Vitamin C

Cold and flu remedies

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Frosty cold days last week here in Dorset has prompted me to share a few of my favourite flu and cold remedies, a round-up of some easy herbals and nutrients.
Whether it’s a cold, flu or Covid there are loads of studies and articles showing how the nutrients below may work, either by shortening the duration of the infection, or by cutting down on the severity – or both.

Garlic (allium sativum)

Most of us will have a garlic bulb or two in the kitchen, ready to use if we suddenly feel a scratchy throat or the sniffles coming on.  Garlic has so much science behind it, inhibiting viral reproduction, boosting our natural killer cells that help fight infection.  Such an effective antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral.

It’s the allicin component in garlic that is responsible for its health benefits – and for its intense smell!  Interestingly, this allicin is only released when you cut into the clove (which makes me often ponder about roasted whole bulbs; delicious, but not much antimicrobial action left).

Maximum benefit is when you eat garlic raw, but that won’t always work in daily life.
When cooked, some of that allicin might remain, especially if you keep to a light, quick steam, however, garlic’s Vit C, B6 and mineral content will be reduced, literally cooked away.

Add a clove or two of garlic to stews or soups at the last minute, just before serving, to keep as many of these benefits alive.
If you’re thick with cold or flu try a garlic broth, pouring hot water over a squeezed or chopped clove, adding grated ginger and miso paste, so easy to digest.

If colds are doing the rounds, a preventative drink to make is chopping 4 garlic cloves in a large preserve jar and topping with boiling water.  Steep the garlic for about ½ hour then add lemon juice and honey, and drink warm as a ‘tea’ up to 3 or 4 times throughout the day.

Precautions:
Very high amounts, eg. a whole RAW bulb (unlikely, but good to be aware!),  can cause digestive upset, heartburn, possibly diarrhoea.

Garlic can also increase bleeding so if you’re on an anti coagulant medication or have a bleeding disorder stick to minimal amounts in cooking, and, if planning to have surgery, avoid for at least 5 days beforehand.
Garlic may interfere with some chemo or HIV drugs as it can influence liver enzymes which help the metabolism of the drug you’re taking.

If pregnant, eating garlic in meals is fine, but high doses as a capsule or tablet are not generally recommended.

Ginger (zinziber officialis)

This is my go-to for everything.  Ginger soothes aches and pains, helps alleviate nausea and digestive problems and is a great anti inflammatory.  With a sore throat, drinking hot water with chopped ginger, lemon and honey will be soothing and supportive as it’s an effective antimicrobial.  Ginger is also warming if you have chills, and it’ll help break a sweat with a fever.

The active ingredients are the gingerols, the main phenols, and shogaols, which inhibit respiratory pathogens and suppress the production of cytokines – chemicals we produce which lead to inflammation.

I like to start my day with chopped ginger in hot water, a herbal ‘tea’ I steep for 10 minutes, topping it up throughout the day and drinking either hot or cold.  This summer I made ginger ice cubes, squeezing grated ginger into the ice tray, then adding the cubes to some cold water and pomegranate juice, delicious.

Like garlic, ginger adds flavour to stews, stir fries and soups and will retain more of its health benefits if added at the last minute.
Ready-bought ginger teabags have very little gingerol in them, however dried ginger is apparently high in these beneficial phenols.  Important to find a reputable source; I recommend Steenbergs herbs and spices online store here in UK.

When full of cold or flu you may not feel like eating, however replacing the water lost from sweating is important.  The above miso broth is great as a light, nutritious and hydrating meal or snack.

Precautions:
Ginger is a safe tuber/spice although high amounts may cause reflux…or, bizarrely, nausea (which, in normal amounts, it helps prevent).
Again, like garlic, it has a mild anti coagulant effect, hence if you’re on aspirin or have a bleeding disorder avoid large amounts.
Because ginger can increase bile production large amounts could potentially aggravate gall stones especially in supplement form.

Ginger in food is safe during pregnancy and can help with morning sickness.

Thyme (thymus vulgaris)

Thyme is another herb you might have growing in the garden, or in a pot in the kitchen.  It’s easily found in most supermarkets.  Thyme has a long history in the Mediterranean as a traditional medicinal plant that’s very effective for coughs and colds.

Not only does thyme contain vitamins and minerals (like garlic and ginger) but its essential oil, thymol, found in the leaves, has powerful antimicrobial properties, especially for upper respiratory infections, working well as an extectorant (clearing mucus).

