Holistic Ways to Prevent Colds & Flu

You could be avoiding the amount of times you catch colds, and their severity and duration by taking probiotics on a daily basis. Probiotics are the “good” bacteria found in our bodies and they have been shown to activate the immune system in a positive way. They have also been shown to be helpful for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, (a condition commonly affected by stress and anxiety for which Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can help immensely as well), Crohn’s Disease, urogenital conditions such as yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, and urinary tract infections. Some women find that consistent use of probiotics rid them of these problems completely.

At the start of a cold, load up on some standardized Echinacea extract three times per day for a few days. It will give nice kick start to your immune system and in many cases put the spark out before it turns into a fire so to speak.

Load up on vitamin C (if you have GI issues, get the buffered kind). Recently I’ve heard many stories about patients having full remission of a bad flu just by taking a few grams of vitamin c for a few days. Don’t worry about loading up – the only thing that can really happen is that you can get some diarrhea, at which point you can just cut down.

Keep some elderberry syrup in your fridge. This is not only an immune booster but will help with sore or dry throat problems.

Make sure you don’t skimp on vitamin D. The latest noteworthy addition to this vitamin’s proven benefits are its immune enhancing properties. 

Written by  Niloo Dardashti, PsyD, HHP