The World Health Organization estimates that over 300 million adults are obese worldwide and even more disturbing is the number of severely obese children has nearly doubled in the U.S. between 1965 and 1980 (source: Alternative Medicine). A healthy diet and plenty of physical activity are important to keeping your weight in check and, even more importantly, minimizing the risk of health ailments and diseases.

The Importance of Physical Exercise

One of the most important tools we can teach our children is the importance of physical exercise. Children are naturally active and love to run around as one can see on a playground. As they get older, we find more challenges to ensure they are staying physically active as school demands might interfere, or lack of active role models and just everyday busy family life.

Despite these factors, there are things parents can do to help establish healthy exercise patterns that will last into adulthood which potentially could help them live a healthier and more productive life. I have always believed in the saying, “Health is wealth.”  It is pretty difficult to enjoy the other aspects of our life if we don’t have our health.

3 Ways to Get More Physically Active

Here are some tips to help motivate your children:

1.) Choose an age-appropriate activity.

Otherwise your child could become bored or frustrated. The Kids Health website provides excellent age-appropriate activities for your preschooler, school-age child or teenager. (Source: kidshealth.org).

2.) Provide many opportunities for them to be active.

Taking your child to a playground or involving them in sporting activities are key. Provide kids with choices to see what they really enjoy. For example, we tried a Ta Kuan Do class with some neighborhood friends. Half of the kids loved it, the others — including my daughter — did not like it at all. However, after we attended our first soccer class, she walked in the door with her shoulders back and announced that “she LOVED it.” By giving them opportunities to try out different sports, they can find what they truly enjoy doing.

3.) Keep the focus on fun.

Again this goes back to finding physical activities they enjoy. I’ve heard from my husband’s co-worker who coaches Little League Baseball that he can always tell when the child is there because his parents want him to play, and not necessarily because he enjoys the sport. Find an activity that your child really enjoys doing as they will more likely continue this activity into adulthood.

According to Kids Health, it is recommended that children six to 17 years of age do at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The activities could include riding their bike in the neighborhood, free play at home, recess, and active time at school or structured sports. I think most parents can attest to the fact that their children fall asleep faster if they have had a full day of activity. Which is a good thing for everyone (source: KidsHealth.org).

What can you do to motivate your children to stay active?

References:

1. Goldberg, Burton, Trivieri, Larry, and Anderson, John., Alternative Medicine – The Definitive Guide.  2nd Edition. Celestial Arts.
2. Kids Health Website: www.kidshealth.or

Melissa Northway, M.S. Human Nutrition, is a mom to a very active redhead, writes and owns Polka Dots Publishing. Her storybook app Penelope the Purple Pirate was inspired by her daughter’s love for adventure and she wanted to write about a strong female character that serves as a positive role model for girls and boys alike.  Penelope is a sort of modern-day Pippi Longstocking! You can read more at: www.melissanorthway.com and follow her @melissanorthway. And check out Penelope on Facebook as she loves to hand out pirate booty to her followers!

Couple physical activity with healthy eating and you will be well on your way to long-term health. There are plenty of super foods that are great for your body – fruits, vegetables, and milk. Yes, milk. Milk, cheese and yogurt are a source of nine essential nutrients important for achieving good health. In fact, the government’s own “Milk Matters” program recognizes that milk is essential in the development of kids and teens.

Science shows that consuming at least three servings of milk, cheese or yogurt every day helps people meet their daily calcium, potassium and other nutrient recommendations and may help reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, hypertension and obesity. According to government sources, milk and milk products provide about three-quarters of the calcium available in the food supply.

So, be sure to serve milk to your kids each and every day. Do you think you’re too old for milk? Well, did you know that bones continue to grow in density and strength until about age 30. After that, drinking milk and eating milk products can help prevent further bone loss. So, while you’re pouring your kid a glass of milk, pour yourself a glass and enjoy all of the health benefits together!

The Prizes

This week’s giveaway is all about health, wellness, and physical activity. One person will receive a KINDLE FIRE ($199) and one person will receive a Cuisinart Soup Maker and Blender ($199).

