Unlike the flu, a cold slowly creeps in — you can tell a few days before it actually hits that it’s about to pester you. Worry not because it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to end up with the common cold just because it’s already around the corner. Provided that you spring into action ASAP, you can actually stop a cold in its tracks.
As soon as you feel the early warning signs of the common cold, do the following things:
Drink, Drink, Drink
No, not alcohol — water! Drinking plenty of water helps ensure that your immune system is working like a well-oiled machine, thus helping to zap viruses already in your body before they have the opportunity to set up camp and leave you with a bout of the common cold.
Consuming herbal tea and soups helps increase your overall water intake. Also, include the next one in your diet.
Have Freshly-Squeezed Orange Juice
We all know that vitamin C is an excellent booster of the immune system. It’s exactly for this reason why it’s a good idea to drink 100 percent pure orange juice — it supplies your body with water as well as vitamin C.
Not really a fan of orange juice? Don’t worry because there are so many other phenomenal fruit sources of vitamin C, ranging from strawberries, blackberries, guavas, kiwis, mangoes to papayas. Aside from consuming these fruits in juice form, you can simply eat them as they are.
Gargle With Warm Salt Water
You are experiencing some of the telltale signs of the common cold because there’s already some mild irritation and inflammation taking place in your upper airways, most especially your throat. And that is why it is a good idea for you to gargle with warm salt water morning and night to help soothe your throat and also kill off microbes.
To get started with your warm salt water gargling, all you have to do is dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a glass of lukewarm water and gargle away to keep a cold from striking.
Steer Clear of Your Comfort Foods
Because you feel kind of terrible, you may be tempted to reach for some of your most favorite comfort foods like cakes, donuts, ice cream, hamburgers and fries. If you don’t want to have a full-blown cold, avoid those!
According to experts, consuming anything that has lots of sugar and saturated fat can actually give those cold viruses the opportunity to wreak havoc to your upper respiratory tract. It’s for the fact that sugary and fatty stuff can cause inflammation, which can weaken your immune system and strengthen invading microbes.
Go Get Some Garlic
While eliminating sugary and fatty foods, welcome garlic into your diet. That’s because garlic is highly capable of zapping not only bacteria, but also viruses that are responsible for the common cold that you feel you are about to have. To maximize the antimicrobial properties of garlic, add it to your diet raw.
Fret not if you are not a fan of garlic’s characteristic odor and taste because you can always count on garlic oil capsules to help save you from having a bout of a cold.
Rest, Rest and Rest Some More
Last but not least, it’s a good idea for you to stay at home and get plenty of rest. It’s not only for your benefit, but also your co-workers’ — you can easily spread around the virus already in your body!
Taking lots of rest helps your immune system to wage a war against microbes that have invaded your body, keeping them from causing a cold. It’s also important for you to get a good night’s sleep, so don’t spend the entire night on social media just because you are not going to work the next day.
