The Natural Pharmacist: Natural Treatments for Colds and Flus Book

It's an old joke, sick humour in the most literal sense, and it goes like this: "A cold lasts seven days, but if you treat it, it'll go away in a week". However, scientific evidence shows that certain substances actually shorten the amount of time you suffer from viral illnesses like colds and flus. Echinacea has this effect on colds, while zinc and vitamin C knock a few days off your sentence when you contract colds and flus. Besides these well-known remedies, Natural Treatments for Colds and Flus introduces a few most of us haven't heard of. The most promising of these is andrographis, a traditional treatment used in India, China and Thailand but only now getting attention in the West. The book examines many other traditional herbal treatments, from tasty-sounding ones like peppermint and marshmallow to "Colorado cough root", "grandmother's flannel", and a particularly benevolent-sounding herb called yerba santa, Spanish for "holy weed". (Spanish priests called it this when they introduced to it in the American Southwest.) Beyond vitamins and herbs, the book also discusses lifestyle changes that could help strengthen your immune system against colds and flus. For example, not getting enough sleep is both a reaction to stress and a stressful event in itself, and can make your body more susceptible to disease and infection. Colds and Flus is very careful to point out which treatments have been proven effective by science, and which are merely substantiated by rumour and folklore, or by inconclusive or scientifically invalid studies. On top of that, it's fun to read, offering trivia like why we have no vitamins between E and K (there were vitamins F, G, and so forth, but they were later found to be unimportant), and how to wash your hands (use a paper towel to cover your hands when turning off the faucet; otherwise you'll just grab a handful of the germs you were trying to wash off). It's a rare book that makes you healthier and smarter. --Lou SchulerRead More