People are often confused about what they can do at home to battle colds and viruses. Well, there are many recommended supplements, herbs, formulas and drugs, but the main purpose of them all is to bolster the immune system so it can do the hard work and kill the germs. I like to help my immune system out even more by following a few steps which can kill many of the germs in our throat, mouth, and sinuses and ease the burden on the immune system by stopping germs before they get into the body.
The idea is to kill as many germs as possible. I’ll usually gargle with a disinfecting mouthwash almost every hour when I first begin to feel sick. Each time you gargle you are cleansing your mouth of tons of germs. In addition, I use a nasal solution several times a day to kill the germs in the sinuses. You can make your own nasal solution by mixing one teaspoon of buffered Vitamin C powder in about four ounces of distilled water. The best method of use is to dip your nose into the mixture without sniffing; take your nose out of the mixture; and then sniff the mixture left on your nose. Personally, I only use ‘buffered’ vitamin C when sniffing into the sinuses.
The first thing I do when I feel I’m coming down with any type of cold, flu, or infection is take a dose of vitamin C. I usually take about 5 grams in the morning and at night. Vitamin C helps bolster the immune system, serves as a powerful antioxidant and is an electron donor (which we’ve discussed the value of previously in our ORAC post). It should be noted that too much vitamin C can soften your stool and cause diarrhea and that if this happens I recommend you cut back your dosage until your stool returns to normal. In the end, I try to take the highest possible dose that I can without affecting my bowel movements. I once was unfortunate enough to catch Rocky Mountain spotted fever and took a dosage of about 60 grams of vitamin C per day and surprisingly, I wasn’t afflicted with diarrhea despite the amazingly high dosage!
My second technique for fighting infections is to take large dosages of selenium. Though Selenium is toxic at high dosages (most doctors would not recommend over 400 mcg per day), I find that 800 mcg of selenium per day, for a few days, serves as a powerful adjunct to bolster the immune system. I lower these high dosages after a few days and in my experience, a couple of days at that dosage has shown me no ill effects over the past ten years. Regardless of my personal observations, I would not recommend high dosages of selenium for anyone until they have done research and spoken to their doctor about this mineral. The form of selenium I take is called methylselenocysteine. I also boost my vitamin E intake from 400 IU to 800 IU. Vitamin E is an important antioxidant in the body. I take the Gamma form of vitamin E which is mixed with Tocopherol. There are multiple forms of vitamin E and I prefer to use supplements that combine several different vitamin E ingredients.
Be sure to check back in the next few days for the second part of my method for finding quick relief from the flu, colds and infections!
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