How to Beat "The Crud" This Cold and Flu Season

Looks like we’re having an early cold and flu season, ya'll!

It's time to get your shelves stocked with doctor-approved supplements and learn some strategies that can protect you from viral illness, shorten the time you have one, or at least give you comfort when you succumb to "the crud."

Supplements:

1. Elderberry

Elderberry is an elixir to ward off the common cold. It is especially good in kids because it TASTES GREAT! Elderberry has powerful anti-oxidants that can halt viral replication. It has been used as a preventative as well as treatment for cold and flu for thousands of years and seems to be well tolerated with few side effects. The only caution out there for preventative use is for those on immune-suppressive therapies, such as those treated for auto-immune disease, HIV, etc. If you are on a monoclonal antibody therapy such as Prolia, the new migraine preventatives like erenumab, Enbrel, etc. (basically anything that's generic name ends in -umab) you might want to avoid using season-long elderberry, as it may counteract your highly expensive medication!

2. Vitamin C

The evidence is conflicting with good old vitamin C. However, there's newer evidence out there to support using higher dosages of vitamin C for the treatment (not prevention) of colds. It seems from this study, that modest dosages at 1000-2000 mg/day just won't cut it in getting rid of a cold; you really need to push the dose to 6000-8000 mg/day to see benefit. There is some modest benefit in school-aged and daycare kids taking vitamin C as a preventative but recommended dosages are still low at 250-500 mg/day.

Those with oxalic acid kidney stones, hemochromatosis, sickle cell anemia, pyruvate kinase and G6PD deficiencies should avoid high dose and prolonged vitamin C use.

3. Zinc

Zinc, only if taken at that first inkling of a cold, can help you kick it one day earlier. Don't bother beyond 24 hours of onset of symptoms. I personally keep Cold Eeze zinc lozenges in my house in good supply during cold and flu season. It's hard to get a kid to take them, because they interfere with your sense of taste and have what we call down South, "a wang to them."

Good Housekeeping:

1. Regular, aerobic exercise

Walking, running, cycling, swimming, elliptical, stair-stepping, aerobics classes, dance, gymnastics, whatever...aerobic exercise moves lymph around (this is the official transit route for our white blood cells that fight infection), stimulates circulation and keeps you healthy. The years I didn't run regularly were the most miserable cold years of my life. Now I own a treadmill; you should too.

If your kids don't have a way to exercise indoors, get one! We had a small 5-ft diameter covered indoor trampoline in our house until the kids outgrew it.

2. An anti-inflammatory diet low in junk

I know, I know. Nobody wants to eat high fat, low carb. Fat kills you, right? However, if you want to put together a body that is able to ward off pesky viral illness, you've gotta build one that's strong. You cannot do it with junk food. You need a low-inflammatory way to eat that will help your gut biome and immune system keep you well. Enter low inflammatory diets like Keto, Paleo and Mediterranean. These diets are rich in phytochemicals and fiber that feed your good gut microbes and low in the sugars that bad bacteria love to eat. A healthy gut means a healthy immune system. A healthy immune system beats pathogens as soon as they hit the scene, keeping you healthier through sick season.

3. De-stress

Our bodies do some crazy things when we're stressed. One of the things stress leaves you vulnerable to is viral infection. Stress compromises your immune system! How mindful of your stress level are you? "Mindfulness" is a skill every human being should learn. My favorite de-stress app is called Stop, Breathe and Think. It has a great feature that let's you "check in" to see how you are feeling in your mind and body. I teach tapping to my patients, which coordinates beautifully with my Osteopathic training. The more you habituate your mind to de-stress techniques, the faster calm comes over you.

Meditation is another mindfulness trick. Personally, I take time to meditate on God's Word everyday, and watch my Good Shepherd manage stress for me when I yield it to Him.

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There you go! 6 ways to prepare for The Crud. I hope you found it helpful!

Comments are also appreciated, as well as topics you'd like me to tackle.

Come back soon!

Blessings for today,

Dr. Lydia