  After 1 min more add juice of two limes and equal or slightly lesser amount raw sugar (the stuff that comes in blocks and is basically evaporated sugar cane juice)

Lie down in bed, drink slowly.  Indulge in "oh poor me"...works better if you can get someone to fetch and carry stuff or give you a foot massaje with vicks.

Alex Chubb said:

In Biosignature we were told that 150,000 IUs of vitamin d for three days would end a cold. Worked pretty well when I tried it.

Also most colds only last a few days anyway, without any special treatment, right?