Well it’s that time of year and I’m sure many people close to you are feeling the miserable effects.
I’ve always been flabbergasted as to how pig headed people are in their insistence on taking antibiotics when they are down with a cold or the flu, even when they are informed that ANTIBIOTICS CANNOT AND WILL NOT CURE EITHER YOUR COLD OR YOUR FLU.
You see antibiotics have no affect on viruses and viruses are what cause the common cold and the flu.
So, taking an antibiotic:
- Will not cure or lessen the effects of either sickness
- Will kill the beneficial bacteria in your gut (your immune system)
- Will make bacteria more resistant to antibiotics thereby making them less and less affective in fighting bacteria
IS IT THE FLU OR A COLD?
[table td1=”Characteristic” td2=”Flu” td3=”Cold“] [td1] Onset of symptoms [/td1] [td2] Sudden [/td2] [td3] Gradual [/td3] [td1] Sneezing [/td1] [td2] Occasional [/td2] [td3] Common [/td3] [td1] Sore throat & cough [/td1] [td2] Early [/td2] [td3] Day 2-3 [/td3] [td1] Muscle aches [/td1] [td2] Severe [/td2] [td3] Slight [/td3] [td1] Fatigue [/td1] [td2] Severe [/td2] [td3] Mild [/td3] [td1] Chest symptoms [/td1] [td2] Burning [/td2] [td3] Mild if any [/td3] [td1] Duration [/td1] [td2] 6-7 days [/td2] [td3] 3-4 days [/td3] [td1] Fever [/td1] [td2] 102-104 F [/td2] [td3] Less than 100 F [/td3] [/table]If you’ve come down with the flu, in addition to what’s been summarized above, you may also have diarrhea, occasional vomiting, sudden dizziness, chills and headaches also.
As I’ve explained before, “you don’t catch a cold”, or the flu for that matter; you get sick because your immune system has let you down.
If your immune system is working as it should be neither exposure to the cold, nor being attacked by a virus will make you sick. We are in contact, live together, with about 700 trillion bacteria, viruses and other pathogens every minute of our existence; why aren’t we sick all the time?
I’ve discussed in detail how one can enhance one’s immune system in my December 16 and 23 2015 posts. I also suggest that you to re-read my March 26, 2015 article in which we talk about the microbiome.
Assuming that you have glanced at the above two December 2015 posts, you now know what to do when you feel a cold or the flu coming on. Don’t dismiss these easy and simple “remedies”; trust me your misery will be milder and shorter.
I ran across an article on the Internet and thought it would be interesting to share it with you. It also focuses on “what to do when you feel the sniffles coming on”, but from a very different perspective: YOGA.
Yoga is an incredibly low impact workout that increases the circulation of lymph, a fluid that moves through the body picking up bacteria and viruses and filtering them out through the lymph nodes.
I will pass on 3 postures that we are advised to do three to four times a week to stay healthy and cold/flu free all winter long.
Hold each pose for 5 to 8 deep full breaths.
- Cobra
This is a great posture for opening up the lungs and activating the thymus gland located at the center of the chest. In cobra, one takes deep, full breathes, and stretches open the front body.
Lie on your belly with your hands on the floor and a little forward of your shoulders. Press your hands into the mat, engage your abdominals and lift your chest up. Make sure you’re not feeling any pinching in the lower back, lengthen your legs out of your hips and keep your buttocks relaxed.
- Shoulder stand
Inversion increases the passive circulation of lymph. This pose also stimulates the thyroid gland.
Start lying on your back and use your abdominals to lift your legs overhead into a plow posture, shown below.
Lace your hands behind your neck and shrug your shoulders to your ears until you come off the cervical curve of your spine and on to the back of your head. Use your abdominals to lift your legs up to the sky and place your hands on your lower back for support.
If this proves to be too difficult, you can lie with your legs up a wall and get the same benefits.
3. Seated spinal twist
Twists and hip openers activate the spleen and lymph nodes in the armpits and groin. These organs are production sites for immune cells and the seated spinal twist targets them all.
Sit tall with your left knee bent and foot underneath you to the right side of your right hip. Place your right foot outside the left knee; place the left elbow around the knee, using the abdominals to twist to the right. Keep the right hip anchored to the floor and you’ll feel a stretch in the outer hip. With every inhalation, grow taller, and with every exhalation twist deeper.
Repeat on the opposite side.
When you have done all the postures, sit tall in a comfortable seat with your eyes closed. Close the right nostril and breathe in through the left side, then close the left nostril and breath out through the right. Close the left nostril, breathe in through the right and out through the left. Continue alternate nostril breathing for 2 to 3 minutes. Lie down on your back and take a rest.
Even though I don’t usually get sick, I thought it would be a good idea to try the above 3 poses. It’s been more than 20 years since I’ve done any yoga. Believe me, it showed; I was as clumsy and stiff as a log and very angry at myself for having neglected this very healthy mode of exercising.
So, I’ll suggest a brief yoga program for you next week.
See you then.
