I began to feel the onset of a cold last night, so I promptly went to sleep, hoping that a full night’s rest would have me energized and symptom free in the morning. As Murphy’s Law would have it, I woke up with the full brigade of cold symptoms.

Although my everyday active life is hindered, sick days bring one positive: the unobstructed ability to lounge all day. With mine I always take on the task of some sort of viewing marathon, whether it be a movie series or a television series. This time around I’m feeling extra bold with BOTH the LOTR trilogy and all 7 Harry Potters.

About halfway through The Fellowship of the Ring, I thought to myself, how do these bad ass mofo’s deal with the common cold? Then I remembered it’s a fictional movie set in Middle Earth and therefore my question is completely irrelevant. Regardless, I began researching cold remedies and found quite the variety.

The TWO universal procedures in dealing with a cold.
1) Drink lots of fluids (avoid caffeine, soda, alcohol; as you need to stay hydrated)
2) Get lots of rest (your body gets taxed battling the cold, there’s no need to      exert it anymore then it already is)

The rest of these remedies that follow are not necessarily fool-proof, simply a compilation of either ancient remedies or new science.

The Common THREE
1) Vitamin C
2) Echinacea
3) Ginseng (the ingredient in Cold-FX)
Growing up I was always loaded up with these three substances and they are by far the most common remedial pills relied on by consumers. With my father being a pharmacist, there is no shortage of these things around the house and they are always the most plentiful in the care package I bring over every September.

THREE Less Common Remedies to Try

1) Eat Big
There is an old saying that goes “feed a cold, starve a fever.” When you wake up feeling sick and congested, the last thing you want is to crush back a Grand Slam at Denny’s. A recent study in Holland examined the effect that a large breakfast can have on your body’s response to the cold virus. Their findings revealed that a person who has a massive 1,200 calorie breakfast has 450% more antiviral agents in their blood (while those who skip breakfast lose 17% of these agents). Although I skipped breakfast this morning, I’ve stocked my shelves with oatmeal, yogurt, and eggs for tomorrow.

2) Drink Tea
While all caffeine-free tea is great for a cold; it relieves nasal congestion, prevents dehydration, and soothes the uncomfortably inflamed membranes that line your nose and throat, nothing beats the tea of the green variety. That’s right, green tea makes its first of many sure to be appearances on this blog. It was actually a study in Canada which found green tea to work against the cold virus and stop it from replicating. Flushing your body out with that miracle green stuff can make the difference between a cold that lasts for several days and the cold which is gone in less than two. I got my water boiling right now, ready to brew up my third cup of decaf green of the day.

3) Garlic
Garlic has been a popular at home remedy for years. The cold fighting compound is called allicin, which has demonstrated both antibacterial and antifungal properties. Allicin’s effect is maximized when it’s raw, so although cooking garlic brings out a nicer flavour, it’s not so good for fighting that cold. The full effect is achieved by tossing a raw clove directly in your mouth, but beware of that bad breath which lingers for hours. I tried it once but promised both myself and my girlfriend I would never do it again. This time around I’ve resorted to garlic in pill form, we’ll see how it fairs to the real thing…

From all the remedies I came across, these were the most prominent, as well as backed by actual studies. Let us never forget the age old remedy of chicken noodle soup, which is perhaps the best one out there. I have a grad party on Thursday, so I’m rolling through all these remedies as well as some Zinc lozenges and Astralagus root extract (why the fuck not?) I’m no doctor, just first year med school, so we’ll see how it goes.