How can you heal from the common cold this winter?

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It’s something we’ve all experienced, but what exactly is happening to our bodies when we catch a cold? Well a cold itself is a contagious, upper respiratory infection that affects your nose, throat, sinuses and windpipe. There are in fact, more than 200 different types of viruses which can cause a cold.

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00:00Yeah, I think it takes a real mindset shift. I think for a long time, we've kind of just

00:06waited until we fell sick. And then we've been like, oh, no, now what do I do, rather

00:10than focusing on prevention. And as an immunologist, which is a doctor of the immune system, I'm

00:16a real believer in prevention, rather than cure. And there's a number of ways that we

00:21can support our immune system. And I think we have to look at the bigger picture. So

00:25it is stuff like getting a good diet in most of the time, getting proper hydration, taking

00:32care of our sleep and stress, that physical activity piece, and incorporating specific

00:38supplements and products into our daily routines.

00:42It's something we've all experienced. But what exactly is happening to our bodies when

00:46we catch a cold? Well, a cold itself is a contagious upper respiratory infection that

00:52affects your nose, throat, sinuses, and windpipe. There are, in fact, more than 200 different

00:57types of viruses, which can cause a cold.

01:00Yeah, I mean, the common cold is the big one, really. There's a lot of different forms of

01:06that virus. So you can catch it repeatedly, unfortunately. Then we have the influenza,

01:10which can be quite serious. COVID is obviously still on the picture. And there's some other

01:17ones that more affect maybe younger children, like respiratory succinctal virus. But as

01:22I said, they prefer these colder temperatures. So that's why we tend to get this spike in

01:28viral infections at this time of year.

01:31I would say that rest is the best medicine. I know people don't want to hear that. But

01:36if your household has been struck by sickness, then I would say definitely take time out

01:42to rest. The fact that you feel poorly is your body giving you a sign that you need

01:46to recover. And then just make sure you're nourishing yourself with lots of nice food,

01:51staying hydrated to make sure that the mucus layer in the nose is not getting too thick.

01:58And really just looking after yourself.

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