19 April 2011

Coping With Colds and Flu

It is often assumed that there is no cure for the common cold and that little can be done other than to sit. However, this is not the end of the story. There are a number of approaches and promising treatments for the prevention and shorten the duration of colds. It is certainly true of some of them giving a test.The promise of zinc.Zinc is a mineral that is required for many functions in the human body. It is known that it protects cell membranes from oxidative damage. It also helps our immune system functioning properly by increasing the amount of infection fighting white blood cells, that we have. These properties alone are sufficient to give it the potential to treat colds and flu. But many roles, he seems to play in the body, these properties are not likely to be the only ones that contribute to the effectiveness of zinc as a cold remedy.Zinc has been tested against the cold in some studies. Most use zinc pellets and obtained impressive results. A used 13.3 mg zinc as zinc acetate, taken every 2-3 hours, amounting to approximately 100 mg per day. This had the effect of reducing by half the length of most of the symptoms and reduce the severity of the symptoms also. Generally, this level of supplementation is used during 5 days within 24 hours of appearing cold symptoms.It is an impressive result and not only. There are studies that allow to find fewer benefits of zinc lozenges, but a recent Cochrane review of 15 trials concluded that the evidence was for zinc is an effective treatment. My is that it is no doubt worth giving this supplement a GB if you suffer from evil to colds.How should I take and where can I find it?The recommended daily allowance is 15 mg. For most people, it is safe to have up to 40 mg per day for an extended period, but above this level, there is a risk of a copper deficiency. This is why the use of zinc against colds or flu is better made for step for more than 7 days. Quantities used in the studies successfully should not cause serious problems. There may be some gastrointestinal distress, nausea or diarrhea well. Take the diamond shaped, as this book zinc to the surfaces of the nose and throat where it can act directly against the cold virus. Don't bother taking intranasal zinc, as it is associated with a permanent loss of the sense of smell.If you want to give it a test there are some available from health food popular stores, which contain 7 mg of zinc and 300 mg of vitamin c. The idea of taking the tablet every 2-3 hours is to submit the surfaces in the nose and throat zinc continuously. I would say that the supplement above every 2 hours then only awake for 5 days. This would provide a daily dose of 56 mg of zinc and 2.4 g of vitamin c. The amount of vitamin c is safe, but could eventually lead to a mild diarrhea. With supplements, it is always best to check their ingredients. Many contain additives that you may want to avoid as the sweetener aspartame or for those who suffer from allergies, there may be ingredients that exacerbate this.Vitamin C - really works?Vitamin c was seen as a cold remedy for very long. Such as zinc, has a number of effects in the human body, including the healthy bone, ligament and tendon, supporting the function of the brain and act as a whole antioxidant round. It was also found to stimulate several elements of the immune system. Evidence that it is a useful tool against colds and flu is mixed.To reduce the incidence of colds and flu.When the amounts above 0.2 g per day have been taken, he seemed to be no reduction in the number of colds, in a number of studies. However, the number of colds caught by persons engaged in intense exercise or in cold conditions decreased by half in 6 studies on these specific subgroups. The same studies also indicate an effect more important among children. It is believed that this could be indicative that most large amounts of vitamin c were used in the studies, children being smaller require less vitamin that c.having read some of these studies that my general advice would be to follow your levels of vitamin c by eating lots of fruits and vegetablessuch as peppers, berries and citrus. If you go to perform arduous physical activities or are entering in a colder climate, especially if you're sending