Add fresh or dried thyme to stews, soups, stir fries, or use it in an infusion.  Add one tablespoon of the herb to hot water, let steep for 15 minutes, then sieve out the leaves and either drink like that or add a little honey and/or lemon.  With an active infection, sip throughout the day to soothe coughs and calm down inflammation in the airways.

Precautions:

If you have any mint family allergies, don’t use it.
Large doses – far greater than the amounts I’ve mentioned – can also cause nausea.

Thyme essential oil should never be ingested.

Thyme in food, fresh or dried, during pregnancy is safe, but, as it may cause uterine stimulation it’s best not to infuse/drink the above thyme tea.

Echinacea purpurea

Echinacea is an excellent broad spectrum antiviral as well as an antibacterial and antifungal.  Often used to support upper respiratory infections, it works a.o. by stimulating the immune system through its bioactive phytochemicals.

Available in tincture or tablet form as well as echinacea herbal tea. The latter, however, isn’t nearly as well absorbed or immune effective.

It can be taken as a preventative, but I don’t recommend long term supplementation.  When I travel I’ll often pack a small bottle of tincture so I can stop a cold in its tracks, dosing 30 drops 3 or 4x daily (this depends on the strength of the tincture, so check the label)

As a preventative, short term, 20-30 drops once a day or 1000 mg tablet is generally the recommended dose.

Precautions:

Due to echinacea stimulating the immune system, anyone with an auto immune disease should be cautious as it could potentially cause a flare.  I’ll generally not recommend echinacea to auto immune clients unless they tell me they’ve tried it in the past and not had problems. There are enough other natural food-based antivirals to use.

If you have an allergy to ragweed or daisies, be aware that the flowering part of the Echinacea plant – not the root – can cause problems.

Ascorbic acid, aka Vitamin C

Vitamin C is probably the most researched nutrient as far as immune support goes, albeit a controversial one when it comes to dosage.

Again, like garlic and ginger, Vitamin C is shown to reduce the duration and severity of colds and flu.  It improves the function of phagocytes – a type of white blood cell that engulfs viruses and bacteria in the blood stream -, and lymphocytes, another white blood cell which fights pathogens.
It also reduces inflammation by lowering the afore-mentioned pro-inflammatory cytokines and is a fab anti oxidant (which is a substance that protects cells from free radicals generated by infection, air pollution, stress, poor diet, smoke, pesticides…)

Foods containing good amounts of Vitamin C are often red or orange-coloured, like strawberries, papaya, mango, persimmons, oranges (all citrus in fact), acerola cherries (Malpighia emarginata), cantaloupe, kiwi fruit, guava, blackcurrants, bell peppers, chili peppers, tomatoes, but also green veg like broccoli, kale, parsley, Brussel sprouts…
Adding these vegetables to your diet when you have a cold will be beneficial overall, but they won’t have the therapeutic effects of lowering cold severity and duration that a supplement will offer.

Recommended dose for prevention, tablets or powder, for adults is c 500 – 1000 mg daily.

With an active cold or flu it’s safe to double this amount, and many will add that it’s safe to take 1000 mg every 3 hours, up to 10,000mg daily.  This is very individual and research studies, pro and contra, are not always reliable or accurate, hence the controversy continues.  Many swear by higher dose C.. and just as many don’t!

Saying all that, a useful indication that you may be over-supplementing is if you reach a point where stools become loose and possibly your gut will feel ‘off’.
Not dangerous, as the body will eliminate what it doesn’t need of this water-soluble vitamin, however, it’s a useful and sure indicator that whatever dosage you reached was too high for you; simply reduce the dose next time, or try buffered Vit C which is easier on the gut.
Also, don’t panic if your urine is yellow as that is the colour of Vit C leaving your body.

Precautions:

Kidney stones (esp oxalate stones) can be worsened by high Vitamin C supplementation.   High doses may also interact with some chemo drugs and with glucose readings.

During pregnancy high doses are not recommended.

Zinc:

This trace mineral is another effective antioxidant which also works a.o. as an antiviral, inhibiting replication and blocking the virus entering the cells, especially rhino viruses.

Zinc lozenges are particularly useful for a scratchy throat.  Best to start at the first onset of symptoms, sucking 3-4 over the course of the day, however not on an empty stomach as it can make you feel nauseous.  Supplement doses vary from 15mg – 60mg, depending on the brand.

Foods containing zinc include oysters (high!), crustaceans, red meat, chicken, seeds and nuts – especially pine nuts – dairy products and some fortified cereals.  Greens and mushrooms a.o. contain some zinc as well, however none of these foods will have the same therapeutic effects as supplementation.

