My Mom has this theory, she's a Doctor, that it may have something to do with the history of the colonization of the New World. Her point is that because many of the first Europeans who came here lived in very small communities, the gene pool was very small, and there was larger than usual rate of incest and inter-marriages and what have you. Now, over time this changed with the influx of more immigrants and what have you, but then again racial stigmas played a factor, so people would only marry within their race and/or religious group. Over time, naturally, certain genetic flaws and blips emerged. The result being that people here are generally more sickly and you get a higher rate of all sorts of bizzare disieses that are relatively rarer in other parts of the world.
This may be totally bogus, but just thought I'd toss it out there.
I have a sore throat and right before exams and my trip to Thailand. I'm NOT happy about this situation!!!
I'm trying to kick the cold's ass with 2000mg of vitamin C, 2000mg of echinacea and a pile of zinc tablets daily. It's day one of this regimen, so I'll let you know how it goes!
-avoid milk, fruits and fruit juice (causes a lot of mucus) -avoid junk food, chips, pop, chocolate and nuts -plenty of sleep -drink lots of water, hot/warm preferred (no cold water!) -take one 1000mg vit.C three times a day (choose the Jamieson brand name over generic, it actually DOES matter)
.....that's what the pharmacist told me to do. the restrictive diet is VERY IMPORTANT!
also the pharmacist suggested a over-the-counter product called ColdTek, which helps to boost your immune system. you can probably find this in the pharmacy or get them to order in the product from their suppliers
also, try not to take neo-citran, heard that it helps suppress your symptoms, BUT it doesn't help with the cold
-avoid milk, fruits and fruit juice (causes a lot of mucus)
Actually this is a myth. There is no scientific evidence that milk causes an increase of mucous production. It just makes people THINK that it does and they report worse symptoms. There is an article here as an example, but I know there are lots more. :smile:
-avoid junk food, chips, pop, chocolate and nuts
Why nuts? The others all make a lot of sense, but depending on what kind of nuts you are eating there can be good vitamins in them. For example, almonds have lots of vitamin E which has an antioxidant effect within the body.
-plenty of sleep
Always good advice!
-drink lots of water, hot/warm preferred (no cold water!)
Again this sounds like a myth to me. But I couldn't find anything to support or dispute it. Why did they suggest this?
-take one 1000mg vit.C three times a day
This is a really bad idea! Vitamin C becomes toxic when you exceed 2000mg per day (usually around 3000mg that things start to get bad). Staying at 2000mg per day has been shown to reduce the length of a cold by one day. Taking more than that is just going to put you in line for health risks like nausea and diarrhea, which aren't a fun addition to whatever you are already trying to kick! And the NIMH agrees...
also the pharmacist suggested a over-the-counter product called ColdTek, which helps to boost your immune system. you can probably find this in the pharmacy or get them to order in the product from their suppliers
I couldn't find info on the ColdTek drug online, but the ones that I have looked at all contain mostly echinacea (unless you get into the ones that are mostly chemicals). So it's easier (and waaaay cheaper) just to take echinacea.
also, try not to take neo-citran, heard that it helps suppress your symptoms, BUT it doesn't help with the cold
That's the way that all cold medication works. There still is no cure for the common cold, but they can drug you up enough that you can get on with your life. :wink:
oh man, i didn't know i have to support my suggestions....>_<
i can't say that i have any sort of professional knowledge or whatsoever, but it's what the pharmacist recommended for me. i work as a pharmacy tech at a shoppers drug mart and the pharmacist that recommended these suggestions specializes in homeopathics, so some things may differ from the mainstream knowledge that the pharmaceutical approach has.
anyways, i don't know about the whole eating nuts thing, but when i had my cold, the nuts made me cough like crazy...and the fruit. lol i don't know why he told me to drink hot/warm water rather than cold....maybe easier on the stomach? i totally have no idea :P
i found the site for the coldtek tho, www.swissherbal.ca apparently it does contain large amts of echinacea, but it also contains large amts of ginseng root powder. so you can check out that site.
yeah, a lot of pharmaceutical products do suppress symptoms, but i believe that the pharmacist said that some homeopathic products that actually bring the symptoms outside the body....something about the body produces symptoms because it is trying to cleanse itself from the inside. after the symptoms has run its' course, the person should feel much better. again, i don't have the exact detail abt how this works.
i dunno....i tried his recommendations and it worked really well for me. it's only a suggestion tho.
