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In our mission to help athletes achieve their goals, we’ve some collected powerful and natural remedies to help you recover from a cold.

So, you’ve over-trained and now you’re down with a cold plagued with a cough, sore throat, headache, sneezing but more importantly you are exhausted and weak. Time is ticking and your opponents are working hard. You can’t afford to let this virus get the best of you. Keep your head up, get your gloves on, we're going on the offence and attacking every symptom. 

1) Weakened immune system : As your immune system is weakened, your body becomes the perfect host for a cold/flu virus. As a result, you have the following: headache, low - high fever, weakness, fatigue, exhaustion. So lets recuperate:

  • Sleep - Get at least 10 hours of sleep and take naps throughout the day. When you’re sleeping, your body produces cytokines (which fight infection, inflammation, and stress) and other infection-fighting cells.1
  • Relaxation - Try to relax or at least try to prevent additional stress. Stress itself promotes illness by reducing your levels of immunity-boosting gamma interferon and infection-fighting T-cells.1

 

 

  • Garlic - Garlic contains powerful natural antibiotic, antifungal, and antibacterial properties that raises the levels of T cells and enhances the activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells to make sure your body is ready to fight off the cold/flu virus. NOTE: Don’t cook the garlic because doing so destroys the active constituents of garlic - allinase and allicin.2
  • Echinacea - Extracts of echinacea have been found to increase the number of white blood cells and boosts the activity of other immune cells.

 

 

2) Sinus Infection - unfortunately a cold comes with nasty symptoms such as stuffy nose, sore throat, sneezing and possible chest discomfort. Below are natural remedies to help you combat these symptoms:

  • Tea - The steam from the tea helps loosen congestion and kill viruses and bacteria in the lungs, bronchials or sinuses.
  • Rehydration - Drinking liquids on its own can help get you rehydrated and recuperate from the fever.

 

 

Add the following into your tea and you’ve got yourself a virus fighting concoction:

  • Honey - Honey is a natural cough suppressant that has been shown to be as effective as the over-the-counter cough suppressant dextromethorphan.3
  • Lemon - The vitamin C in lemon may strengthen the immune system or help treat cold symptoms. 4

 

 

  • Ginger - Ginger does not only be warming on a cold day, but can help promote healthy sweating, which is often helpful during colds and flus." Ginger sooths sore throats and inflammation of mucus membranes. It also encourages rest because of its mild sedative qualities.5
  • Cinnamon - Cinnamon has extremely high anti-oxidant activity, and the oil of cinnamon has strong anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.6

 

 

Sore Throat 

  • Gargle with warm salt water - Salt draws excess fluid from inflamed throat tissues, making them less painful.7

 

As an aspiring Olympian, I understand the importance of maintaining your health and following a training regiment. All of the above has proven to help me and my teammates keep training. If I missed anything, send me an email or add a comment below. 

Sources:

  1. http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/excessive-sleepiness-10/immune-system-lack-of-sleep
  2. http://www.pillarsofhealth.ca/the-cold-flu-fighting-power-of-garlic/  
  3. http://www.healthline.com/health/cold-flu/natural-cold-remedies#Honey-Lemon
  4. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/1001.html
  5. http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=72
  6. http://www.homeremediesweb.com/cinnamon_health_benefits.php
  7. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/28/health/28real.html?_r=3&ref=science&