Curing the common cold
All too common
I had an awful “common cold” week last week – stuffed up, coughing, headache, sore throat, and for a couple of days my voice sounded like James Earl Jones.
Suddenly it seems like everyone has a cold – most everyone where I am, anyway. And there’s little relief in knowing that there was something we could have been doing all along to reduce our chances of getting one in the first place.
How about you? Have you dodged the bullet so far? If so, it’s not too late to start doing yourself a favor today that might help keep you cold-free through the upcoming cold season.
Walking it off
The USCC researchers studied 547 healthy adults between the ages of 20 and 70 (the average age was 48). The group was evenly divided between men and women. Subjects were evaluated five times over the period of a year, reporting on any cold symptoms during that period and giving researchers details of their physical activities.
After evaluating the data, the USCC team found that subjects who had a moderate to high level of physical activity experienced 25% fewer colds than those whose daily activities were relatively low. And for some reason, during autumn months that number jumped to 32% fewer upper respiratory infections. In general, these benefits were slightly more pronounced among the men.
These new conclusions about the effect of exercise on the immune system echo a similar message in a Stanford University study I told you about in an e-Alert I sent you earlier this year (“Have We MET?” 3/21/02). The Stanford research clearly showed that the most powerful predictor of lifespan is “exercise capacity.” In other words, the higher the fitness level, the greater the lifespan. Furthermore, the Stanford team found that even small improvements in exercise capacity may reap positive, long-range benefits. So if you exercise for years, but without ever reaching maximal exercise capacity, it doesn’t matter because you’re still giving your immune system an invaluable boost.
A study published last year showed that several over-the-counter cold medications, designed to treat colds, allergies and insomnia, contain an active ingredient called diphenhydramine hydrochloride – a drug that can be very dangerous for people 70 years and over. Benadryl, Genihist, Sominex, and Sleepinal are just a few of the commercial medicines that contain this ingredient.
In the Yale-New Haven Hospital study, researchers showed a significantly increased risk for decline in individual cognitive assessments, such as inattention, disorganized speech, altered level of consciousness, altered sleep-wake cycle, and behavioral disturbances. The maximum cumulative daily dose for subjects in the study was 100 mg, a level that’s quite easy to achieve in just a few doses of many over-the-counter products. Some sleep aids, for instance, contain 50 mg of diphenhydramine per pill, while most allergy and cold remedies contain 24 mg. In other words, within a single day, you could ingest enough diphenhydramine to begin experiencing cognitive decline.
So why take a chance with over-the-counter cold medications that can cause drowsiness, excitability, dizziness, and other side effects? In the December, 2001, issue of the HSI Members Alert, we told you about the amazing results reported from users of Kan Jang, an Ayurvedic formula made from an Indian shrub. Many herbalists claim that Kan Jang strengthens the immune system and can reduce cold and flu symptoms. You can find out more about this formula at a web site called iherb.com.
However you may choose to treat your cold symptoms – with hot tea, chicken soup, extra rest, plenty of liquids, etc. – one thing you can do right now to avoid the sniffles and everything that goes with them, is to schedule a 30-minute walk for yourself each day. It may not keep you from ever having a cold again, but you’ll be doing your immune system a world of good.
To Your Good Health,
Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute
