Nothing Common About The Common Cold

The only thing common about the common cold is that everyone gets one. There are about two hundred different viruses that can cause a cold. Symptoms can range from a runny nose, stuffed sinuses, sore throat, swollen glands and coughing. When a person is fighting a cold, the best thing that they could do is drink plenty of water and eat lots of brothy soups, like chicken soup. The vegetables in the soup provide plenty of vitamins and the chicken contains amino acids (proteins) that help to fight a cold. The hot broth opens up the sinuses and allows breathing to be easier. Ginger, garlic and oregano are all anti-viral and help your body heal itself. Vitamin C, echinacea and zinc lozenges have been shown to have a positive effect on the common cold.

The best and only treatment for a cold is the body's own immune system. An immune system that is functioning on all cylinders will not only prevent a virus from getting a foothold, but if a virus does infiltrate, the immune system will make sure the virus doesn't stay around too long. Regular chiropractic care has been shown to increase resistance enzymes and improve DNA repair, all important parts of keeping the immune system functioning at its best. As mentioned previously, one of the best times to have your spine adjusted is when you actually have a cold. The white blood cell increase, that immediately follows an adjustment, fights the germ right then and there and helps to speed recovery.

Other ways to prevent a cold, involve washing your hands regularly during the cold season. Most cold viruses are either spread through the air or by hand contact. Regular soap has been shown to be more effective than anti-bacterial soap in preventing the spread of germs.

Thought for the Week: "Truth never dies. The ages come and go. The mountains wear away, the stars retire. Destruction lays earth cities low; And empires, states and dynasties expire; But caught and handed onward by the wise, Truth never dies." ------Francis Bacon, 1625.

(Maybe, this is one reason, why chiropractic has been able to endure and prosper over the years, despite a concentrated effort by the drug companies and medicine to do away with the profession. JZ)