As a preventative in the cold season, one tablet once daily, however if you’re taking a multi be aware of the amount of zinc in it so you’re not exceeding c 60mg.

Precautions:

Zinc can interfere with some medications such as cholesterol-lowering drugs if you take high doses. Zinc has been shown to be toxic at levels around 150mg.
Many zinc nasal sprays have been removed from the market as they were shown to lead to permanent loss of smell.
Chronic overuse can cause something called zinc-induced copper deficiency anaemia which results in neurological symptoms, so treat zinc with respect!

And there we go, my round-up of cold and flu remedies which I hope you’ll find useful.

There are of course more out there such as eucalyptus oil, so good for inhaling, or black elderberry syrup.  If you have any other tried and tested favourites please share here below or on my social media pages.

Wishing you all a cold-free festive season wherever you are in the world x

(at the moment I would happily be sitting in this chair below!)

Immune health natural tool kit

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Immune health has understandably been in the spotlight since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.  We’ve all been asking the same:  how to avoid catching Sars-CoV-2, and how to have less severe symptoms if we do catch it.  Staying home, socially distancing and wearing masks will all naturally minimize exposure to any pathogen, but what else can we be doing to support our immune system?

Since nutrition is such a big part of who I am at home, and in clinic, as a functional nutritionist, I’ll always think food first.  If research has shown that we are what we eat, then being vital and thriving versions of ourselves is the first step to being immune strong.

A daily rainbow of vegetables means we can piggy back on the defence mechanisms of the plant world; support our immune systems by eating a variety of colours and tastes.   Bright colours and strong smells and tastes – just think of garlic! – are the plants’ defences that translate into antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals for us.
Ten or twelve portions of vegetables, herbs and fruit may sound a lot, but it’s not that difficult to incorporate them into daily meals.  Salads, soups, juices, stir fries, oven roast veg, or a packed steam-pot.  Variety and colour are key.  Then add to that good quality protein, healthy fats – and clean, fresh water, always – and we have an arsenal of nutrients to battle any infection.

In order to absorb and effectively use these immune-enhancing nutrients our digestion has to be working well.  In fact, with Covid-19, we need to ensure our gastrointestinal AND oral & respiratory barriers are robust and healthy.  There are specific foods, nutrients and probiotics that can help us optimize the structure of these barriers, as well as increase the diversity of our gut’s microbiome.

Sleep ourselves well!  This is a quote by Matthew Walker, sleep specialist and author of the best seller ‘Why we Sleep’ who seemed to be on every health podcast in 2020 explaining the importance of sleep to our overall health and longevity (watch him on Youtube’s Ted series, 2019 and 2020).
Walker writes about the link to immune health, stating how during sleep we not only stimulate the production of different immune factors, but the body also increases its sensitivity to those factors.  We literally wake up immune stronger after a good night’s sleep.   Reason enough to hunker down and rest if we get sick.  According to Walker and other sleep experts we should be aiming for 7 and 9 hours each night to ensure continued wellness; more if you’re a child or teen – or ill.

Being outdoors is another vital part of good health.  It has been shown to improve overall well being and more specifically our immune status.
There are so many fascinating studies focussing on our deep bond with nature.  How simply looking at the sea or forest or at birds and clouds can lower blood pressure and be an antidote to stress (‘ecopsychology’), as well as improve our immunity.
Stand in a woodland amongst trees and we’re breathing in compounds called phytoncides, the airborne antimicrobial chemicals that plants release as protection against insects.  Shinrin yoku, (directly translated to forest bathing), enhances our immune health because these phytoncides have antimicrobial properties which our bodies respond to by increasing the activity of certain cells in our white blood cell army, namely our natural killer (NK) cells which kill off virus-infected cells.

Take it a step further, literally, and we have exercise, no newcomer to playing a role in our well being.  We all now understand how exercise of any sort, when not excessive, can improve so many body systems, from circulation and heart to bones and mental health a.o.
Endorphins, such as serotonin, rise when we exercise, and these higher ‘happy’ serotonin levels are yet another antidote to the damage that stress hormones can wreak.  Stress will always undermine our immune health.

Exercise immunology is a fairly new sub discipline of exercise physiology and looks at the relationship between exercise and immune function.   In an article from The Journal of Sport and Health Science (May 2019) we can read that short bursts of exercise enhance our anti-inflammatory cytokines and natural killer (NK) cells, as well as increase neutrophils and our T cells (according to many sources including BMJ, these T cells are the actual ‘superstars’ of our white blood cell army, in the fight against Covid; BMJ 2020;370:m3563).

