COLDS AND FLU: PREVENTIVE MEASURES
• When it comes to ‘flu the situation is similar but more serious. It is probably best to let the fever take its natural course and not to suppress it with aspirin. Hot, herbal teas are good because of their calming effect whereas ordinary tea and coffee are stimulants. Chamomile, lemon balm, coltsfoot, elder and vervain are all useful. Vegetable and fruit juices are good too. Garlic and cayenne pepper both induce sweating and should be used with lemon juice-all rich in vitamins and bioflavonoids.
Go to bed and sweat it out. Rest completely. This is the best cure for the immediate symptoms and a preventive against complications. If your temperature goes over 102°F get someone to sponge you with tepid water and favour cooling drinks rather than hot ones.
Large doses of vitamin Ñ (see above) are also indicated, as is vitamin A. Research from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that a folate (one of the  vitamins) deficiency hindered white blood cells multiplying and was associated with an increased susceptibility to infections generally. Vitamin E also plays a vital role in combating infections.
The role of zinc in the functioning of the immune system is now well documented. Even marginal reductions in zinc levels in the body produce quite serious damage to the immune system and it is reckoned that many, if not most, westerners are short of zinc as a result of modern food processing.
Most people do not feel like eating much when they have a cold or ‘flu but this does not matter as long as the liquids and vitamin supplements are kept up.
Work done by Dr Szent-Gyorgyi, the Nobel laureate who first isolated vitamin C, suggests that wheat germ potentiates the effects of vitamin C. In a series of very complex experiments he found that it was the trace element manganese in the wheat-germ that triggered this reaction. He maintains that any plant food will improve the activity of vitamin Ñ in the body but that ideally an ounce or two of wheat germ per day is needed. This could be of special interest to heavy drinkers, smokers, diabetics and those who take a lot of aspirin because all these people need more vitamin Ñ than average.
Other general preventive measures include:
• Stop smoking. Smoke irritates the lining of the respiratory system with provable ill-effects. Smokers provably have more colds than do non-smokers and also have more sinusitis. Air pollution from many sources destroys vitamin A so it makes sense not to smoke for this reason alone.
• With central heating and air conditioning, most homes and buildings today are dry, and this predisposes to colds and flu.
A study done in Canadian kindergartens and nursery schools found that those without humidifiers had 40 per cent higher absenteeism than those with them. The workers also found that the staff of un-humidified hospitals had 10-15 per cent more sickness absenteeism for colds and ‘flu than did staff at a humidified hospital.
Domestic humidifiers are not expensive and are well worth buying. An interesting study in a Welsh cheese factory found that those working in a cold, damp room had half the colds of those working in the rest of the factory.
• Research has not proved a link between getting cold or getting wet and suffering from colds and ‘flu.
• Undoubtedly, people who are happy and eating well are less likely to suffer from these (and indeed other) infections than are the unhappy or depressed. There is now a considerable body of research proving that stress and unhappiness depress the body’s immune systems.
• One bout of a cold gives immunity for only a few days, so keep away from others who have a cold if you can, or you could go through it all again. This is particularly important in the elderly and in those whose resistance to infection is poor.
• If you have more than three or four colds per year you should see your doctor because you may have an underlying condition that makes you more susceptible to infections. Most likely your faulty diet, low in vitamins Ñ and D and zinc, is to blame.
• Flu vaccination is not a widely used preventive and is usually only given to those who are at special risk such as doctors, nurses, firemen and policemen and women. Some experts think that the elderly should be vaccinated because they can become so ill with ‘flu. If you have a severe chest condition such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema ‘flu can be a much more serious illness. Talk to your doctor about vaccination.
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