Natural Cold Remedies

By using natural cold remedies, the amount of time that a person is sick can be reduced, thus enabling them to return to a productive lifestyle more quickly. With natural cures and home remedies, the body's immune system is strengthened as it recovers from sickness, including the common cold. To best understand how to properly use cold remedies, it is important to first be able to identify cold symptoms and understand what causes them.

When a virus attacks the upper respiratory tract, the result is known as the common cold.

A cold is normally spread by human contact with a person who is already sick or by mutual surface contact. There is no one exact cause for a cold as more than 200 different virus infections can trigger its symptoms. However, the rhinovirus, coronavirus and the syncytial virus are the most common, which invade the upper respiratory tract and cause cold symptoms. A cold virus enters the system when it comes in contact with mucous membranes, such as the nose or mouth.

Symptoms:

• Runny nose
• Congestion (in nose and chest)
• Sneezing
• Sore throat
• Appetite loss
• Fever
• Chills
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Body ache

Some of the risk factors that can weaken the body's defense against a cold are:

• Poor nutrition
• Lack of exercise
• Lack of sleep
• Depression
• Stress

A natural cure for a cold is an increase in vitamin C. Some of the best sources for vitamin C are:

• Lemon juice in a glass of water (sweetened with honey if desired)
• Fresh squeezed orange juice
• Natural sunshine (20 minutes at a time, while wearing a sunscreen)
• Broccoli
• Papaya
• Mango
• Kiwi
• Peppers

• Increasing zinc intake through supplementation or through foods such as spinach, yogurt, pumpkin seeds, lamb, mustard greens or asparagus
• Garlic soup
• Chicken soup

• Echinacea
• Elderberry
• Andrographis
• Agrimony
• Anise
• Yarrow
• Holy Basil
• Ginseng tea
• Bitter gourd root
• Tumeric
• Tamarind

A soup made of tamarind, black pepper powder, hot clarified butter and boiling water is an excellent cold remedy that can be consumed several times each day, as well as inhaled to relieve sinus congestion.

When a cold is present, it is common for a person's appetite to decrease. During this time, solid foods should not be forced, but instead the person should drink a lot of clear fluids, fruit and fresh vegetable juices.

Cold remedies have been used for centuries as a means of effectively combating colds and flu-like illnesses. A natural cure for a cold is the safest, most effective way of restoring optimal health without need of over the counter medications or prescription drugs, which can offer relief, but don't actually cure colds and often carry side effects. Herbal remedies for colds are easy to use and can offer instant soothing relief to cold sufferers.