LinuxQuestions.org - Winter and how to rapidly kill a cold?

Cold and flu season is definitely associated with the Winter season, and one thing we all look forward to in the Spring and Summer is dodging the fever, stuffy noses, and fatigue associated with the common cold.

I was thinking that maybe in India, Korea,... US or Europe, or northern countries, there might be some trends in statistics with regard to colds. Maybe due to weather conditions, food (e.g. spice?), or practices (eg. cold showers,...)...

But google haven't shown any possible trends/info.

Evtl. differences between countries and practices:
The practice of cold showers is still very much in the traditions of several nations today: Finland, Russia, Thailand, Korea, Japan and many others have a history of cold showering for good health. Read on to find out why maybe you should start feeling the chill of cold water!

Through thorough scientific research, many health benefits have been identified for exposing your body to regular bursts of coldness. This is best achieved by taking a cold shower each morning or evening at a temperature that you can just about put up with.

Method
If you decide to start taking cold showers, slowly adjusting the temperature is best advised. However, many people (myself included) decide to "throw themselves in at the deep end" of cold showering and start by simply throwing themselves under as cold water as they can get their hands on! This is of course a much quicker way of reaping the health benefits of cold exposure but carries the downfall of much more discomfort and risk to your health. For those with potentially weak hearts, the gradual 'easing' method is strongly advised.

1. Strengthens Immunity

The most established benefit of cold showers is that overall, they simply increase your chances of fighting off disease and infection. People who take regular cold showers have been shown to have less chance of getting things like:
-Colds
-Cancer
-Flu's
-Haemorrhoids
-Varicose veins

Quote:

Do you believe in it??

Furthermore, the practice of cold showers was re-introduced to western culture through the Kundalini Yoga practices outlined by Yogi Bhajan.

The benefits of cold showers certainly don't stop there. There are health benefits such as increased peripheral circulation as well as improvement to imbalanced mental and emotional states. One of the best kept antiaging secrets is how cold showers can keep your skin glowing and radiant looking.

That brings me to this list I have put together of the pros and con(traindication)s of cold showers. But first I would like to outline the unsavory effects that hot showers have on your body and mind. Upon waking from a full nights sleep the majority of your blood has flowed into the deeper parts of your body such as the internal organs to help them regenerate. To be active, alert and productive during the day you need a good portion of this blood to flow back into the peripheral extremities of your body. Tea or coffee in the mornings provides this for some people but it has negative consequences after long term use of the caffeine (most notably adrenal fatigue from the constant damaging stimulation).

When hot water hits your skin your body has the feeling of still being wrapped in the warm blanket it had around it when it was in bed just moments ago. The blood stays in the deeper parts of your body giving you a tired and lethargic feeling. You may notice that even after a 15 minute hot shower, when you step out, parts of your body are still cold, even during the summer months! If you have really hot showers you may even find you have created or enhanced a feeling of drowsiness!

Another effect of cold bathing/shower methods on improvement of lymphatic movement:
The lymphatic system is a system of tubing separate to your blood vessels (arteries, veins & capillaries) that is responsible for carrying away waste from your cells as well as help fight pathogens (disease).

Unlike blood vessels, the lymphatic system does not contain blood. Instead it has lymph, which carries away waste products and white blood cells which handle infection. Also different from blood vessels is that the heart does not pump lymph around the body like it does the blood.

The lymph relies on the contraction of muscles. This contraction squeezes the lymph up to the thoracic duct so that the lymph can mix with the blood and then be dealt with by our organs.

Cold showers cause whole-body contraction and this works excellently with the lymph system, squeezing the fluid up through the body, so try cold showers today!

If the lymphatic system is compromised and inefficient, then the fluid pools at far away places (usually the feet). This results in what is known as lymphedema (type of edema). The pooling of lymph can result in serious health detriments.

Quote:

Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick
By Gene Stone
Photography by: Jonathan Skow + Pornchai Mittongtare

It’s tempting to dismiss it as luck: Some people might catch a slight cold or suffer an occasional ache or pain now and then, but they never seem to suffer from flus, fevers and illnesses that send the rest of us diving under the covers for days. Despite centuries of scientific advances, doctors still can’t tell us definitively how to stay well. So why not look for solutions from the people for whom the common cold is, well, uncommon? Here, 10 surprising habits of those people who never get sick—and how you can adapt them to your own soon-to be healthier life.

1.

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THEY STRESS LESS

Researchers at Duke University found that stress damages the immune system and the heart. Other studies suggest that it increases your chances of contracting bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis. There’s also evidence that learning relaxation techniques early on is crucial: A 2009 Stress in America Survey by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Psychological Association found that stress is a top health concern for kids between ninth and 12th grades, and suggested that stress could do serious long-term damage if those children don’t learn to manage it. Of course, exercise is one of the best ways to chill out. A University of Southern California study found that when participants took a vigorous walk around a track, they reduced tension in their bodies by 20 percent. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables is also crucial, as is laughing: It releases endorphins in the body that act as natural stress busters. Plus, a good guffaw gives your heart muscle a workout.

2.

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THEY SPRINKLE BREWER’S YEAST ON THEIR FOOD

Just one tablespoon packs in most of the B vitamins you need each day, including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B6, folic acid and biotin. Without enough of these vitamins, the body isn’t able to metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins; the Bs are also essential for healthy hair, skin, nerves, blood cells, hormone-producing glands and a thriving immune system. B vitamins help manufacture antibodies and white blood cells that make up the immune response. And in times of stress, the Bs can be depleted, which compromises your immunity. Sprinkle a tablespoon of brewer’s yeast over popcorn or cereal, mix it into soups or sauces (the taste goes especially well with split pea soup or any dish made with tomato sauce) or bake into quick breads and cookies.