Entry Requirements

For a chance to enter and win, please complete the following requirements and leave a separate comment for each on this post, including links to your original tweets.

1. Follow @INDairy on Twitter.
2. Like Indiana Dairy Facebook page.
3. Answer the following question in the comments section of this post: How does your family stay healthy and active?
4. Tweet the following:

• RT @MomItForward @INDairy believe strongly in health, wellness, & physical activity! Learn more: http://bit.ly/xazlXX #gno #DrinkMilk PLS RT

• RT @MomItForward GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win a Kindle Fire or a Cuisinart Soup Maker & Blender http://bit.ly/xazlXX #gno #DrinkMilk PLS RT

Optional Entries

The following are extra entries that are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry for each completed item. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

• Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
• Like Mom It Forward on Facebook: http://facebook.com/momitforward.

Terms and Conditions

Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, February 1. See all terms and conditions here. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only. 

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Being a vegetarian is not all about eating tofu and raw vegetables all the time; it’s a choice that my family has made to be healthier and kinder to the world around us! Everyone has their own reasons to be or not to be vegetarian and it is a personal choice. I am not here to judge — I am here to give you some tips and tricks if you would like to cut some meat from your diet in the new year!

How To Become a Healthy Vegetarian

Educate Yourself

You first need to educate yourself and know that often times vegetarians may become deficient in vitamin D, protein, Vitamin B12, Zinc, Iron, and Calicum when they remove meat, fish, dairy products, and eggs from their diet. This statement shouldn’t discourage you, but empower you to learn more about what’s in the food that you are eating. Those deficiencies can easily be resolved by eating more green and leafy vegetables,  drinking calcium fortified orange juice, and eating more beans/seeds/nuts/grains/etc. Simply put: It’s eating more of “whole” foods. Foods that don’t have preservatives in them or foods that haven’t been cooked, recooked, and cooked again before packaging.

Set Goals

You need to set some goals for yourself, but at the same time be realistic. Becoming a vegetarian is a huge lifestyle style change and it will take time. I found that it was easier for my family to take baby steps during the process.

A simple goal might be to have one family dinner a week that is meatless. I know, I know, that is not very much but if you are coming from a strict meat and potatoes type of family, one night a week is a huge change.

Another small step you can take is to eliminate meat products from breakfasts and lunches before moving to an all meatless dinner plan. I have many friends who have first eliminated red meat from their diets and then moved to removing poultry products.

Find Recipes

You need to find some fun and exciting recipes. Take your favorite recipe and make it without meat. We did that with our favorite stir fry and loved it! My advice would be to not try meat replacement products at first when you are trying to make the switch to a non meat diet. When we first switched over to being vegetarian, we tried many meatless products and they did not taste good. After being vegetarian now for several years, most of those products taste good.

A lot of people ask if we miss meat. Honestly, I don’t miss it. I did think that I would miss hamburgers and steak. Nope, no way, I don’t. It was a pretty big adjustment for our extended family though. It took several years before my husband’s father quit asking us if we wanted turkey at Thanksgiving, after all it was white meat. Again, it’s about education and patience.

Own It

So my advice to you is to explore and educate yourself. There are no rules to this game. I am a vegetarian who eats very little dairy, my husband is a vegetarian who eats fish and dairy, my older son is a vegetarian who eats dairy, and my younger son is a vegetarian who is dairy free but eats eggs. So you can see how diverse it can be. You make your own plan, follow it, and own it! You can do it!

What is your favorite healthy meal? How do make sure you are eating fruits and veggies in your diet?

Pictures courtesy of flickr.

Cindy Gordon, founder of the blog, Vegetarian Mamma, is a wife and mamma of two energetic boys! Cindy loves to dish about recipes, vegetarianism, saving money, home schooling and her new life as a mamma to a child with life threatening allergies. Be sure to  follow “Vegetarian Mamma” on Facebook and Twitter @Vegetarianmamma

It is quite amazing to think that life expectancy has tripled over the course of human history. Some say that the theoretical maximum life span of 120 years is elusive, but we can take measures to ensure that we reduce the risk of developing age-related illnesses.

