The Co-op Food Stores

added 02/06/08

by Mary Saucier Choate, M.S., R.D., L.D.

Want to avoid cold and flu? We want to help!

Whether it’s the flu with its headache, chills, body ache, and fever, or a common cold with its stuffy nose and sore throat, this is the time of year when respiratory illnesses are easier than ever to catch. While a flu vaccine is the best way to keep from getting the flu, the vaccine shortage this year makes these proven “low tech” prevention strategies more important than ever before.

Regular exercise and eating foods such as whole grains and colorful fruits and vegetables are always good lifestyle choices to maintain a healthy immune system. Avoiding exposure to flu and colds in the first place is the best place to start.

Natural Prevention of Colds and Flu

These “Good Health Habits” for preventing infection and the spread of cold or flu infection are recommended by health organizations:

Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick.

Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. The scrubbing action of vigorously washing with ordinary soaps and detergents helps in removing cold and flu viruses from hands. Special anti-bacterial soap is not necessary.

Use alcohol-based hand wipes and gel sanitizers.
When soap and water are not available, alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers are recommended.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

Humidify dry air.
Moist air prevents dry mucous membranes, which may be more susceptible to infections. Tips on using a humidifier healthfully can be found at this U.S. Environmental Protection Agency site.

Avoid tobacco smoke.
Smokers catch more colds which last longer than in non-smokers. Children whose caregivers smoke are more susceptible to colds.

Herbal Cold and Flu Prevention

While natural methods, such as hand washing, are proven to be effective germ fighters, most herbal preventative treatments have not been proven to be clearly effective. Garlic, Panax ginseng, and vitamin E have some preliminary research supporting their use in cold prevention, but much more is needed to reliably state that they are effective. Astragalus has been traditionally used to reduce the risk of catching the common cold, although there are no human studies that have been done to support this.

Natural Treatments for Colds and Flu

Unfortunately, even if you practice all of the right prevention strategies, you may still get a cold or the flu. In that case, using treatments to lessen some of the symptoms or perhaps shorten the duration of the cold may be used.

Some familiar and effective drug-free natural treatments for cold and flu symptoms include:

• Staying home and resting, especially if a fever is present
• Not smoking and avoiding secondhand smoke, since these can worsen cold symptoms
• Keeping hydrated with water, fruit juices and clear broths to help loosen mucus and prevent dehydration
• Gargling with warm salt water to relieve a sore throat
• Using salt-water nose drops to help loosen mucus and moisten the tender membranes in your nose
• Making sure the air is humidified to make breathing easier

Herbs and Supplements for Cold and Flu Treatment

A large number of both conventional and natural medicine cold and flu remedies exist. Many over-the-counter treatments may help to reduce symptoms such as sore throats, fever, headaches, and nasal congestion to help you feel a little better, but they do not increase the speed of recovery.

While prescription antiviral treatments are available for people at high risk of flu complications to shorten the duration of the flu or to prevent flu symptoms, over-the-counter medicines and natural treatments aren’t proven to have such a dramatic preventative effect. There is some preliminary evidence however, that some natural treatments may shorten the duration or severity of symptoms.

For most herbal, vitamin, and mineral treatments, the evidence of their effectiveness is mixed. In general, recommendations are to start taking them at the very first sign of cold and flu symptoms, and to stop taking them if they don’t seem to help in four to five days.

High doses of vitamin C might decrease the number of days a cold hangs on in some people, but not all studies show this effect. The dose shown to be effective is at least 2 grams. Above this level there is an increased chance of diarrhea and gastrointestinal side effects in some people.

Zinc gluconate, acetate, or gluconate-glycine lozenges may help to decrease the duration of the common cold in adults, depending on which studies you look at. Some studies show its effectiveness, while others show no effect when compared with the effect of taking a sugar pill.

Because of the very high doses of zinc in zinc lozenges, long-term use could result in a copper deficiency, so only use them for short periods to see if they will shorten the length of your cold. Do not take them all season long.

The andrographis plant has been shown in several clinical trials to reduce the severity of cold symptoms. One trial found it effective when combined with Siberian ginseng. The maximum symptom relief comes after four to five days of treatment.

Our understanding of the effectiveness of echinacea for treating symptoms of upper respiratory tract infections has been on a roller coaster. Many studies seem to prove that it shortens the duration and intensity of cold symptoms when taken at the first sign of symptoms, but the latest studies show no effect compared with a placebo.

There is limited evidence from a small trial that bee propolis might decrease the duration of a cold, but this needs to be confirmed in larger, well-designed human trials.

Plantain is approved by the German Commission E to ease coughs and mucous membrane irritation associated with upper respiratory tract infections.

Elderberry is a traditional treatment speed recovery from the flu, but this has not been proven in human trials.

More Cold and Flu Information—at Your Fingertips!

For more detailed information on herbs and supplements for cold and flu prevention and treatment, see the Healthnotes consumer touch screens in the Health and Beauty Aids departments in both Co-op food stores.