When outdoors exercising we are being exposed to natural light.  This in turn affects our melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep.  Being outdoors in the morning, ideally walking or exercising, exposes us to that natural light, helps set our natural clock for the day and also gives us a better sleep routine. Win-Win!
Interestingly, there have been numerous studies on melatonin during 2020 due to its antioxidant, anti inflammatory – and its immunomodulatory properties. It is being researched for potentially helping reduce the consequences of the SARS-Cov-2 infection, and studies continue on its potential antiviral action (Frontiers in Medicine. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.00226).

If we’re social distancing and eating our rainbow diet (plus protein, healthy fats, water…), sleeping well and exercising, plus trying not to get stressed by work, or lack of it, or children home-learning or the latest global disaster (or certain irritating BBC journalists reporting on Covid), but we still end up catching SARS-Cov-2, or even the common cold, what other support is there for our immune system?

So many studies and papers were published during 2020 concerning Vitamin D.   In the functional nutrition world this vitamin has been in the limelight for a number of years now due to its immune-protective properties.  So it’s been heartening to see how doctors the world over, and the NHS here in UK, are recognising its importance and recommending we check D levels and supplement if low.
It may be difficult at the moment to get vitamin D blood levels checked if in lockdown or if medical staff and clinics are overwhelmed.  There are however labs across UK, and no doubt in other countries, which can send out Vit D finger prick test kits.  Easy to do and not expensive.  Here in UK a number of NHS hospitals are offering these kits online, just have a google.
Chances are, if living in the northern hemisphere, D levels will be low given the lack of sun, which is how we make Vitamin D.  And it’s likely to be the same in the warmer southern hemisphere if people are lathered in high factor sunscreens.
Foods like oily fish, egg yolks and some fortified foods will have small amounts of Vit D, however taking D in supplement form is a good solution (although the best solution will always be supplementing after having been tested since overdosing on Vit D, although not easy to do, can potentially be dangerous).

Other star antioxidant vitamins are A, E and C.  Vitamin C has a long history of immune support, but drinking huge glasses of orange juice won’t cut it.  Not only are you getting a detrimental sugar spike in your blood, but you’re missing the ‘whole’ fruit benefits.  Plus, in the end it won’t be anything near the levels of C you need if combatting a virus.  You can safely supplement 500 mg – 2000 mg in divided doses daily.
Vitamins A, E and C are all critical for immune health, with the bonus that they also improve the integrity of our gut and lung barriers.

Another crucial player when it comes to immune modulation is zinc.  Amongst its many attributes it stimulates the hormone in our thymus gland to produce new T cells.   Sadly, this mineral is sorely lacking in our diet since it’s lacking in our soils.  We also don’t get enough from fish when the fish is farmed.  And despite it being in a lot of fortified cereals these are rich in phytic acid which binds out the zinc so we can’t absorb it well.  Everyone tends to be low in zinc and a supplement of 15mg daily is generally safe.  Again, it’s best to check your zinc levels with a functional nutritionist or doctor so you know the amount you should supplement.

There are so many different herbs that are immune-supportive.  In fact, if we add a wide variety to our cooking, eg. rosemary, thyme, basil, oregano etc, then we’ll be adding a wide palette of phytonutrients that will not just be improving the flavour of our food but also our health status.
There are some stand-alone herbs which have either specific anti-viral action, like echinacea, or anti inflammatory properties like turmeric root, or herbs like andrographis, which have been traditionally used to support immunity in the respiratory tract.   Again, it’s best to work with someone in the know when it comes to herbal tinctures.

Last but by no means least, medicinal mushrooms have to be mentioned.  Mycology, the study of fungi, burst onto the health scene years ago due to the astonishing antioxidant properties and immunemodulating effects of specific mushrooms.   There are a number of varieties like reishi, shiitake, turkey tail (coriolus versicolor) and chaga which show anti-viral action, either by inhibiting viral replication or enhancing the cellular immune response to infection.  As long as you’re not allergic to them, adding fresh shiitake mushrooms to your menu or a reishi powder to your smoothie or soup can only be good, and there are some excellent supplements available.

Viruses are resilient so they certainly won’t be going away anytime soon.  However, nature has given us this wonderful tool kit to work with – food, specific nutrients, sleep, exercise, the outdoors – which can help us either as a preventative measure or in face of an acute infection.

Let’s make use of this tool kit and go safely forward into a healthier year!