In my nutrition studies, I came across the concept of Longevity medicine. Longevity medicine uses the latest findings in genetics as well as proven alternative therapies to detect and prevent age-related illness and extend one’s life span (Source:  Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide).

So what is aging exactly? Aging is the process of deterioration that causes changes in your body. According to Dr. Elson Hass, Director of Preventative Medical Center of Marin, California, “Many subtle and gross changes in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems lead to poor delivery of oxygen and nutrients in the tissues. It is the diminishing levels of oxygen in the body along with nutrient deficiencies that lie behind most of the problems of aging.”

Dr. Hass goes on to say that “good colon function and elimination are important to prevent constipation and diverticular disease.” (Source: Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide).

Conclusions About the Aging Process

There are things we can do to help slow down the aging process. And many studies back this claim! The Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging (BLSA), which began in 1958, is the oldest and most famous investigation into the process of aging.  After four decades of BLSA research led to the following conclusions:

• Disease is not an inevitable by-product of the natural aging process. Many people have the mindset that the aches and pains they acquire over time is a natural occurrence as they get older. This study has determined that this isn’t necessarily true.

• The human aging process varies from person to person. And most interesting is the discovery that even within the same individual, different organs and bodily systems can age at different rates.

• Genetic, lifestyle, and disease processes together affect the rate at which a person ages. How much is aging genetic? How much is it lifestyle? These are good questions that are still trying to be answered. But we do have a choice on the lifestyle choices we make a day to day (Source: Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide).

3 Steps to Age Gracefully

• Caloric Restriction: Though animal studies have shown that severe caloric restriction has shown to increase life expectancy, the same benefits of caloric restriction are not know to benefit humans. However, based on research insurance companies have acquired over time, they have discovered that those individuals either severely overweight or underweight have the shortest lifespan. And those individuals whose weight fell just below the average weight for their height had the longest lifespan (Source: Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine).

• Exercise: It may sound redundant but it has been determined that the better shape you are in physically, the better the chances of living a longer and healthier life. Exercise helps the mind and body stay sound.

• Dietary Antioxidants:  According to the Naturopathic Doctors who wrote Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, “Several studies in animals have demonstrated that dietary antioxidants can definitely increase life expectancy.” These include: vitamin C and E, selenium, beta-carotene, flavonoids, sulfur-containing amino acids, and coenzyme Q10 (Source: Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine).

People are seeking answers on how to live a longer and healthier life. I believe that longevity medicine is something we will be hearing more and more about in the media. Longevity medicine looks at the whole picture as it incorporates techniques from allopathic disciplines, naturopathic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, nutrition, exercise as well as breakthroughs in biotechnology. Here is to a life well-lived and symptom free!

 What are you doing to live a longer and healthier life? What steps can you make this year to live longer?

Picture courtesy of flickr.

References:

• Goldberg, Burton. Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide. Second Edition. Celestial Arts.
• Murray, Micheal, N.D., Pizzorno, Joseph, N.D., Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. Revised 2^nd Edition. Three Rivers Press.

Melissa Northway, M.S. in Human Nutrition, is a mom, writer, and her company, Polka Dots Publishing, produces children’s picture book apps.  Her first storybook app, Penelope the Purple Pirate, has been chosen as a Top 10 Educational iPad App.  You can read more about Penelope here:  http://melissanorthway.com/news.html . And follow Penelope the Purple Pirate on Facebook to learn about more Penelope’s giveaways. You can reach Melissa at: @melissanorthway and mcube@sbcglobal.net.

Together Counts is a nationwide organization that is trying to help families find ways to live an active and healthy lifestyle together. They encourage families to find a balance in their lives. Whether you are taking time to sit down at dinner or doing an activity together, it is important to connect with each other as often as possible and help each other stay balanced.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 3 where we will be sharing a lot of ideas on creating and maintaining healthy habits in the New Year.

Party Topic

Join Together Counts and our panel of experts as we discuss Healthy Habits in the New Year. The party will be held on Tuesday, January 3 from 9-10 ET (8CT, 7MT, 6PT). Click here to see details about the giveaway and enter for a chance to win.

