Treating The Common Cold

With more than two hundred different viruses around us at any one time, it is near impossible to escape colds. A person is considered to be suffering from a cold if the membranes lining the nose and/ or throat are infected and become inflamed or irritated.
When you start experiencing the physical symptoms of the common cold, the virus has probably been active in your body for up to four days. Sneezing, runny nose, sore throat, cough, headache, fever and muscle fatigue are just some of these unwelcome symptoms.
What is frustrating is that even though you fastidiously pop the pills prescribed by the doctor, you cannot hasten your full recovery. The cold continues to run its course of seven to 10 days. This is because there is no medical cure for the common cold, although various types of medicine have been used to make the victim feel better.
Antihistamines are commonly given for a runny nose and frequent sneezing. They act by countering the effects of histamines, which make the blood vessels in the nose inflamed and dilated, leading to swelling. This irritation in the nose goes on to because sneezing fits. Most antihistamines can cause drowsiness, so be careful not to drive or operate heavy machinery when taking them.
Expectorant cough medicines can bring relief if you have a dry cough or one which brings up a lot of phlegm. For fever or body ache which comes with the cold, some painkillers prescribed by the doctor will do the job.Congestion in the nasal passage may be relieved to a large extent if you are suffering from a stuffy nose. Put one or two drops of peppermint oil into a basin of steaming water. Cover your head and basin with a towel and inhale the peppermint steam.
Although never scientifically proven, Vitamin C seems to speed up recovery for sufferers of the common cold. Remember to eat extra fruits during convalescence and drink at least ten glasses of water to replace fluids lost when you blow your nose.But the surest cure is really to hop into bed, pull up the blanket and sleep it off

Five Good Reasons

Why You May need Vitamin Supplements

Most people believe that if they keep to a well balanced diet, it would provide them with the necessary vitamins and minerals for good health. Ideally this is the case, but in today’s fast paced world, it may be prudent to take vitamin supplements to optimize the dietary sources for nutrients.

1. Overcooking

Lengthy cooking or reheating of meat and vegetables can oxidize and destroy heat-susceptible vitamins like B and C, as well as many minerals. Vitamins like B6, for example, can be destroyed by irradiation from microwaves.

2. Smoking

Smoking, whether directly or indirectly via passive smoking, increases the body’s need for vitamin C. Found in fruits like pineapples, kiwi fruits and papayas, the vitamin oxidizes quickly once the fruits are cut, juiced, cooked or stored in direct light or close to heat. Vitamin C is important to boost the body’s immunity.

3. Inefficient Digestion

Poor digestion can be an obstacle to the body’s vitamin intake. Common causes of inefficient digestion are not chewing well enough or eating too quickly. Some food particles may be too large to allow complete action by digestive enzymes. People with dentures may also face this problem.

4. Hot Liquids

Downing liquids which are too hot may cause inflammation of the digestive linings, resulting in reduced digestive fluids which are required to extract vitamins and minerals from the food we eat. Coffee, tea and other beverages with excess irritants can also aggravate the linings.

5. Stress

The vitamin B group is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system. Stress can increase the body’s requirement for vitamins B and D, and folic acid

The Juicy Benefits

Scientific studies have shown that certain juices can indeed offer protective health benefits. But that doesn’t mean, however, that drinking more juice will make you healthier. As with most things in life, moderation is the key. Fruit and vegetable juices are fantastic thirst quenchers and the best alternative to pure drinking water. So skip the carbonated sugar-loaded packet drinks and do your body a favor.

Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate juice has received a great deal of attention in recent years for its health benefits. it is a rich source of antioxidants and has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol-the bad, artery-clogging cholesterol. It may also slow the development of prostate cancer in men. Another study found that pomegranate juice may increase blood flow to the heart in people with some forms of heart disease.

Orange Juice
The iconic breakfast drink may help prevent recurrences of painful kidney stones. A study has found that a daily glass of orange juice can reduce the incidence of kidney stones better than other citrus drinks, such as lemonade.

Grapefruit Juice
Grapefruit doesn’t only contain vitamin C, which is commonly known to be protective against colds or flu. It is not just one nutrient that helps prevent a certain disease, but rather the combination of several ingredients in it that does the trick. This juicy fruit contains citric acid, natural sugars, essential oils like limonene, pinene and citral. It has high amounts or vitamin C, and smaller amounts of vitamin A, B complex, E and K.

Apple Juice
Apples have always being considered part of a healthy diet. They also contain important antioxidants that help protect the body from injury, including the injuries caused by eating fat in your diet. The antioxidants work by preventing the oxidation of low density lipoproteins (LDL), or bad cholesterol, and guard your body against chronic heart disease.