cold

It starts with a few sniffles, a scratchy throat, or a nagging cough. Many times you don't think twice about it, either because you're too busy or you just hope it goes away soon. As soon as those telltale signs of an oncoming cold appear, follow these tips to encourage a speedy recovery.

1. Take zinc: When the sniffles strike, take zinc; it's been proven to shorten the life span of colds, as well as make symptoms less severe. The studies found that zinc only works when taken as soon as your cold symptoms begin, so hit the cold aisle as soon as you notice any rundown feelings.
2. Make rest a priority: You don't have to quarantine yourself, but you do have to rest. If you feel a cold coming on, don't just ignore it; revamp your schedule so your day includes plenty of rest. Whether that means canceling evening plans or foregoing the DVR for an earlier bedtime, make rest a priority.
3. Drink water and tea: Staying hydrated should be your top priority, but that doesn't mean you should reach for sugary sodas or dehydrating cocktails. Keep your water bottle full and drink some warming tea (try our recipes for cold-fighting ginger tea and sage tea for a cough) to hydrate and feel better.

Besides these three things, don't forget to exercise regularly (but not if you're too sick!); it helps build your immunity so you can cut colds short or prevent them from happening in the first place.

Taking zinc can shorten the life of the common cold, says a review of numerous medical studies. And while chicken soup might soothe the soul, zinc can make symptoms like a runny nose and sore throat feel less harsh and also shorten the length of a cold by a few days. The only catch is that it must be taken at the very first signs of a cold to work.

Fifteen studies looking at the effects of zinc on the common cold were reviewed by Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and results showed that the benefits of zinc "were significant," reports The New York Times. In one study, zinc cut the life of a cold from seven days to four days, and in another study, the duration of a cough was reduced by three days. What doctors don't yet know is why zinc seems to work or which zinc products work best. And with so many zinc products on the market, this unknown piece of knowledge can make for a confusing shopping spree. While all of the studies used various forms of zinc in a range of doses, the general consensus is that it does work to shorten colds and make symptoms less severe. Have any of you found success with zinc?

To avoid germs, I'm pretty fanatical about washing my hands. I also keep a bottle of hand sanitizer next to my desk. Not only am I keeping germs away, I'm a better employee because of it! Alcohol-based hand sanitizers improve job productivity and reduce the number of days employees are out sick, says a new study. Researchers in Germany found that sick days dropped significantly in offices where hand sanitizer is available.

The study split up a group of 129 participants: one group stuck to their normal hand-washing routine, and the other used hand sanitizer at least five times a day. At the end of the year, the employees who used hand sanitizer reported fewer sick days than those in the control group. They also reported fewer cold and flu symptoms in general. And while job productivity of the two groups was not measured, the researchers deduce that fewer sick days and better health translates into better on-the-job performance. But don't think that this study means you can skip out on soap and water, since hand sanitizer won't kill all viruses, like norovirus or E. coli.

Here's what FitSugar reader Mee-shell is eating to beat her Summer cold. She uploaded this photo to the Snack Attack: Healthy Snack Ideas group in the FitSugar Community.

My afternoon snack of the week: fresh fruit topped with pepitas (pumpkin seeds). A green smoothie on the side. Hoping all this fruity goodness will kick the cold out of my system!

Do you have an image of something healthy and delicious that you recently made or enjoyed? Upload it and we might highlight it here on FitSugar!

Here's a lesson on suffering from the OnSugar blog An Outside Eye.

In my last blog I went on and on about how, when I finally succumbed to the plague for the first time this season, I took pristine, unwavering, ferocious care of myself and immediately started to feel better.

But alas, that wasn't the end of the story.

On day two of my plague, I decided to brave leaving the house in order to go to my Buddhism class at Spirit Rock. I bundled up, made a thermos of hot herbal tea, turned the heat as high as it would go in the Subie, and off I went.

That night, our class was all about the First Noble Truth: There is suffering.

As I sat through the dharma talk, I got colder and colder, and sniffier and sniffier, and felt more and more like dying. The next morning, I woke up with amplified, exponential plague.

I totally get that suffering is optional.

I totally get that it's the story we create around our experience that causes suffering.

I totally get that, with practice, we can step back and disassociate ourselves from the suffering.

I know all these things in theory. But in practice it's a whole different story. I'm not sure if it's ironic or apropos that the morning after the dharma talk on suffering, I felt more suffering than I've ever felt in my life (yes, I'm exaggerating, obviously).

To find out what Joslyn learned about suffering continue reading.