3.

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THEY EAT LESS.

As far back as the 1930s, studies found that animals that were fed less lived twice as long. More recent research in humans has linked calorie restriction to lower incidences of age-related health problems, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Participants in one study who ate 25 percent less than their usual amounts had lower overall cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, triglyceride levels and blood pressure. Keep in mind that calorie restriction is an easy diet to do unsafely, however. Start by limiting simple sugars and flours, and pack your meals with dark leafy greens and other vegetables. You can find more tips on calorie restriction at crsociety.org or naturalhealthmag.com.

4.

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THEY EMBRACE BACTERIA.

OK, so no expert will tell you to toss a few dirt clods into the blender the next time you whip up some pesto, but research suggests that the move toward complete sterility in the modern age wasn’t necessarily more healthful. It appears that the path to increasing health is probably somewhere between the squalor of our ancestors’ environment and the hyper-cleanliness of the developed world. Bacteria and our bodies have a symbiotic relationship in which their presence helps our systems stay healthy and balanced. “Good” germs can improve your metabolism, enhance your immunity and reduce inflammation. Scientists at the University of California, San Diego, found that the more bacteria you have on the surface of your skin, the better you combat inflammation. So go outside, have plenty of contact with Mother Nature and get dirty! And rather than scrub your foods raw, give them a quick rinse.

5.

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THEY OPT FOR HERBAL REMEDIES.

Although plant-based health aids have been long derided by the Western medical community, about onequarter of all prescription drugs are derived from plants. Herbal remedies (plants purported to have medicinal properties) are an integral part of traditional Chinese medicine, and what we know about plants’ abilities to heal is impressive: They can alleviate high blood pressure, stimulate the nervous system, destroy germs and boost the immune system. But you needn’t fill your medicine cabinet with supplements; something as simple as green tea can help improve your immunity and your health. Commercial green tea beverages have come under fire recently for unsubstantiated health claims, yet studies have shown that antioxidants in green tea called polyphenols have the potential to boost metabolism and burn fat, protect against liver disease, control blood sugar levels and lower LDL cholesterol. Skip pre-packaged bottled versions and sip unflavored loose-leaf green tea instead.
- See more at: http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/heal....RVRKLSSm.dpuf

Myth 1:
The greatest myth about the common cold is that susceptibility to colds requires a weakened immune system.

Facts:

1. Healthy people with normal immune systems are highly susceptible to cold virus infection once the virus enters the nose. In volunteers studies, approximately 95% of normal adults became infected when virus was dropped into the nose (72, also see How Cold Virus Infection Occurs).

2. Of people who become infected, only 75% develop symptoms with a cold. (5, 72) The other 25% have virus growing in the nose but have no symptoms. They have an "asymptomatic infection".

3. Why people sometimes become infected but do not develop cold symptoms is a mystery. One clue is that in such instances the person may not be producing the normal amount of certain inflammatory mediators, the natural body chemicals which cause cold symptoms (2, also see What Causes Cold Symptoms). If this theory is correct, then people with active immune systems may be more prone to developing cold symptoms than people with less active immune systems!

Myth 2:
Central heating dries the mucus membranes of the nose and makes a person more susceptible to catching a cold.

Myth 3:
Becoming cold or chilled leads to catching a cold. <--------- I am not so sure about this one . cf picture.

Myth 4:
Having cold symptoms is good for you because they help you get over a cold, therefore you should not treat a cold.
Facts:
1. Approximately 25% of people who get a cold virus infection do not develop symptoms and yet they get over the infection as well as people who do have symptoms (5, 72, also see How Virus Infection Occurs.

Myth 5:
Drinking milk causes increased nasal mucus during a cold.
Facts:
1. Milk and mucus may look alike, but milk is digested like any other protein and is not specifically converted into nasal mucus.
2. An Australian study was actually done in volunteers to address this question. (77) It showed that people drinking lots of milk had no more nasal mucus than those not drinking milk.

Myth 6:
You should feed a cold (and starve a fever).
Facts:
1. The origin of this old saying is obscure. There is no scientific evidence that excess eating will cure a cold.
2. On the other hand, eating tasty food will not make a cold worse and may help the cold victim feel better. Commoncold.org features tasty recipes for the cold sufferer.

Personally, I have doubts to believe in cold shower practices. Indeed. Please tell me how in the world this is supposed to help at all with anything except coming your body temp down by cold showers. Peroxide every morning? You gain a virus to exposure, certainly not in your sleep. Unless you constantly all day used this to wash your hands it MAY help. Lowering caloric intake? Give me a break people. Please don't be anorexic to try and stay healthy. No, actually it makes you sicker because your body is so frail and weak it has no energy to fight anything off. Has it ever occurred to you that maybe the reason these people are healthier is associated to the active lifestyles they have and not just the limited caloric intake? Look it is normal to be sick, there is no miracle cure. I am far from a hypochondriac and am young and healthy and lean and oh no guess what I have a cold right now. The best thing to do? Ride it out. Some people that "never ever" (highly doubt this) get sick probably have great genetics with strong antibodies and are very fortunate.

Feel free to post your comments and tips how to avoid getting colds...