Believe it or not, one of the top ways to treat a head cold naturally is to look at what you are eating. Many foods, herbs, and spices can help heal your body and help you recover from the cold more quickly, while other foods are bad for you and tend to worsen your symptoms. So, how do you treat the common cold at home with some simple home remedies and dietary changes?
What is the Common Cold?
Most common cause of doctor visits and missed days from school and work. 1 billion colds per year in the US alone.
Common cold is a recurrent illness because new cold viruses constantly develop. Cold viruses are common and recur frequently.
Rhinovirus infection rates peak from September to November, and March to May. More than 200 different types of viruses are known to cause the common cold.
Symptoms of the common cold may include cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and sneezing.
Why Can’t I take an Antibiotic for a Cold?
Antibiotics are only recommended for bacterial infections.
Antibiotics are designed to kill bacteria, which is why they are not suitable for treating viral infections. A virus causes a cold, and antibiotics will not do anything to help you recover.
How Long Will it Take to Heal a Cold?
Most people get better in 2 to 3 days. Sometimes a person’s symptoms can linger for up to a week, and sometimes they can even be contagious for up to two weeks after symptoms have disappeared.
5 Cold Remedies That Work
1. Avoid Dairy Foods
Treating a cold at home can be done with some simple changes in your diet.
The first thing you should do if you want to eat a diet that helps with your head cold is to know what to avoid. This begins with your dairy products.
Dairy isn’t necessarily going to make your cold worse, but it can worsen some symptoms of having a head cold.
If you are getting significant congestion, phlegm, or ear infections, the dairy can actually worsen these side effects, even if you don’t necessarily have a dairy allergy.
When you get a cold, try cutting out dairy and seeing what a difference it makes. This is one of my favorite ways I tell clients how to treat a cold at home. It’s simple and effective.
2. Eat Easily Digestable Foods That Make Your Body Produce Saliva
Tart foods are great for helping the body produce more saliva.
Dry mouth can be common when you have a stuffy nose and the common cold. A dry mouth can also create an environment where you are more susceptible to bacterial infections.
Try eating fruits like oranges, cantaloupe, grapefruit, pears, apples, and kiwi. Vegetables that you can eat raw, like cucumbers, carrots, celery and lettuce, are also helpful.
3. Don’t Forget the Leafy Greens
When you have a cold, eating might not be your favorite thing, but it is still important to eat nutritious foods with many vitamins and minerals.
This includes making sure you get enough leafy greens each day. Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and collard greens contain significant fiber and nutrients that your body needs to heal more quickly.
Make a simple salad, or if you aren’t too hungry, simply blend up a smoothie with greens and fruits to get the added vitamin C.
4. Add More Garlic
Garlic is excellent for adding to your natural cold home remedies arsenal. When you are cooking meals or snacks while you have a head cold, don’t miss the chance to add a little garlic.
This is one of the best spices to have when you are sick, since garlic has natural antibacterials and antimicrobials.
These properties can actually help get rid of bacteria and viruses in your body that lead to both head colds and the flu. While it isn’t a one-stop shop for treating a cold, it definitely makes a huge difference.
You can read all about my article on the benefits of garlic as a natural treatment for the cold and flu here:
5. Eat Your Chicken Soup
Chicken soup isn’t just fine for a head cold, because it is a classic comfort food. It often contains ingredients that help support healthy detoxification in your body, give you nutrients, and allow you to keep something down that is gentle on your body.
Try to eat more chicken soup when you have a cold, so that you are eating something warm and satisfying, while getting nutrients from the chicken and veggies.
Soup in general is an excellent way to increase your liquid intake and nourish your body with nutrients when you treat the common cold.
Nourishing Soup Recipes to Try:
- Simple Butternut Squash Coconut Curry Soup
- Delicious Gut Healing Parsnip “Cream” Soup
- Simple Spicy Coconut Lentil Soup Recipe
- Healthy Spring Gluten-Free Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Easy Vegan Spring Pea Soup Recipe
Let’s Discuss How to Treat the Common Head Cold Naturally!
I hope you learned some simple remedies to treat a head cold right at home and naturally.
Let me know in the comment section below.
I would also love to hear what you think, or take a photo and tag me @Eat_Your_Nutrition on Instagram. I love seeing your photos. #EatYourNutrition #LauraVillanueva
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