Party Details

• What: Girls’ Night Out (#gno) Twitter party (Click here to learn about #gno!)
• When: Tuesday, January 3 from 9-10 p.m. EST (8 CT, 7 MT, & 6 PT)
• Where: Party with us on our very own Custom Tweetgrid! (Use hashtags #gno and #healthykids)
• Topic: Healthy Habits in the New Year
• Who: Brand Panelist: @TogetherCounts, Community Panelists: @savorthethyme @scrappinmichele @bodhi_bear @fitcheerldr @7onashoestring, Moderators: @jylmomIF @Dadventurous @troypattee @MomItForward
• Party Favors: Click here to enter the giveaway.
• RSVP: Use Mr. Linky below (enter the twitter URL and your twitter ID (e.g., http://twitter.com/jylmomIF).

RT @MomItForward Join the @TogetherCounts #gno Twitter party 1/3 (9-10 ET) on healthy habits http://bit.ly/w3yNH0 #healthykids PLS RT

Note: Mom It Forward accepts paid sponsorships for most #gno Twitter parties. During the parties, brand sponsors provide tips, techniques, expert advice, and information on party topics. Mom It Forward is grateful for the giveaway prizes, coupons, and discounts that sponsors also provide to the Mom It Forward community in conjunction with #gno Twitter parties.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, January 3 as we chat with Together Counts about ways to create and maintain healthy habits in the New Year!

The Prizes

This week’s giveaway is all about getting healthy and active in the New Year. One lucky winner will receive a $250 gift card.

Entry Requirements

For a chance to enter and win, please complete the following requirements and leave a separate comment for each on this post, including links to your original tweets.

1. Follow @TogetherCounts on Twitter.
2. Like the Together Counts Facebook page.
3. Answer the following question in the comment section below: What healthy habits do you plan on creating in 2012?
4. Tweet the following:

• RT @MomItForward Join the @TogetherCounts #gno Twitter party 1/3 (9-10 ET) on healthy habits http://bit.ly/w3yNH0 #healthykids PLS RT

• RT @MomItForward GIVEAWAY! Enter 2 win a $250 Gift Card from @TogetherCounts  http://bit.ly/sksf2m #gno #healthykids PLS RT

Optional Entries

The following are extra entries that are completely optional and will earn you one extra entry for each completed item. Leave a separate comment on this post for each completed optional entry.

• Follow @momitforward on Twitter.
• Like Mom It Forward on Facebook: http://facebook.com/momitforward.

Terms and Conditions

Winners will be selected randomly through http://random.org. No purchase necessary to enter. Giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET Wednesday, January 4. See all terms and conditions here. This giveaway is available to U.S. residents only. 

10 Tips for Making Healthy Family Living More Enjoyable

Check out these 10 tips shared at a MomItForward Twitter Girls’ Night Out (#gno) with Together Counts for ideas on making healthy living fun for the whole family.

1. Mix it up when it comes to packing lunches. In addition to the usual whole wheat bread sandwich with carrot sticks or fruit, try adding things like bok choy, which is a valuable source of folate and vitamins A, C and K.  @Vidia2Be packs it daily, vacuum sealing it for freshness. @OhioCatfish packs frozen strawberries, which thaw by lunchtime. And @MarlaMeredith offers a whole list of healthy lunch box tips.
   X 
2. Plan theme dinners. Categories like Mexican, Soup Night, etc. are common. But what about Dinner Roulette, Finger Foods, Ghoulish Creations, and Colors, which is what @Vidia2be does?
   X 
3. Add music to your dinner routine. @Bodhi_Bear says: “You know who is great at theme dinners that are meatless? BryantTerry: themes include music soundtracks.
   X
4. Make healthy versions of family favorites, like mini pizzas (see @Whyveg’s video recipe), or chili with Quinoa, from @SavorTheThyme. Quinoa is an amino acid-rich seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked.
   X
5. Schedule frequent family meals. If possible, plan more than one meal together a week. Try these conversation starter cards from @CherishBound to help spark conversation.
   X 
6. Try unique ways to be active together, such Muggle Quidditch, which is apparently becoming all the rage, according to @WriterUnblocked and @CBSNews.
   X 
7. Play paintball together, which @EarthAngel2Be says is better in cooler temperatures because of all the gear.
   X 
8. Use computer/video gaming/TV time as an incentive. Have computer, video game, or TV time be the reward for spending active time playing. @EarthAngel2b says it was easy with her five kids.
   X 
9. Cook with sweet potatoes more. @WhyVeg provides this great plan for Lily Pads, Yam Yums, and a fabulous dipping sauce, and says: “I have found that with my 3 year old daughter just renaming some foods with silly substitutes or cutting the “usuals” into cute shape will get her interested and eating some different foods.”
   X 
10. Involve the family in the meal-planning process, as recommended by @Bodhi_Bear, or at least have them write down a list of their favorite foods, as a starting point to thinking about what they do and don’t like about healthy foods.

