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4 Ways to Naturally Heal Common Cold and Flu

4 Ways to Natural Heal Common Colds and FluIt’s that time of the year again when the ‘change in weather’ hits us all! Immunity levels suddenly drop, paving the way for cold, cough, flu, and body aches, which hamper our daily activities, work and physical well-being. What exactly is cold? Can you naturally heal common cold and flu? Let’s find out!

What is Common Cold?

You get a cold when a tiny living thing called a virus gets into your body. There are a hundred different types of viruses that can get you sick. Once a cold virus gets inside you, your immune system – the body’s defense against germs, launches a counter-attack. Your body’s response to the virus is what brings on the classic symptoms such as cough or a stuffed nose. The common cold is a viral, infectious disease that infects the upper respiratory system. It is also known as Acute Viral Rhinopharyngitis and Acute Coryza.

The viruses that cause common cold are contagious. You can contract them when someone who is infected sneezes, coughs, or shakes your hand. It can be spread by air droplets from coughs and sneezes and by touching infected surfaces. There are over 200 sub-types of viruses that can cause a cold with the Rhinovirus being the most common. Although colds occur more commonly during monsoon and winter, they can develop any time of the year. After a couple of weeks, at the most, your immune system fights off the illness and you should stop having symptoms.

Because there are more than 200 viruses that cause common cold, the human body can never build resistance to all of them. This is why colds are so common and often return. According to the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention), adults get 2–3 colds per year, and children may have up to 12 per year.

How Can You Naturally Heal Common Cold and Flu? 

The symptoms of common cold are the body’s reaction to the cold virus. It triggers the release of chemicals, making the blood vessels leak, causing the mucous glands to work harder. So what’s the solution? With no long-term solution to this issue, the only way is to either avoid it or treat it! Here are 4 ways to naturally heal common cold and flu.

1. Steam Therapy

Steam therapy is absolutely natural.  Our bodies are made up of 50-60% water and steam is just droplets of water.  Quite simply put, you are renewing one of your body’s natural biochemical elements.

Steam therapy or steam inhalation, is the method of introducing warm, moist air into the lungs via the nose and throat. The prime benefit of breathing in moist, warm steam is that it may help ease the feeling of irritation and swollen blood vessels in the nasal passages. The moisture may also help thin the mucus in your sinuses, which allows them to empty more easily. This can return your breathing to normal.

Ways to Use Steam Therapy

  • Traditional: Boil a few cups of water, then pour the steaming water into a large bowl.  Place gently on a firm flat surface such as a kitchen table. Put a towel over your head to form a ‘tent’. Lean over with your face 15-20cm from the steam and inhale. Eucalyptus Oil, Lavender Oil and Holy Basil Leaves can be added for extra benefit.
  • Shower: Run a hot shower and inhale the steam – you can even use few drops of essential oils to help refresh and revitalize.
  • Personal Inhalers: An easy and portable way to enjoy steam therapy on the go. A great idea for the office or holidays, inhalers are also popular with public speakers, actors and singers to help open up the airways before a performance.

2. Gargle

Gargling several times a day with warm salt water can reduce swelling in the throat and loosen mucus. This helps in flushing out irritants or bacteria. Salt water creates a high-salt barrier and pulls out a lot of fluids from the tissues in the throat area. This helps in washing the virus out. The salt functions as a magnet for water. It’s good for symptomatic relief.

It’s best to use pure water because tap water often includes chlorine. One can also add Turmeric juice or powder to have an antiseptic effect. One can gargle every 4 hours if the cough/cold is troublesome.

3. Maintain Hydration Levels

Drinking plenty of fluids is one of the most important things you can do when you have a cold or flu. Because cold and flu symptoms like runny noses and sweating, which often accompanies fever, increase the amount of water your body loses. Dehydration might occur if your fluid intake is not increased to compensate.

Keeping your body hydrated also helps loosen mucus in your nose and relieve congestion. Staying hydrated ensures that the body can function properly and can defend itself more effectively against the cold or flu.

When you have a cold or flu, drink a minimum of 2 liters of fluid each day. Drink water or other healthy fluids whenever you are thirsty. Use your thirst as a guide to when and how much you should drink. If you are caring for a child who is over one year, ensure they drink a minimum of 90–120ml of fluid per hour. Babies under one year require at least 30–60ml fluid per hour. Pregnant women should increase their fluid intake to up to 2.50L per day.

