9 Natural Cold Remedies To Try The Next Time You Get Sick

Ah, the dreaded common cold. With all the advances in medicine, you would think we would have figured out how to prevent this. Alas, we haven't. And many of us deal with the nagging symptoms of the common cold once or more per year. But there are some ways to get your body ready for cold season, shorten the virus's duration, and decrease symptoms without taking conventional medications.

One of the issues with the cold is that it's our own immune reaction to the virus that can dictate the severity and duration of a cold. So here are some ways to get your body ready for cold season, shorten the virus's duration, and decrease symptoms naturally without taking any medications.

Some people get some nausea taking zinc on an empty stomach, but taking zinc capsules (up to 15 to 30 mg daily with food) at the first symptoms for the cold is safe and effective. There are many forms of zinc, which vary in absorbability, but I like zinc monomethionine because it doesn't alter copper stores in the body. Loading up on zinc-rich foods in the winter can help as well; these include lean red meat, oysters, crab, lentils, hemp seeds, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds.

In addition, probiotics only worked to reduce symptoms and duration of the common cold, so you will need to takes them daily for a few months before cold season. You want to pick a multi-strain formula from a reputable company. It's also important to eat naturally fermented foods that contain probiotic species of bacteria in them. These include foods like sauerkraut, kimchee, miso, and kefir.

Vitamin D is an immunomodulator and plays a role in preventing autoimmune disease. Trials have shown that having higher levels of vitamin D also can reduce our risk of getting the common cold. Because food sources of vitamin D are rare unless you drink supplemented foods like milk and fortified cereals, I recommend taking a supplement especially in the winter months. You need to aim for at least 4,000 IUs daily.

If you have a cold, take a week off from heavy exercise. Instead, do something restorative like yoga, tai chi, or just simply walking. Aim for eight to 10 hours of sleep nightly, and take naps if you need to. Your body will heal faster will this type of TLC.

Peppermint oil8 along with rosemary oil9 can potentially break up mucus and calm a nagging cough. These can also be vaporized or placed in a carrier oil and rubbed between the hands before breathing in. Lastly, frankincense, also known as boswellia10, has significant anti-inflammatory activity on respiratory tissue. This can be taken as an oral tablet and also gives significant relief for aches and pains caused by the common cold.

Another great natural way to stop a cold in its tracks and reduce coughing is by using elderberry. One study showed it significantly reduced the duration and severity11 of cold symptoms in intercontinental air travelers. It's fairly easy to whip up a big batch of elderberry syrup for the season. However, if you don't have the time or patience for that, it's also sold as a syrup, lozenges, and capsules.

Chinese and American herbalists have long known the effectiveness of certain mushrooms' antiviral activity. By stimulating natural killer cells in the human immune system as well as decreasing viral replication, certain mushrooms may be beneficial when you are fighting a cold12. Shiitake mushrooms are readily available and are delicious stir-fried and in soup. Maitake, or "hen of the woods," are also delicious roasted and can be taken in pill and tincture form. Lastly, reishi is a woody, mostly inedible mushroom, can also be found in tinctures, capsules, and teas.

The basic recipe is to use slightly tepid distilled water with sea salt and a pinch of baking soda. Irrigate both sides one to three times daily for as long as your symptoms last.

Chicken soup as a cure-all for the common cold may not have any human studies—but there's a lot of anecdotal data on the ability of Grandma's "penicillin" to help fight off a cold. The combination of a hot liquid and a nutrient-packed soup probably is the source of effectiveness. Chicken soup must be made with real chicken bone broth, which delivers tons of collagen, amino acids, and minerals to help expedite healing. It also tastes really good and is easy to digest.

There are a lot of things you can do to both prevent and treat a cold. If you are prepared with some of these natural cold remedies at home, you may not find yourself sniffling and wandering into the 24-hour pharmacy this season.