Best Herbs for the Common Cold

Enlarge Image Image Gallery A potent echinacea extract will make your tongue tingle.

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Home Remedy Recipes:

• Essential Oil Steam
• Aromatherapy Inhaler 
• Runny Nose Herbal Tea
• Cold Season Tea 

Sidebar: Herbal Combination Cold Products 

As we head into the cold and flu season, a song from the musical Guys and Dolls plays in my head. A woman with a nasal voice and Brooklyn accent laments, “La grippe, la grippe, la post-nasal drip. With the wheezes and the sneezes and a sinus that’s really a pip.”

La grippe is French for influenza. And when we have a bad cold or the flu, it often feels like being in the grip of something, and relief can’t come fast enough.

Cold and flu viruses each cause upper respiratory congestion—a runny nose, sneezing, sinus congestion, a scratchy throat. Both can produce a cough, but flus tend to linger in the lower respira­tory tract.

Colds typically come on gradually, and their symptoms concentrate in the upper respiratory tract. Not influenza—it ambushes you. In addition to attacking the upper respiratory tract and mi­grating down, flu brings on malaise, headache, muscle aches, fever, chills, exhaustion, and loss of appetite. You generally feel awful.

Symptoms start to wane after two to five days, although weakness and fatigue may linger for a couple of weeks.

Many viruses, all of them highly contagious, cause cold and flu symptoms. Each virus can undergo subtle changes to outwit our immune defenses, so colds and flus keep returning. Because no one has found a cure for these viruses, most doctors treat them with medicines designed to relieve symptoms. In some cases, these medicines may either interfere with the healing process or be inappropriate for the condition.

However, a growing body of research shows that herbs can help us during the cold and flu season. These herbal remedies can boost immunity to prevent illness or support the body’s natural fighting tendencies, shortening the time we spend suffering. Choose from the following herbs to create your own blend that will enhance immunity, combat viruses, and/ or reduce symptoms.

First line of defense: Immune-enhancing herbs

The most thoroughly researched herb for fending off colds and flus is echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia, E. pallida, and E. purpurea). This herb’s main claim to fame is its ability to enhance general immunity: It stimulates white blood cells, one of the body’s first lines of defense against illness; increases production of interferon and other virus-fighting substances; and increases immune cells’ ability to engulf and destroy invading microbes.

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