07/01/2025
Cold season is here.
What are some things you can do to avoid getting a cold? Here are 5 basic methods to help you stay healthy. (I'm a practicing Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, and a California Licensed Acupuncturist and Nationally Certified Acupuncturist and Herbalist, but the following recommendations are basic, common sense guidlines, not specific treatment recommendations for specific conditions.)
1. The number one way to stay healthy, in general (including fixing digestive problems, skin problems such as acne and eczema, and joint pain), is to have proper nutrition. While each person's exact perfect diet is individual, some general guidelines that will benefit everyone are: eat only unprocessed, whole foods (if you avoid anything that comes in a bag, can, bottle, box, or any kind of industrial packaging - easier said than done - you're pretty much there); avoid processed foods and any foods with ingredients made or processed in a lab or commercial kitchen, avoid any foods with added sugar or other sweeteners and don't add your own sweetners; eliminate simple carbohydrates (potatoes, pasta, corn, white rice); minimize but don't eliminate high carbohydrate veggies, even good ones, such as root vegetables and tubers (carrots, beets, yams/sweet potatoes); eliminate all dairy; eliminate fruit juices; minimize fresh fruit; avoid all processed grain products (breads, crackers, cold and hot breakfast cereals, rice and corn cakes, popped corn), and minimize unprocessed grains (such as barley grains and wheat berries you might add to a cholent or stew).
2. Get enough sleep, based on natural circadian rhythms. Our bodies were created before artificial light and are most suited to such a world. That means, all year round, going to sleep when it gets dark, and waking when it gets light. A good deal of healing and maintenance happens when we sleep.
3. Practice controlled breathing exercises for at least 10 minutes daily. You could try Wim Hof's method, or find another that suits you.
4. Do some form of exercise, at least a few times a week, that gets your heart beating faster and makes you sweat. This usually means at least 20 minutes at a time. Start or finish with basic stretching: the joints are energetic gateways, and keeping them open keeps energy from getting stuck (stuck energy can manifest as pain, phlegm, swelling and inflammation, skin problems, and more).
5. The above 4 suggestions are simple, but not easy. Very few of us, myself included, can always stick to all of them. The better you follow them, the better your health will be. However, since we can't always manage them, see a qualified acupuncturist/herbalist (or other qualified holistic practitioner if these are not your cup of tea). It's best to get periodic treatments when you're not sick, so that you maintain balance and stay healthy. Treatments while you have a cold can help you lesson symptoms and heal faster.
And here's some basic information from a Western Medicine perspective, about the contagious period for the common cold.
The incubation period for a cold can last for several days. Learn more about the timeline, early symptoms to watch for, and remedies that may help.