Try these herbal concoctions:

  • Herbal Tea: In a glass of boiling water, add a pinch of cinnamon, a few holy basil leaves, crushed ginger and a few crushed black peppercorns. Add honey and drink while hot.
  • Carom  Seeds Infused Water: Boil Carom Seeds in water. Strain and add Jaggery powder. This helps in relieving cough and congestion.
  • Garlic Concoction: Combine 2-4 cloves, chopped garlic and 3-4 slices of fresh ginger with 1 cup of water. Cover and let it steep for at least 20 minutes. Add honey and lemon to taste. Drink it while it is lukewarm.
  • Licorice Tea: Boil a 1/2inch piece of licorice + 1/2 tsp grated ginger and 1/2 spoon of cinnamon in 1 cup water for 10 mins. Strain and drink.
  • Raw Turmeric Drink: Boil a 1 inch piece of raw Turmeric or a 1/4 tsp of turmeric powder for 5 minutes. Add ginger juice/honey and consume.
  • Green Tea and Chamomile Tea
  • Soups: Vegetable soup/chicken soup/clear soup/chicken broth, lemon coriander soup, garlic spinach soup, tomato fennel soup or veg broth – all work well. A hot bowl of soup helps break up the congestion associated with both common cold and flu. The salt in the soup and its warmth can soothe a sore throat.

4. Rest

Rest is the best treatment! When you have a cold or flu, doctors recommend plenty of bed rest. When you limit mobility/take rest, your body has more resources to fight off your illness. Your body temperature goes up if you remain very active. Flu and cold organisms replicate at a faster rate when the body gets hotter. Also, if you head to the office when you are sick, the stress of work can make it hard for your body to attack the illness.

Do not over-exert yourself. You can do light intensity workout if you have the energy, your symptoms are mild such as just a runny nose, or if you have been fever free for more than 48 hours.

  • Avoid Exercise: When you have fever, body aches, cough, vomiting, diarrhea or chronic health concerns such as asthma /heart diseases.
  • Best Exercises: Walking, yoga or a light jog. All these stimulate you to take deep breaths and can help open up clogged passages.
  • Worst Exercises: Endurance runs, machines at gym and weight lifting.

We hope this information helps you naturally heal common cold and flu symptoms! Find more home remedies and articles on staying healthy during monsoon here. You can also get these tips, and more, directly from a GOQii Coach by subscribing for GOQii’s Personalized Health Coaching here.

Have a personal remedy of your own? Share it with us in the comments below!

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A Quick 6 Minute Workout You Can Do Anywhere

fitness

With the gloomy weather and continuous downpour, it can get difficult to venture out to get some of that essential exercise. But don’t let the heavy rainfall keep you from working out. Get fit at home with this quick 6 minute workout! It is designed to help you reap all the benefits of a workout using only your body weight, a chair and a wall. You won’t need any special equipment and can perform this routine anywhere! We’d say it’s perfect for a rainy day!

The Quick 6 Minute Workout

  1. Jumping Jacks: This classic cardio move is a great way to warm up. It improves strength and endurance, increases metabolic rate, burns calories and is great for your heart and lungs as well!
  2. Wall Sit: Wall Sits are great in working out the two groups of muscles in your thighs. Repetitions of Wall Sits would naturally give you thighs that can withstand prolonged strenuous activities.
  3. Push-Ups: work many muscle groups at the same time, giving your body a full workout! You can work the quads, hamstrings, calves, chest, shoulders and arms all at the same time with a few push-ups. It stimulates metabolism and blood circulation, allowing you to burn more calories throughout the rest of your workout.
  4. Abdominal Crunch: Crunches work on the Rectus Abdominis Muscles. It is a core working exercise and burns less calories comparatively but, they move in a controlled manner, flexing and releasing the core muscles, thus helping you build abs.
  5. Step Up Onto Chair: This exercise is great for targeting your quad and Gluteus Maximus Muscles, giving you strong, powerful legs.
  6. Squats: are great for a total lower body workout. They effectively work most of the major muscle groups of the butt, hips and thighs. Squats are also a versatile exercise. Squats engage the core muscles of the body. The result is a tighter, flatter abdomen and a stronger lower back.
  7. Triceps Dips On Chair: It is a triceps-strengthening and a most effective body-weight exercise. Dips target your triceps – the muscles on the back of your upper arm.
  8. Planks: help in strengthening the midsection, upper-body and lower-body muscles along the front of your body. Planks also strengthen the inner core muscles that support your joints. It helps in reducing belly fat and back pain. At a time, it works on all your core muscles.
  9. High Knees Running: This is a nice warm-up. High Knees Running on Spot is good practice for runners and athletes to improve running form and develop lower body muscles. It also enhances your strength, speed, balance and flexibility. What’s more? It provides you more energy, burns calories, builds muscles and enhances blood circulation.
  10. Lunges: are easy-to-learn, safe and an incredibly effective exercise. Lunges target the quadriceps, but involve additional muscles, including the glutes, hamstrings, calves and core muscles, making them an important exercise for toning the lower body.
  11. Push-Up & Rotation: This exercise is great for building shoulder stabilization and strengthening your entire core. Don’t let your hips drop when you go into side rotation. Try to keep everything in a straight diagonal line throughout.
  12. Side Plank: works your entire core but particularly targets an often weak muscle called the Quadratus Lumborum. It helps to reduce risk for lower back pains, improves your balance and structure.