Sorry, Elle! I didn't mean to pounce on you, so I hope you didn't take it that way. :smile:
I'm just always really skeptical about diet and health claims because many things are either useless or harmful! Maybe half the battle is believing that whatever you choose, your cure will work!
Also, the page you linked for vitamin C also says 2000mg is the upper limit!
Vitamin C is water-soluable. Therefore, your body will get rid of excess Vitamin C that it does not need (I think you usually pee out the excess). Unless you have alot of Vit C in one sitting, its very unlikely you will reach toxic levels. I checked my textbook which also mentions that the upper tolerable limit is 2000mg/day. However, the actual toxic amount is difficult to establish because not many studies have been done on this. The 2000mg/day is just a safe guard. I think the toxic level is probably a lot higher.
On the other had, fat soluable vitamins (A,D,E,K) are stored in fat. Therefore, if you have too much of these vitamins, you may reach toxic levels.
Yep, vitamin C is water soluable. However once you hit those upper levels (looks like most sources agree on 2000mg+), you are at risk for nausea and diarrhea which aren't very much fun especially when you are already sick! It won't kill you, but it's not going to do you much good either! And vomiting/diarrhea can lead to deficiencies of other vitamins and minerals (not to mention water), so it can cause many more problems than it's fixing!
1 or 2 oranges a day is enough vitamin C that your body needs. Personally, I don't like to take any vitamins/minerals unless I know I'm not getting enough through regular diet. The only thing I take is calcium.
When I'm sick, I just generally try to take care of myself. Sleep, eat healthy, drink lots of water, no secrets for me.
Comments
This may be totally bogus, but just thought I'd toss it out there.
I'm trying to kick the cold's ass with 2000mg of vitamin C, 2000mg of echinacea and a pile of zinc tablets daily. It's day one of this regimen, so I'll let you know how it goes!
If you get a flu during this time, you're fucked. You're in bed, and can't do anything else, also, you only can catch the flu once in a year
-avoid junk food, chips, pop, chocolate and nuts
-plenty of sleep
-drink lots of water, hot/warm preferred (no cold water!)
-take one 1000mg vit.C three times a day
(choose the Jamieson brand name over generic, it actually DOES matter)
.....that's what the pharmacist told me to do. the restrictive diet is VERY IMPORTANT!
also the pharmacist suggested a over-the-counter product called ColdTek, which helps to boost your immune system. you can probably find this in the pharmacy or get them to order in the product from their suppliers
also, try not to take neo-citran, heard that it helps suppress your symptoms, BUT it doesn't help with the cold
i can't say that i have any sort of professional knowledge or whatsoever, but it's what the pharmacist recommended for me. i work as a pharmacy tech at a shoppers drug mart and the pharmacist that recommended these suggestions specializes in homeopathics, so some things may differ from the mainstream knowledge that the pharmaceutical approach has.
anyways, i don't know about the whole eating nuts thing, but when i had my cold, the nuts made me cough like crazy...and the fruit. lol
i don't know why he told me to drink hot/warm water rather than cold....maybe easier on the stomach? i totally have no idea :P
i see the info on the vit c dosage, but it seems that the maximum dosage level is debatable, depending on who you are getting the advice from. http://healthlibrary.epnet.com/GetContent.aspx?token=2f013354-aed3-4319-b034-45acd76f4b1c&chunkiid=21522
i found the site for the coldtek tho, www.swissherbal.ca
apparently it does contain large amts of echinacea, but it also contains large amts of ginseng root powder. so you can check out that site.
yeah, a lot of pharmaceutical products do suppress symptoms, but i believe that the pharmacist said that some homeopathic products that actually bring the symptoms outside the body....something about the body produces symptoms because it is trying to cleanse itself from the inside. after the symptoms has run its' course, the person should feel much better. again, i don't have the exact detail abt how this works.
i dunno....i tried his recommendations and it worked really well for me.
it's only a suggestion tho.
I'm just always really skeptical about diet and health claims because many things are either useless or harmful! Maybe half the battle is believing that whatever you choose, your cure will work!
Also, the page you linked for vitamin C also says 2000mg is the upper limit!
On the other had, fat soluable vitamins (A,D,E,K) are stored in fat. Therefore, if you have too much of these vitamins, you may reach toxic levels.
When I'm sick, I just generally try to take care of myself. Sleep, eat healthy, drink lots of water, no secrets for me.
but everything is good *thumbs up*