Actually, we’re not ‘fighting’ anything here. Don’t try and pound the cold into submission—that’s the first mistake most of us make. We are going to increase our bodies’ immune system response, give it the biochemical compounds it needs to work, and set an environment that the ‘cold’ won’t want to live in. (Use this modus operandi/approach for every illness).

First things first, the sinuses. Lets help them out. Moisturize! Most of you have heard of the neti pot by now. Use it. If you have allergies, use it all the time. Mix up a nice saline solution of warm water (higher quality than tap) and sea salt and run it through. Personally, I like NutriBiotic’s Nasal Spray with grapefruit seed extract(GSE). The saline solution moisturizes and helps drain your sinuses, while the grapefruit seed extract kills any unwelcome bacteria and viruses. Elemental silver solutions are good too-although I prefer the GSE. I do about 2 pumps, sniff it up, and then let it drain. When you feel that the mucous is breaking up and draining, blow and repeat the spray. I do this until I can breathe through my nose again-and then one last pump in each nostril for moisture and leave it. If you live in Colorado like I do, you need a humidifier in your bedroom, period. I notice that when my sinuses start to dry out, if I don’t get them moisturized, that’s when things start stopping up and going awry. Definitely up your sinus and whole body hydration in the winter when the heating systems dry out the air further. Steam rooms are great too if you can get to one. Try as hard as you can to breathe deeply with your nose to get the moisture up there. When you breathe out, hum the air out. The vibration will help break up the mucous in your head. And speaking of moisturizing, hydrate your body while you’re at it with spring water and young coconut water.

Hot soups and vigorous exercise get that nose running, too. Speaking of vigorous exercise, lets talk about lymph flow. Your lymph system is your immune system, carrying white blood cells to all the regions of your body. Lots of people are so stagnant these days-working at a desk and then going home to the couch and TV. Get that lymph flowing! Vigorous exercise, mini-trampolines, massage, and dry skin brushing are superb for this. You can obtain a dry skin brush at Whole Foods. Always brush from the periphery TOWARDS the heart.

Vitamin C is great – use it, but vitamin D is better. Antimicrobial peptides are your body’s own antibiotics and they are released by vitamin D. We especially do not get enough of this vitamin in the winter. Vitamin D3 is the best supplement to take. We carry Metagenics Iso D3 in our office that I take. Lay somewhere in the sun with good skin exposure. If you can’t do it outside, lay in front of a window in the sunrays. Go get a low dose of sun in the tanning bed. “Vitamin D even fights colds and the flu, as it regulates the expression of genes that influence your immune system to attack and destroy bacteria and viruses. In fact, it is very rare for someone with optimized vitamin D levels to come down with the flu.” -Dr. Mercola

Lots of people are using zinc lozenges and nose swipes. Testimonials indicate that these work wonderfully, although the research on zinc and colds has not yet been able to effectively prove it.

Do anything you can to reduce your stress levels, which will take stress off your immune system. Talk to someone, meditate, do some gentle yoga, have a spa day…

Anything that boosts the immune system will be good at this point. Chiropractic adjustments, cranial adjustments, and supplements such as: Immuplex by Standard Process and Immucore by Metagenics are wonderful immune boosters in addition to the vitamin D.

Since I mentioned cranial adjustments, let me explain that a little further. All your bones move and flex when you breathe. Especially the cranial and pelvic bones, and these actually affect each other. This breathing and flexing pumps your cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) throughout your spinal cord and brain. This fluid covers, protects, and nourishes your spinal cord and brain. If you get a ‘subluxation’ in these bones (a fixation that causes lack of proper movement = ‘stuck’), the flow of the CSF will be impeded, as the pump system is now faulty, and pressure can build up and stagnancy can occur. This can affect the pressure in the sinuses as well, creating an environment not suitable for maintaining itself.

Regular chiropractic adjustments help the body maintain and heal itself by removing blockages in information and energy flow through the nervous system, just as acupuncture does the same for the meridian system.

Dr. Natalie is a Chiropractor in Boulder, CO. You can contact her by calling 303.443.1553 or sending her an email at [email protected]. For more information, please visit http://ResetYourNervousSystem.com.