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Thread: An Herb that Works for the Common Cold

  1. #1
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    An Herb that Works for the Common Cold

    I'm very skeptical about herbs and supplements. When someone recommends a treatment for something I always look to see if a placebo controlled study has been done.

    Umcka cold care is an herbal remedy that looks like it's not a waste of money. If you search the main ingredient Pelargonium sidoides and placebo you find a study titled "This obscure herb works for the common cold"

    I started my own test of Umcka on Sunday 11/26.
    "Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
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  2. #2
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    ..Can't wait to hear your assessment.

  3. #3
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    Exclude sugar from the diet and see how long you go without a cold. Watch your cholesterol drop as well. The latter is the reason I gave up sugar as I am allergic to every known form of cholesterol drug. The lack of colds is a bonus. Cheers
    Every construction obeys the laws of physics. Whether we like or understand the result is of no interest to the universe.

  4. #4
    I would have put my money on Carrageenan nasal spray. https://respiratory-research.biomedc...65-9921-14-124 Efficacy of acarrageenan nasal spray in patients with common cold.

  5. #5
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    Zicam. It works well for me.
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    Jack Daniels.......

    Ed

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    Plain old orange juice. A small glass every day.
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    Jack Daniels.......

    Ed

    I like the way Ed thinks! .

    Anyhow - Ever since I took a swig of vinegar to get rid of a case of bad indigestion (my late mother in law's meat loaf), I've been a believer is folk medicines.
    For colds, my Croatian friend, Alex, told me they used to heat up a bottle of red wine in a big bowl until it steamed. Then they'd cover it with a towel and stick their head under the towel.
    At some point during the cooling down process, you were supposed to drink the hot wine.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Lomman View Post
    Exclude sugar from the diet and see how long you go without a cold. Watch your cholesterol drop as well. The latter is the reason I gave up sugar as I am allergic to every known form of cholesterol drug. The lack of colds is a bonus. Cheers
    There's some gold in Wayne's response. Prevention of illness is the name of the game.
    Do some Google research on immunity boost through lifestyle and diet change. Especially restriction of sugar and simple carbohydrates. Do your body a favor and wave to the health care industry and pharmaceutical companies as you pass on by.
    Last edited by Edwin Santos; 11-30-2017 at 3:39 PM.

  10. #10
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    I'm into a healthy diet and exercise. I do it cause it makes me feel good.

    The people in the placebo controlled studies of Pelargonium sidoides were people from all walks of life with colds. They could've had so called healthy lifestyles or been junk food eaters. The results were from the entire group of people.
    The herbal drug
    significantly reduced the severity of symptoms and shortened the duration of the common cold compared with placebo.
    "Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t - you’re right."
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  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Lomman View Post
    Exclude sugar from the diet and see how long you go without a cold. Watch your cholesterol drop as well. The latter is the reason I gave up sugar as I am allergic to every known form of cholesterol drug. The lack of colds is a bonus. Cheers
    I understand the role of sugar in increasing the chance of getting colds has been debated often and while may be true, still lacks significant confirmation by additional studies. I'm sure reducing sugar is a healthy thing to do. I have only a anecdotal observation: I consume too much sugar but rarely get a cold. At one time I got a number of colds every year but that slowly tapered off. In my case I wonder if it was because I caught so many colds from working with small children (every week for 26 years) that I developed immunities to the most common. Or maybe I've just been lucky for the last decade or so!

    JKJ
    Last edited by John K Jordan; 11-30-2017 at 8:11 PM. Reason: typo

  12. #12
    Things like double blind tests are good. But some herbs have long proven histories and are indeed proven medicines. One problem is they were often tried for other things, many herbs were used to stop diarrhea ....because something was needed. Therefore part of the history of many herbs is "was often used as a treatment for diarrhea".There are abortion inducing herbs that were long used ;but a doctor is not going to reccomend them. Doctors are against "self medication".
    Last edited by Mel Fulks; 11-30-2017 at 6:46 PM.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mel Fulks View Post
    (edit)
    One problem is they were often tried for other things, many herbs were used to stop diarrhea ....because something was needed. Therefore part of the history of many herbs is "was often used as a treatment for diarrhea".
    (edit)
    Another problem is when alchemist gained a bit of power they worked to stop the herbalists. The pharmaceutical industry doesn't want to have people growing their own medications. Not too long ago more than 50% of the American Pharmacopeia was made up of medications derived from plants.

    It would be interesting to know the herbal ingredients of the OP's "Herb that Works for the Common Cold." I do know thymol is used for soar throats and is a natural constituent in the common herb thyme.

    One of my favorite herbs is lovage and grows in my garden. It dispels the discomfort of indigestion faster than Tums® or Rollaids®. The added benefit is it taste like celery on steroids. So if one likes celery, it is a great substitute in soups and salads.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Lomman View Post
    Exclude sugar from the diet and see how long you go without a cold. Watch your cholesterol drop as well. The latter is the reason I gave up sugar as I am allergic to every known form of cholesterol drug. The lack of colds is a bonus. Cheers
    I gave up sugar (well, actually chocolate and I couldn't see any reason to eat sugar if there wasn't chocolate associated with it) for 6 months and didn't feel any better. I rarely get colds and don't have high cholesterol so I can't comment on that, but was really disappointed not to feel better. I was also disappointed not to lose any weight. Oh well.

    About Zicam;
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevens.../#4f7cb74d7e46

  15. #15
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    Wade, chocolate is way better without sugar! Cheers
    Every construction obeys the laws of physics. Whether we like or understand the result is of no interest to the universe.

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