My Cure for the Common Cold

As today was the first official day of snow for the season and both of my dormitory neighbors have pneumonia, I figured I ought to hunker down with some immune boosters before the inevitable happens.  

The first on my quick-fix cold list is Airborne!  When a predictable 10hrs of sleep are just not going to happen, 1,667% of your daily value of Vitamin C + Zinc seems to make up the difference.  I could explain the science behind why Vitamin C and Zinc are critical for the immune system to function, but frankly I am sure most of you would not actually read it.  Nevertheless, my favorite flavor is lemon-lime.  Never been much of an orange juice girl. 

Number two, is the ever underplayed Vitamin D.  Vitamin D is lipid soluble, so it must be taken with food--or a source of fat.  Carlson Labs does the work for you and puts it in coconut oil; plus, the Carlson Labs formula is a ridiculously high concentration.  Perfect for mole-people like myself. I get up at 7.30, it’s dark.  I return back to my dorm around 6.00, it’s dark.  I may as well move to Canada with the light-deprivation training I am receiving here.  I digress...  Vitamin D is a particularly critical component for fighting infection.  Particularly in the respiratory tract where all of our lovely major mucus membranes are located.  Our sinuses are our first line of defense people.  There is a reason my people say "cover your nose."  Although, it might be more apt to yell "duck and cover."  Particles fly far and fast, friends.

Your immune system functions optimally when Vitamin D blood levels are around 60-85ui.  In order to "roughly" figure out how much Vit D you need to consume to up your blood concentration levels to those levels, multiply your weight in pounds by 35. I take one of the 4000IU drops in the evening, plus another for good measure.  If I forget one day, I just take another dose in the morning.  It's practically impossible to overdose on Vit D, so do not be afraid to go overboard.  You would need to take at least 100,000IU to even begin to notice mal-effects.  Admittedly, the recommended daily value of Vitamin D is only 400IU.  But, that RDA standard was written a few decades ago before the recent research on Vitamin D.  400 IU is just enough to keep you from developing rickets. Take your Vitamin D, people.

My last little "cure" is shiitake mushroom tea.  I know, it sounds like a questionable remedy an Asian herbalist would give to you.  BUT, the herbalist may have something right when it comes to their 'shrooms.  Shiitakes, from what I gather, are high in a compound called lentinan, which acts as an "irritant/stimulate" for the immune system. Think of lentinan as something that pokes or tickles the immune system.  It "excites" or "revs" up the components that identify and then fight-off foreign invaders in the body.  I stick a few dried ‘shrooms in a cup of water with a tsp shoyu + tsp of rice vinegar inside my crock-pot on LOW.  Come back an hour later, add a little chopped green onion, and I have myself a rather healing beverage.  Even if the medicinal side-effects felt are low, shiitake mushroom tea just tastes good. It’s a yummy, warm alternative to regular tea during the cold/flu season.

Now I just have to stave off getting sick for 6 more weeks--when finals are over.  Let me know if any of you would like more "health" related posts.  Or if you would like more of the science in my postings.  No need for me to ramble on about something if no-one is really listening, eh?

Cheers, kaite ;]