Uncommonly Strong Home Remedies & Cure for Common Colds.

YOU washed your hands after every handshake. When someone sneezed, you ducked. Somehow, though, you still managed to catch the common cold, and the viruses that are partying in your upper respiratory tract are making you feel uncommonly bad: feverish, headachy, tired, and coughing, with a nose so runny that Kleenex stock has gone up 20 points since you've been sick.

Conventional doctors will tell you to take cold medicine and wait it out. Alternative practitioners, however, say that a variety of nutrients, herbs, and other remedies can rev up your virus-fighting immune system, shorten your cold (to as little as 2 to 3 days), and mute the symptoms. Many of these same treatments can help prevent colds as well.

Here is a complete cold-crushing program from Kenneth A. Bock, M.D., codirector of the Rhinebeck Health Center in Rhinebeck, New York, and the Center for Progressive Medicine in Albany, New York.
"I don't put any of my patients on all of these remedies because it's too costly and there are too many pills," he says. You'll have to experiment a bit to choose the remedies that are most effective for you. If you typically get more than one cold a season, you'll have plenty of opportunities to find out what works best.

VITAMIN C: Maximize Immunity
"Viral illnesses of all kinds increase your need for vitamin C," says Dr. Bock. The trick is to immediately saturate your body with vitamin C once you realize that you're getting a cold. You want to take enough of the nutrient so that you get the maximum immune activity to neutralize the infection, says Dr. Bock.
He recommends taking 6,000 to 12,000 milligrams of vitamin C a day for 1 week. Ideally, you should take some C every hour of the day to maintain saturated body levels. If that's inconvenient, take it in three equal doses, he advises.
If you develop loose bowels and gas, which are possible and harmless side effects of high doses of vitamin C, cut back on the amount by 1,000 milligrams a day until the intestinal upset goes away. Once you're feeling better, continue taking vitamin C; 3,000 milligrams a day will help keep colds from getting started, says Dr. Bock.

VITAMIN E: Double the Protection
"When your immune system is fighting an infection, it generates toxic by-products that make it more difficult for you to heal quickly," says Dr. Bock. Most of those by-products come in the form of free radicals, molecules that oxidize and damage your cells.

Vitamin E works in tandem with vitamin C, helping to shield your cells from oxidative damage and allowing you to recover more quickly. Dr. Bock recommends taking 400 to 800 international units (IV) of vitamin E a day for the duration of your cold. Continue to take the same
J dose afterward, because vitamin E has been shown to help prevent heart disease and many other serious health problems.

VITAMIN A: Strengthens the Mucosa
The respiratory tract is lined with cells that form a layer called the epithelium. This is a mucosal lining that helps trap cold viruses before they have a chance to make you sick. The surface is also lined with virus-neutralizing immune proteins.
At the first sign of a cold, take 50,000 to 100,000 IV of vitamin A a day, but take that level for only 5 days, warns Dr. Bock. The vitamin accumulates in the liver, and taking it for longer periods of time could be dangerous.

ZINC: Stimulate Immunity with Lozenges
Zinc lozenges may work because many Americans are deficient in this nutrient. It's also possible that zinc directly kills the cold-causing rhinovirus. (Then again, zinc lozenges may not work at all: Some scientific studies show that they work, but some show the opposite.)
Dr. Bock recommends taking four to six zinc lozenges a day, for a total dose of no more than 120 to 140 milligrams. Again, maintain that level for no more than 5 days, since taking this much zinc for an extended period may cause an imbalance in copper levels, he explains.

ECHINACEA: A Time- Tested Healer
The herb echinacea has been used for centuries to relieve colds and other upper respiratory problems. It's possible that it works by boosting the production of disease-fighting immune cells, such as phagocytes, leukocytes, and natural killer cells, explains Dr. Bock. He recommends using echinacea in capsule or tincture form.
The common advice is to take echinacea off and on-using it for a week or two, then stopping for a week or so before resuming-because of the general belief that steady use of the herb can depress immune function. Take a dose of 175 to 225 milligrams two or three times a day.

GOLDENSEAL: Soothes a Sore Throat
Even though the evidence for goldenseal's effectiveness is not as strong as the evidence for echinacea, this herb does appear to strengthen the immune system. It also seems to combat localized viruses, which is why it is particularly good for a sore throat, says Dr. Bock.

You don't want to take goldenseal every day, he adds. Take 175 to 350 milligrams three or four times a day for 10 days to 2 weeks, starting at the first sign of a cold. "I recommend taking echinacea and goldenseal together for the duration of an upper respiratory illness," he says. GARLIC: Kills Germs Fast The evidence for the medical potency of garlic is irrefutable: Just eat a clove, then ask your friends if garlic is strong. That memorable smell is full of virus-killing molecules. You can get the benefits of garlic without the strong smell by taking deodorized garlic. The odor has been removed, but not the natural medicine. Take 15 to 30 tablets or capsules providing 300 to 500 milligrams for 5 to 7 days, says Dr. Bock.

After that, you can keep taking four to six tablets or capsules a day to help keep a cold from coming back; follow the directions on the label.

HOMEOPATHY: Worth Trying
"These remedies work extremely well in approximately one-third of my patients, work moderately well in another third, and have little or no effect in the final third," says Dr. Bock. But since homeopathic remedies are considered nontoxic, inexpensive, and potentially very effective, he adds, they're worth a try.
Dr. Bock recommends taking a remedy called Husteel, which contains a variety of homeopathic substances that are particularly good for colds and coughs. Follow the directions on the label and take it only for as long as you have the symptoms, he adds.

THYMUS EXTRACT: Put Your Hormones to Work
Supplements containing extracts of thymus gland are thought to stimulate the body to generate hormones that spark the formation of T cells, which are important virus killers. Take 350 milligrams of the extract according to label directions for 1 to 2 weeks, starting at the first sign of a cold, says Dr. Bock. Take this supplement only under the supervision of a knowledgeable medical doctor.

Magic Mushrooms.
Okay, your grandmother may say it's chicken soup. But scientists are finding that the real cold fighter may be Japanese mushrooms called maitake. These mushrooms (which some people do add to soups) contain high levels of chemicals called polysaccharides, which are believed to stimulate the immune system to unleash its arsenal of infection-fighting components, such as macrophages, natural killer cells, and T cells.

At the first sign of a cold, take 20 milligrams of a standardized liquid extract of maitake mushroom, advises Kenneth A. Bock, M.D., codirector of the Rhinebeck Health Center in Rhinebeck, New York, and the Center for Progressive Medicine in Albany, New York. Alternatively, you can take a supplement that supplies the most active ingredient in the mushrooms, beta 1,6 glucan polysaccharide, also known as maitake D-fraction.