..and how to prevent from getting colds
How to fight a cold fast is a subject of the season. It’s winter and even though to date it has not been a ‘bad winter’ – especially in terms of temperature where I live – there are still colds, sore throats and all kinds of viruses being passed around.
I saw a segment on the Dr. Oz show where he explained why there were more common illnesses in the winter (or colder) months than in summer. It has to do with the air and the way it holds the germs so that we actually have more exposure in the winter. He is pretty good about demonstrating how things work, with simulations and all kinds of props.
So your immune system is more challenged right now and how to fight a cold fast, how to fight a sore throat fast, or how to fight other seasonal challenges become popular questions. What can you do to boost your immune system so you either 1) don’t get sick at all, 2) experience less symptoms, or 3) have the ‘bug’ for a shorter duration?
If you are exposed to a cold, you might start to get some pressure around your sinuses, your head may feel achy, you start sneezing or have a runny nose. Your throat might start to feel scratchy. But there may be a sign even before these.
Often, one of the first signs of exposure to an illness and where your own immune system is being attacked, is that you feel tired. Hopefully you don’t always feel tired and won’t be able to distinguish it from the kind of tired you feel when you might be getting sick.
I have a favorite plan of action when I first start to feel tired, and especially when there isn’t reason why. This site is about natural solutions – and – prevention, the kind of health care I always go to first.
Echinacea is my preventive measure of choice when I first start to get that feeling of wanting to crawl back in bed when I just got out, or really want to take a nap in the middle of the afternoon when that’s something I never do. At times like these, your immune system is fighting something.
What Is Echinacea Good For
Echinacea is an herb that can bolster your immune system and stimulate your body’s natural resistance to common illnesses. It is not something that you take on a daily base. When you take Echinacea at the very first signs that you might be getting sick it can work most effectively. I know that when I take it right away – when I feel tired like something is about to hit me – echinacea will work really well.
To be honest I don’t get sick often, with colds or other common illnesses. Part of that, I believe, is because I take vitamins and other supplements every single day (NO, I don’t miss a day) and so my immune system works pretty well. The other part, I believe, is because I am not afraid to use echinacea. I might go months without using it, and then I might take it for five days or so twice in one month (most often in these germ infested winter months!).
For me of course there is only one Echinacea brand of choice: Shaklee. I read where people say that it has not worked for them and I have to wonder what product they used. This herb is one of the prime examples of the requirement of high quality ingredients. If the company you choose uses the non-potent stem pieces of the plant, you are not going to get the same effects from using it.
We’ve mentioned many times on this site that food supplements are not evaluated for content or quality of ingredients. The amount of ingredients on the labels of vitamins and other supplements is not always accurate and the potency or bio-availability (is your body able to absorb the product in the way it was formulated) is not regulated in any way.
You have to trust that the brand you choose will use the best quality ingredients that will provide the benefits intended. You have to trust that the brand you choose will formulate those ingredients so that your body can absorb and use them. You have to trust that the brand you choose makes safe products and provides accurate information on the labels.
These are statements that reinforce why I choose the Shaklee brand. The Echinacea Shaklee makes is from a very high quality source and is a blend of a few nutrients, similar to how many of the products the company manufactures contain more than one potent ingredient. Nutrients with similar or complimentary health benefits can work even better when combined than any one may work on its own.
Defend & Resist Complex contains echinacea, black elderberry, larch tree and zinc. These ingredients all work together to boost the function of your immune system right at the time when you are exposed to a cold or other common illness. It’s best to take it when you first start to feel the need. There are four ways you can choose to take Shaklee Echinacea so no worries if you have trouble swallowing tablets: You can swallow it, chew it, drink it as a tea or even let it dissolve slowly in your mouth the same as you would a throat or cough drop.
Defend & Resist Complex is Shaklee’s Echinacea solution when you understand: What Is Echinacea Good For?
Shaklee’s complete line of Immune Support products can be found at: How To Fight A Cold Fast.