Winter Wellness
Cribbed from an article I’m working on somewhere else. Three cold/flu remedies that have more than anecdotal evidence to recommend them:
Sambucol: This brand of black elderberry syrup also comes in tablets. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, Sambucol reduced the duration of flu symptoms to three to four days. Also, it’s pleasant tasting, so my five-year-old and two-year-old sons are happy to take it.
Oscillococcinum: In several studies, it’s been shown to reduce the severity of symptoms and length of flu illness.
Andrographis paniculata: In a double blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical study, subjects who took this herb showed a significant reduction in upper respiratory tract infection and sinusitis symptoms.
Please remember: I’m a girl detective, not a doctor, so consult yours before taking anything.
January 21st, 2009 at 8:37 am
Handwashing is your best defense, and a lot less money! Like they always say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of expensive and inadequately tested herbal remedies”. Have we taught you nothing in the past 22 years???
February 3rd, 2009 at 9:42 pm
I’ve been washing my hands like mad, and what’s happened is that they’re scaly, and I’m waiting for the stomach bug that my kids have to hit me. Part of what I wrote in the article, though, was that we all know that rest, diet, exercise and hand washing are the best things to do, but not always easy in practice.
So yes, you HAVE taught me something. Other than the words to “I Think I Love You”, I mean. heh.