Perform the above exercises in rapid succession with 20 seconds for each exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest in between. Don’t forget to stretch before you begin!

These 6 minutes that you will give to your body and your health are equal to 0.5% of your day! So go out there and get fit the HIIT way! Don’t forget to leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Find more exciting, quick workouts and fitness related articles here. You can also tune in to our live, interactive classes on GOQii PRO, where our certified fitness experts will guide you on the correct form and posture in real time, while making sure that you are well motivated! Book a class now from the GOQii App.

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Don’t Be Bitten! Fight the Mosquito Bite!

mosquitoBetaab, a 12 year old, cheerful and active boy loved playing with his friends in the evening. One fine day, he caught a fever with chills. His parents thought it was mere fever due to overexertion. However, soon the fever spiked, and he had to rush to the emergency department at the hospital. His condition was serious. He was suffering from dengue, with an extremely low platelet count.

There are numerous such cases where fever conditions are ignored, especially post monsoons. Many of us think that mosquito borne diseases will go away after the rains! This is not true. Mosquitoes breed in clean, stagnant waters.

That little flying mosquito at houses, in the parks seem harmless, but a few species from these are considered to be extremely harmful. Areas with hot & humid climatic conditions are worse affected by mosquitoes since it provides the apt atmosphere for breeding.

While it’s impossible to identify mosquitoes and their breed with naked eyes, it is best to know they can be dangerous! Having these creatures in and around your vicinity can be dangerous for your health as well.

Diseases & Symptoms

  1. Dengue: Its symptoms include high fever, rashes, headache, muscle and joint ache as well as serious bleeding in certain cases.
  2. Chikungunya: The symptoms of this disease include fever, joint pain initially followed by muscle pain, headaches, fatigue and even a rash.
  3. Malaria: is a life threatening disease that plagues 219 million people in 87 different countries every year. Symptoms are first seen a couple of weeks after the bite, and they include chilling sensations, fever and excess sweating.
  4. Japanese Encephalitis: Common in rural and agricultural areas of Asia and the west Pacific, this disease can cause brain swelling and sudden headaches. It is not a long term disease, but in the short period, may even cause high fever and disorientation. A vaccine is available, which has a 90% effectiveness rate.
  5. Zika: While the epidemic is over, you must be aware of this disturbing virus. It can cause a fever, rashes, joint pains and red eyes. All of this may be accompanied by prolonged fatigue, loss of appetite, headache and vomiting.
  6. Lymphatic Filariasis: Spread through parasitic worms on mosquitoes, this disease, also known as Elephantiasis plagues a significant number of people across the country. While a lot of the cases may be symptomless, and hard to spot, in the long run, this disease leads to extreme swelling in the legs, arms and genitals.
  7. Kala-Azar: Also known as Black Fever, this disease is carried by infected sandflies. While treatment is possible, if untreated, it can be fatal. About 5000 cases are reported every year in the subcontinent alone. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, swelling of the liver, and loss of appetite.

