A variety of vitamins, medicines, foods can help prevent colds

Before spring showers bring May flowers, winter showers bring colds and flu.

On average, a person may get three to six colds a year, according to Earl Mindell, author of Earl Mindell’s Food as Medicine.

For people who find themselves interacting with a constant source of germs — other people’s — there are ways to improve the odds against catching a cold.

Greg Lauterbach, owner of Harvest Health & Coffee in Fremont, has general recommendations from an alternative health angle.

Lauterbach emphasizes the importance of boosting the immune system to prevent a cold or the flu.

“Building up vitamin C is the key,” he said.

Vitamin C increases a person’s resistance against infection. Ester C is a form of vitamin C that is gentler on the stomach since it is less acidic.

There are also garlic pills, which “kill bacteria and also boost the immune system,” Lauterbach said.

Finally, foods can help prevent colds, such as certain Asian mushrooms, specifically shiitake, reishi and maitiake. Lauterbach notes, however, that the ordinary mushroom purchased at the grocery store does not help prevent colds or flu.

If attempts at preventing a cold have failed, Lauterbach recommends more vitamin C. By the time a person has caught a cold, “that’s when the immune system is low and you want to pump more (vitamin C) to get yourself up and running.”

A good supplement with vitamin C is green tea. In addition to being an antioxidant, green tea assists the body in retaining vitamin C, according to Mindell.

Lauterbach also said that if the body is dehydrated from the stomach flu or sweating from a fever, green tea returns much-needed water and electrolytes.

The two most popular items for cold and flu at Harvest Health are Wellness Formula and Deep Health. Wellness Formula works on the immune system and cuts down the duration of an illness. Deep Health, a multi-herb formula, breaks down in the body’s system in six minutes, he said.

If the flu sufferer is taking antibiotics, Lauterbach recommends acidophilus as a complement. While antibiotics kill off all bacteria, both good and bad, “acidophilus puts friendly bacteria back in your system,” he said.

The friendly bacteria can work against the harmful bacteria.

As for more specific symptoms that come with colds and flu, sore throats can be alleviated by taking zinc, and slippery elm for mucus, sore throat and congestion. Eucalyptus essential oil also can relieve congestion by putting the recommended number of drops in a vaporizer. Or instead of a vaporizer, one can breathe in the essential oil by putting drops in a steaming kettle and draping a towel over the head and steam.

“Echinacea golden seal will cut down the duration of a cold although not for a virus,” he said.

Lauterbach said, however, that it should not be taken for more than 10 days.

Some of these alternative products can have side effects. Lauterbach warns that too much vitamin C can cause diarrhea.

“But the diarrhea will subside with a lower dosage,” he said.

The side effect of garlic?

“It keeps the bugs and your friends away,” Lauterbach said with a laugh.

The key to finding the alternative health products or foods to try depends on the individual.

“One person’s cold is different from another’s,” Lauterbach said. “You have to do your own research and find what works for you.”

Lauterbach recommends a gradual approach to alternative health products.

“If you start by taking 20 pills, you don’t know what works for you,” he said.

Twenty pills can also make you sick.

“Don’t overdo it,” he said. “Focus on one thing and then build up.”

As a testament to the potential success of alternative health products, Lauterbach said, “We have teachers who come in here fine, but their classes are shut down. They’ve got good immune systems.”

Finally, Lauterbach offers age-old remedies not necessarily purchased at Harvest and Health: tea, soups and lots of rest.