*Since there are no known cures for colds or the flu, prevention should
be
your goal. A proactive approach to warding off colds and flu is apt to
make
your whole life healthier. The most effective way to prevent flu, frankly,
is to get a flu shot. It may not be natural, but it works better than
anything else. But there are other strategies you can employ as well. *
*#1 Wash Your Hands*
*Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has
the flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the telephone, the
keyboard, a kitchen glass. The germs can live for hours -- in some cases
weeks -- only to be picked up by the next person who touches the same
object. So wash your hands often. If no sink is available, rub your hands
together very hard for a minute or so. That also helps break up most of
the
cold germs. *
*#2 Don't Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs With Your Hands*
*Because germs and viruses cling to your bare hands, muffling coughs and
sneezes with your hands results in passing along your germs to others.
When
you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue, then throw it away
immediately. If you don't have a tissue, turn your head away from people
near you and cough into the air. *
*
#3 Don't Touch Your Face*
*Cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth.
Touching their faces is the major way people catch colds. *
*
#4 Drink Plenty of Fluids*
*Water flushes your system, washing out the poisons as it rehydrates you.
A
typical, healthy adult needs eight 8-ounce glasses of fluids each day. How
can you tell if you're getting enough liquid? If the color of your urine
runs close to clear, you're getting enough. If it's deep yellow, you need
more fluids. *
*
#5 Take a Sauna*
*Researchers aren't clear about the exact role saunas play in prevention,
but one 1989 German study found that people who steamed twice a week got
half as many colds as those who didn't. One theory: When you take a sauna
you inhale air hotter than 80 degrees, a temperature too hot for cold and
flu viruses to survive. *
*
#6 Get Fresh Air*
*A regular dose of fresh air is important, especially in cold weather
when
central heating dries you out and makes your body more vulnerable to cold
and flu viruses. Also, during cold weather more people stay indoors, which
means more germs are circulating in crowded, dry rooms. *
*
#7 Do Aerobic Exercise Regularly*
*Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood,
makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your
blood, and makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help
increase the body's natural virus-killing cells. *
*
#8 Eat Foods Containing Phytochemicals*
*"Phyto" means plants, and the natural chemicals in plants give the
vitamins in food a supercharged boost. So put away the vitamin pill, and
eat
dark green, red, and yellow vegetables and fruits. *
*
#9 Eat Yogurt*
*Some studies have shown that eating a daily cup of low-fat yogurt can
reduce your susceptibility to colds by 25 percent. Researchers think the
beneficial bacteria in yogurt may stimulate production of immune system
substances that fight disease. *
*
#10 Don't Smoke*
*Statistics show that heavy smokers get more severe colds and more
frequent
ones. *
*Even being around smoke profoundly zaps the immune system. Smoke dries
out
your nasal passages and paralyzes cilia, the delicate hairs that line the
mucous membranes in your nose and lungs that sweep cold and flu viruses
out
of the nasal passages. Experts contend that one cigarette can paralyze
cilia
for as long as 30 to 40 minutes. *
*
#11 Cut Alcohol Consumption*
*Heavy alcohol use destroys the liver, the body's primary filtering
system,
which means that germs of all kinds won't leave your body as fast. The
result is, heavier drinkers are more prone to initial infections as well
as
secondary complications. Alcohol also dehydrates the body -- it actually
takes more fluids from your system than it puts in. *
*
#12 Relax*
*If you can teach yourself to relax, you can activate your immune system
on
demand. There's evidence that when you put your relaxation skills into
action, your interleukins -- leaders in the immune system response against
cold and flu viruses -- increase in the bloodstream. Train yourself to
picture an image you find pleasant or calming. Do this 30 minutes a day
for
several months. Keep in mind, relaxation is a learnable skill, but it is
not
doing nothing. People who try to relax, but are in fact bored, show no
changes in blood chemicals. *
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