What Can Be Done About Mosquito Bites?

mosquito

  1. Drain any long standing water: Check flower pots, gutters, bird bath, etc. Ensure there is no water collected inside or near your house. Mosquitoes breed in clean stagnant water.
  2. Many people collect water in the fear of not getting water. This collected clean water is often forgotten overtime and becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
  3. Prevent mosquitoes from coming inside your house. Try using screens on windows, and nets on the bed.
  4. While you cannot stop children from playing outside, make them use the mosquito repellent.
  5. Use Natural Repellents: My grandmother swears by using mustard oil instead of a repellent. Neem oil, putting the Neem oil on a dispenser also seems to act as an excellent organic repellent. See what suits your skin!
  6. Colours, odors and other smells seem to have an impact on attracting the mosquitoes! Since we can’t change that about our bodies, it is best to wear loose, covered clothing during the high breeding seasons.
  7. Citronella mosquito repellent plant, (Citrosum plants) help repel mosquitoes. This plant grows in the form of grass and is 5 to 6 feet tall. It can be planted in the ground or can be kept in large pots.

In case if you notice a high fever along with chills, rashes/ body ache or any bleeding tendencies consult your physician for a correct diagnosis & management. Remember to hydrate yourself (or the person impacted), try to keep the body temperature low by using wet-cold packs on the forehead. While these are emergency measures, it is best to avoid getting into such a situation and taking the necessary precautions.

Prevention is the cure in such situations!

We hope this article helps you stay safe! Do share your thoughts in the comments below! For more on prevention, preventive healthcare and healthy living, check out Healthy Reads. To get guidance and motivation from experts, subscribe to GOQii’s Personalised Health Coaching here.

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Healthy Eating: Sauerkraut (Fermented Cabbage)

sauerkrautNothing is more important and essential than maintaining immunity and proper gut health. If you are seeking good immunity and gut health, you should definitely try this Sauerkraut recipe. While it originated in China over 2000 years back, it is very popular in Germany. It’s basically chopped cabbage that undergoes anaerobic fermentation and gives you major health benefits. It can be a side dish to your main meals or you can add it to your meats and sandwiches.  

What You Will Need: 

  • Raw Cabbage – 1
  • Mason Jar – 1 (750 ml to 1 L)
  • Pink Salt or Normal Salt –  1-2 tbsp

How To Prepare:

  1. Take a medium sized cabbage and remove the outer leaves and keep them aside. Cut the cabbage into 4-5 pieces and remove the white core.
  2. Shred the cabbage or chop it in a food processor. We need it really thin and finely chopped.
  3. Take a big mixing bowl, add the cabbage to it.
  4. Add the salt. Salt will stop the breathing of any unhealthy micro-organism and will start the formation of lactobacillus bacteria which will help us in this fermentation.
  5. Mix the cabbage and salt well with your hands for a few minutes and then keep it aside for 7-10 min to allow the brine to ooze out. Let it set in the bowl.
  6. Pound the cabbage for a few minutes to allow any more liquid to ooze out, hit it well.
  7. Take a glass jar which is clean, freshly washed and pack the cabbage very tightly.
  8. Clean your hands and start keeping the cabbage in the jar. After adding some, take a wooden spatula or glass and push it in to avoid any air pockets between the cabbages. Repeat the process till the cabbage is over.
  9. Now, take the outer cabbage leaf and tuck it over the cabbage kept in the jar just like you are covering it hard to not allow any air.
  10. Next, add the brine we collected after mashing the cabbage, leave the top 1 inch of the jar free, do not pack it with brine tightly.
  11. Close the lid of the Mason jar (it is okay to close the jar not very tight so that the cabbage can breathe) and keep it in a bowl, there are chances of liquid oozing out after fermentation starts.
  12. Keep this for 3 days and then you can refrigerate and eat it. It should be a bit yellow and tangy.

Highlights of the Sauerkraut Recipe 

  • Eat this with every meal to improve digestion and add in good microbes.
  • It has a very long shelf life and a great way to boost immunity.
  • 70-80 % of your immunity is located in your gut and hence, it is very important to keep an eye on what you are eating. This is the best probiotic, just like curd, to help you with it.
  • Sauerkraut is enriched with nutrients, minerals and a lot of fiber. Apart from boosting immunity and digestion, it can aid weight loss, helps in stress reduction, improving brain health, may reduce risk of cancer and promote good heart health.

We hope you enjoy this Sauerkraut recipe. Do try it out and leave your thoughts in the comments below. Find more healthy recipes here. You can also get recipes customized to your health goals by speaking to a GOQii Coach. Download the app and subscribe to Personalised Health Coaching here to get started!  

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