For centuries humankind has struggled, reached for the stars, dove into chemistry, hot tubs, hot toddies, saunas, chicken soup, tea with lemon and a whole host of local, old time folklore remedies searching for a cure for the common cold and flu. Modern science has come up with a number of ways to deal with those nasty symptoms, many of which work. Unfortunately the complete rudeness of what those remedies do to your body makes you wonder which is worse, the sickness or the cure. At the end of the day, colds and flu are a fact of life for all human beings. Sad that these two curses should be among the few things that all people from all cultures have in common!

Our best hope for colds and flu is prevention. Good eating habits, plenty of exercise, lots of rest and stress reduction are key elements to prevention of colds and flu. Everyone knows that! There are also vitamins and minerals that help your immune system fend off such viruses. Those are Vitamin C, (pretty standard) and Zinc! Didn't know that? You might want to jot that down in your current notes. Zinc and Vitamin C are a powerful combination that supports your body's ability to fend off viral invaders of all kinds, including colds and flu. For men, it also promotes prostate health in case that matters. Many feel that Echinacea can be useful as well, I won't argue that, but I'm a little concerned about its impact on the liver. More needs to be known about this powerful herb before I'm comfortable using it regularly.

HOWEVER, once you start to get cold or flu symptoms, it's too late for prevention and all those vitamins and minerals you forgot to take won't help you now. Your Alka-Seltzer Cold Plus and Thera-Flu can help you realize that you are NOT going to die today even though your immanent demise feels like an absolute certainty. At this point, the best you can do is make yourself feel comforted. That where all those Wife's Tales remedies come in very handy indeed. All of the ones I mentioned above have a long history of filling that function.

One such Wife Tale remedy that has worked well for me is a tea made with Cayenne Pepper (? teaspoon) and Golden Seal powder (a pinch more than that). I call this concoction "Terrible Tea". If you decide to try it for yourself you will instantly understand my name for it. This stuff tastes NASTY in a way that you are not likely prepared for. However, the up side is that this combination has a tendency to reduce toxins in your blood stream, settle your stomach and,,,well,,, test your gag reflex in the process!

It is NOT a cure! There is no such thing. But the action of these two herbs enhances your body's ability to attack the virus by reducing the other things your immune system needs to do while you're sick. For me, it seems to shorten the length of time that I'm sick by a little bit. Not much, but when you are so miserable that you're praying for a quick and merciful death, every little bit helps.

For those of you candy-asses out there who can't handle a little bad taste, you can ad some honey, lemon and milk to the tea to make it a little more palatable. It's still going to taste nasty, but perhaps it won't make you gag!

And, finally, for those of you who prefer to leave such concoctions to the chemists and herbologists I'll be happy to sell you a pre-made solution to almost any minor ailment you might encounter, including colds and flu, at my website. Please stop by for more information about "Natural" and "Alternative" remedies for common ailments. We'll be happy to fix you right up!

Much Love,

Gregory