
It’s back!.... if you stand still, close your eyes and listen, you will hear it: the horrible haunting sound of a hacking cough. Some poor soul over in the other aisle, or possibly right beside you is coughing and threatening to spit out a lung.
There are a couple of things you can count on in the fall of every year coming around as soon as school goes back in. The inevitable cold and flu bugs.
It is time to revisit the preventative measures for colds and flus. My hubby, Brian swears by Buckleys, if anyone says they feel sick, he passes his fondness for this product on to anyone. I am not a taker, and if you also reluctantly decline, then keep reading.
The following are my favorite effective cold and flu chasers: (from my time in the Health Food industry and the MS Society)
1) Oscillococcinum –Europe’s #1 flu fighter. Homeopathic, safe for everyone, including children and it can be taken while on other medications and does not interfere with them. Europe has 3 stages of medical intervention: #1) homeopathy 2) herbal 3) antibiotics. Homeopathy is a whole other blog article and is safe for everyone. Available in health food stores, Superstore and certain drug stores now carry it.
Oscillococcinum – the best way to take it is right at the beginning of a cold or flu, if you feel something might be trying to attack you, take it! The package contains little plastic vials filled with tiny pellets. You open up a one vial and dissolve all of the pellets under your tongue – they have no taste. If I feel like something is attacking, I take it 3 times on the first day and 95% of the time I do not get sick. It can stop colds/flu right in their tracks! For little ones you can dissolve the pellets into water and drop it into their mouths. During this season, I always have a box on hand.
2) Olive Leaf – capsules. Olive leaf is a natural antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal. At the beginning of the school year, I used to give all of my family one a day when cold and flu season started. If they started to get sick, I upped it to 2 or 3 (warning too much is not always a good thing and could cause diarrhea).

3) Oil of Oregano is certainly an option. I personally think it tastes awful. You can get capsules or liquid and if you cannot swallow either, you can rub the oil into your skin or on the soles of your feet and it can be absorbed that way, a great way for children and babies, but be warned - you will smell like Italian food or pizza for the rest of the day.
I am also an advocate for extra Vitamin D especially since we live in Canada and the sun exposure in the winter wanes and the cold keeps us inside. The MS Society recommends that adults take 4,000 IU of Vitamin D per day. This helps boost the immune system, your bone health and helps with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Toxicity of Vitamin D supplements starts after taking 10,000 IU/day therefore 4,000 is safe, but please check with your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking other medications.
Remember to up your Vitamin C intake as well – bell peppers, papaya, broccoli, brussel sprouts, strawberries and pineapple have the some great amounts of Vitamin C - more than oranges.
Stay healthy and warm!