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. Take zinc: When the sniffles strike, take zinc; it's been proven to shorten the life span of colds, as well Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

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 Read more

Some of you might remember that my aunt has a thing for conjuring up herbal remedies, like her cold-fighting ginger tea. So when I got hit with a nasty fever last week, I called dear ol' auntie first. After I described my ailment, she said one word: sage. I was skeptical, mostly because I have never been a huge fan of the pungent, peppery herb. But since sage has been a longstanding healing Read more