Vitamin C If you don't want to eat fruits like oranges then Emergen-C packets are pretty good. They helped me get over a recent flu.
If you're taking a supplement, it barely matters. Most of it won't be absorbed anyway. There are no shortcuts. Eat/drink lots of green leaves and vegetables. Spinach should be regular. Turmeric is like the cocaine of natural boosters. Garlic and ginger are fairly potent too. Vitamin C helps a lot, but get it from less sugary sources like strawberries, kale, broccoli or grapefruit. If you don't have time, just once a week pre pack bags that have exactly what you need for a single juice. Throw it in the freezer. Blend it with water when you want to consume. If you're thinking about money, you're pissing away like 80% of your money with most supplements because absorbing supplements into the bloodstream is more complicated than it seems.
I'm in the same boat, just caught a cold in over a year. I just tried the emergen-c and it helped a little. I think the best you can do is just stay hydrated and not lay in bed all day.
Thanks, all. I wasn't sick, I just had my wisdom teeth out and the antibiotics they gave me seem to have killed some funk I didn't realize I had. I woke up on the day that I posted this thread and thought, hey, I need to feel like this all the time. Outside of good diet and exercise, what can I do? If this is for allergies, it's been debunked. Not saying that it's not healthy to eat honey (opinions vary) but it doesn't help allergies. I'm a lifetime allergy nerd and can testify to this. Anyone else have any info?
I know you weren't directly asking about allergies but I've been doing weekly injections at allergy Dr. and they seem to work. Used to have to get steroid shot during bad part of the allergy season and the last 2 years haven't needed one.
No real evidence that Vitamin C helps with the common cold. Comes from Linus Pauling who won 2 nobel prizes, neither of which was in immunology. It MAY lessen the severity but taking it year round to boost your immune system just isn't necessary.
When I start to get a cold I take a Zinc tablet. Seems to cut the severity down some from the several times I've done it. A great night's sleep works too.
I love my local honey. Yeah, the science isn't there yet but it seems to curb my mild allergies when I put it in my tea and oatmeal. Perhaps the placebo affect is strong with me. I still have to take Claritin somedays. Anyway, green tea seems to help me lately. It's got your flavinoids, your anti-oxidants, your Vit C. Basically though, I agree w/ Mathloom up there.