“I’m sick, can you make me an onion sandwich please?”

1. Cut out the sugar. Just one teaspoon of sugar will lower the activity of your infection fighting white blood cells by 80% by up to 6 hours.

2. Have some chicken soup!  There have been a few studies on the validity of chicken soup to help cure the cold! In 2000 Dr. Stephen Rennard of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha,   conducted laboratory tests to determine why chicken soup might hel p colds, beginning with his wife’s homemade recip e, handed down by her Lithuanian grandmother. Using blood samples from volunteers, he showed that the  soup inhibited the movement of neutrophils, the most common type of white blood cell that defends against infection. Dr. Rennard  theorizes that by inhibiting the migration of these infection-fighting cells in the body, chicken soup essentially helps reduce upp er respiratory cold symptoms. 

3. Make an onion sandwich!  Onions are high in quercetin, a bioflavonoid and potent antioxidant found in plants, where it functions to help them survive harsh weather conditions, warding off infections and blight. Quercetin has strong antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral properties. When we “catch a cold”, 80% of  colds are caused by viruses. Viruses overwhelm the immune system with toxins and inflammation depleting the body’s natural stores o f antioxidants but quercetin can reduce the oxidative damage and stop the virus’s replication system. 

In fact,  in a study published in American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology, seven days of pre-treatment with quercetin caused mice to be significantly more resistant to influenza when researchers inoculated them with it after inducing them to exercise to fatigue. The study involved exercise because researchers wanted to see if  quercetin supplementation could overcome the temporary immune-suppressant effect of strenuous activity. In fact, it did; the results  demonstrated that quercetin neutralized this effect, causing the supplemented mice to be more resistant to influenza. 

In a double-blind clinical trial published in 2010 in Pharmacology Research, scientists wanted to explore the effectiveness of 500- and 1000-mg doses of quercetin against upper respiratory tract infections. Quercetin-supplemented subjects over age 40 who rated themselves as physically fit – and who took the 1,000-mg dose for twelve weeks – experienced a significant 36 percent reduction in the severity of respiratory tract infections. They also reported a 31 percent reduction in sick days due to colds.

In a 2012 study published in Phytotherapy Research, researchers treated mice with quercetin for six days after the mice had been infected with Influenza A virus. Viral concentrations in the lungs were found to be an amazing 2,000 times lower than levels in mice that had not been treated. And, the levels were two times lower than levels in mice treated with oseltamivir, a pharmaceutical medication marketed as Tamiflu. So onions outperformed the flu medication!

The National Onion Association discussed a recent study from the Netherlands that showed that people who ate onions absorbed twice as much quercetin as those who drank tea, and more than three times as much quercetin as those who ate apples, which are other high-quercetin sources. Red onions are especially high in quercetin, according to the association. Shallots and yellow onions are also good options. White onions contain the least amount of quercetin and other antioxidants. An apple has 10 mg of quercetin, whereas an onion has just over 100 mg. Quercetin supplements are available in pill, capsule or liposomal form. Some naturopathic physicians advise a dosage of 1,000 mg of quercetin a day for increased immunity against infection.

4. Take Andrographis.

What if cutting out sugar, drinking chicken soup and eating an onion sandwich  don’t cut it? My favorite cough, cold, sinus, bronchitis, pneumonia formula is Andrographis Plus from Metagenics. One patient was hospitalized for a week with pneumonia, had been on three weeks of antibiotics and the Andrographis took care of it! You have to hop on  it FAST. Ideally, in the first 24 hours you feel sick, take some Andrograph is Benefits:  Features Andrographis paniculata, an herb traditionally used in Ayurvedic formulas for supporting upper respiratory, liver, and immune system health*     Delivers (Emblica officinalis), a vitamin C-rich fruit, which supplies antioxidant and revitalizing properties *   Includes a specialized preparation of herbs, including mulberry leaf and apricot seed extracts, traditionally used in Chinese medicine to support  lung health * 

6. Try an Immune IV at Flourish Marin Medical –  this is a one hour long IV that will help your immune system finally get you over the hump of the flu and onto vibrant health. It’s loaded with Vit. C, a powerful antioxidant that boosts the immune system and raises natural killer cell activity, magnesium sulfate which helps with bro nchospasm, selenium and zinc which act to stop viral and bacterial replication, B 100 complex,  B12, B6 to help the adrenals, thymus extract and the amazing antioxidant glutathione which helps the brain and liver. Get back on your feet in half the time! 

My wish for you is that with these tips you don’t have to get derailed with a cold or flu again this year.