Question on colds.

ReneePruitt

ReneePruitt

Cathlete
Hello smart ladies...
I have a cold. Usualy I do exercise through my colds. I get headaches at times if I do. I have even jogged and it seemed to help. I am wondering what do u all do?
Ive been told I need to rest from exercise because my imune system is comprimised. But I know that can be true. Yet its also true that exercise can boost your imminity. So when im sick im wondering am I experiencing a plcebo effect if I jog and feel better? Or some days if its my head hurting I know not to jog. I either relax or yoga or a light workout like basic step.
So basicaly I DO listen to my body. But im wondering what helps or works for you ladies. Also I want to get my cold not to last so long. I wonder if rest a few days will indeed shorten my cold or would exercise shorten it. Have u tried both and what worked?
 
I think it depends on what stage you are at with the virus. And, of course, everyone is different. If I feel like I'm just starting to come down with a cold, I still exercise--it usually helps my immunity, as long as it is not too intense. A really intense workout will push me over the edge. If I'm careful early on, I either don't get the cold, or it is light enough that I can keep up with my exercise schedule.

If I wake up feeling like a truck hit me, I'll make it a Kundalini yoga day--something to clean out my system and help my body fight the virus. If I'm really sick, then I'll do a yoga rotation until I feel better.

I used to not "listen" to my body and would keep plowing through whatever workouts I had scheduled no matter how I felt. But I've learned the hard way that not respecting your body is always counter-productive.

Grapefruit seed extract really helps, especially if you start taking it early on. It tastes nasty but isn't too bad mixed into a citrus juice. Some have recommended putting it in gelatin capsules, which is a brilliant solution--I just keep forgetting to get capsules.:eek: I'll mix 15 drops in a small amount of orange juice, chug it down, and follow up with a couple swallows of fresh juice to get the taste out of mouth. My kids hate the taste, but even my super-taste-sensitive son will use it because he recognizes that it works.:eek:
 
Drink as much lemon (or any kind of citrus) juice with tea. Ideally it's more like a hot lemonade than tea. I make a whole pitcher of that, with every kind of tea I have at the time. chamomile, green, mint, or any of those alone will also work. key is lots of hot liquids and citrus. really helps to get rid of the congestion. and showers. or lean over the sink with a towel with the hot water running. get that steam inside your lungs. often when i'm done drinking several mugs of my concoction, I don't feel sick at all, but it depends which stage I'm in as stated above. when I'm sick i usually don't exercise, it's so easy for me to get off my routine, but if I can do anything, anything at all. sit ups, squats, just so I did something, it's easier to keep the habit going. Just keep going with how you feel.
Also, making lentil soup with spinach or kale seems to really help. plus, when i'm sick i constantly feel 'hungry' bc of all the drainage, so then i can eat as much as i want. and soup is comforting. if you are too sick to make the soup yourself, they do have canned versions that you can add greens to, to help with the salt content. and lots of carrots. lentils are so gray and unappetizing, the color helps with that. progresso sells it. idk if they have that brand in canada.
 
I use Airborne and it works. If I don't have any then I take extra doses of vitamin c every day. That works too but Airborne works better imo. HTH! :)
 
mom418 said:
Also, making lentil soup with spinach or kale seems to really help. lentils are so gray and unappetizing.
Click to expand...

Ha, ha. My son named my lentil soup "swamp soup" and no one will touch it but me. It really is all grey and the spinach looks like spanish moss. :eek: But it tastes great and is very comforting and nourishing.
 
That reminds me, my son calls green split pea soup Shrek Soup. lol. A sure fire way to get them to eat it, or make it thicker and call it dip. It's great with crackers. and yup, I'm the only one that will eat the lentil soup, lol. But it makes me feel all fabulous, ha ha! They don't know what they're missing.
 
Yummy lol I love healthy foods lobe beams / lagumes. Im sure the majority of people would read these soups u guys listed and think it gross. But I think they sound yummy! Hey I think that Is a good sign. Lol.
I just hate feeling like I have to burn calories and I feel like I need to sleep. I have been napping on and off. But still feel like I should have done an exercise. I have done some grapefruit. And tea today and spinach. Thanks for ur help !!
 
Some people swear by ginger and garlic too. They even eat raw garlic every day to prevent the cold. ginger in tea is supposed to help with queasiness too.

For my kids, instead of gargling with salt water, I let them gargle with mouthwash. It numbs the throat a bit. Also, really good honey is said to be a natural cough suppressant. I've even read that it works better than cough suppressant medicine. Since I don't think most cough suppressants actually work, that might be true. It's certainly my kids' fav. part of being sick, lol. A spoonful of honey makes the medicine go dooowwn.
 
Just because there is a placebo effect, doesn't make it not real.

Do your normal workouts so long as you don't get a headache. The headache is your blood pressure being a bit high. You don't want to hurt yourself. Yoga is great but be careful, its not without intensity, especially if you are doing inversions. I like to walk (if its not raining) or do an easier workout (not Cathe, I don't know of 'easy' and Cathe belonging in the same sentence.)

I second the 'drink lemon' idea. I love my warm lemon/honey drinks. They work great, have no caffeine, and help with digestion too. I put pepper in mine, it clears out the sinuses.

I also like the soup idea. Warm broth is a good to sip on and has little calories in it.
 
I personally believe in Airborne - it seems to cut down the severity of a cold if I do get if it doesn't stop it in its tracks. Even my husband has come to believe in it. And there's something about chicken noodle soup, too ;) always makes both of us feel better.

I do light exercise (yoga, basic step) if I am feeling poorly and am taking cold medicine. Since cold medicine will also raise your blood pressure, you want to be careful with the combo of heavy exercise and a cold and medicine - that triggers headaches in me.

Hope you feel better soon.
 
I too have a terrible cold...I did not exercise at all this weekend and I am bummed...I think I would have felt better even going for a walk out in the fresh air....but I drink tea with lemon and honey to help with congestion...and try to remember to use any of the airborne-type vitamin supplements on the market....good luck and feel better!
 
Thanks all for ur help. I usualy try to exercise unless im so so bad I cant get up. But I did tea.. And all the suggestions.. I listened to my body slept most of friday did a light stretch on sat felt better on sunday. By sunday evening I did IMAX 2 but on just the topper. I felt better. Now im at work. Still congested but body iisnt achy. Thats good. So I think the days of actualy sickness was shortened considerably!
 
bestican said:
I too have a terrible cold...I did not exercise at all this weekend and I am bummed...I think I would have felt better even going for a walk out in the fresh air....but I drink tea with lemon and honey to help with congestion...and try to remember to use any of the airborne-type vitamin supplements on the market....good luck and feel better!
Click to expand...

Awh I hope u feel better soon! It stinks getting a cold.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top