Ultimately, no one will live healthily if it’s not enjoyable in some way, especially our kids. Making healthy living fun or interesting can make a mother’s job easier. And ultimately, a son or daughter who is healthy is more able to think outside themselves and consider the needs of others.

How do you keep your family fit and healthy? What tips do you have for making healthy living fun for your family?

Photo courtesy of Flickr.

For me, it lapses into an unknown place between poopy diapers, preparing meals, coloring, and giving baths. Before I know it, the goal I had set for myself hasn’t even begun. I’ve been down this post-pregnancy road three times now and I’ve made mistakes. In fact, I’ve made lots of mistakes!

As a mom, I have this instinct that tells me that I have to take care of these little people as best I can. They are my priority. Taking care of me is set aside — last on my list of things to do. Can you relate?

You are not alone! Let’s do this together.

How To Get Fit and Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

The following are baby steps that you can take to get fit and maintain a healthy lifestyle:

Start Where You Are

Don’t stress over setting lofty goals and exaggerated transformations. Set goals for the next 60 days. Don’t worry about being perfect. Just be better.

Move Your Body

If you can, go to the gym! There is no better option than time alone to focus on fitness. If guilt is holding you back, I understand. I’ve been there and I have the t-shirt (in a variety of sizes too). Your kids need mom to be healthy. You are the cornerstone of the family and taking care of yourself is just as much for them as it is for you.  But if you absolutely cannot get time away from your kids: you must move with the kids. This means PLAY, I mean, really PLAY! Dance like crazy for 10 minutes three times a day. Do extra laps up and down the stairs when you need to do the laundry. Lift hand weights, buying each child 2 lb dumbbells do to the moves with you. Get creative. You just have to be purposeful with your time! You CAN do this.

Focus On Food

Let’s not say “diet”, let’s say “conscious eating”. What is going into your mouth? If your answer is “I don’t know” or you are thinking “my child’s leftovers”, I hereby release you from the mommy zombie eating. Did you know that you don’t have to finish your child’s plate? While some may call this wasteful, I call it self-preservation.  Also, you MUST drink more water. I’m confident 99% of you don’t drink enough. 64 oz of water isn’t enough. You should drink half your body weight in ounces. This means that 64 oz is only good enough if you are 128 lbs or less. Water helps you detoxify and boosts your metabolism (which means staying hydrated helps you lose weight). It’s worth doing.

Bottom Line: Health is a gift you can’t buy and is something that you can’t afford to lose. You are worth it! Make time for yourself, get your family involved, make better decisions, ditch the guilt, and get healthy!

What are your New Year’s Resolutions? Do they involved getting into shape? How will you reach your goals?

Photo provided by Devin Noel Photography.

Jeannette A. Kennedy, MS, DC is a science geek turned mom of three who simply tries to do her best every day.

She always thought she’d be a superwoman doctor: helping patients to be healthy and strong, questioning the status quo, and making great strides for health professionals. She never thought she would choose another life, staying home, raising children, and even homeschooling! That is…until the first child was born. Then she realized there is no better way to leave a lasting impression than to be an awesome mom.

Jeannette is a seeker of knowledge, particularly of health, science, and all things kids. She holds a Masters Degree in Biomedical Science from the Medical University of South Carolina and a Doctor of Chiropractic Degree from Logan University. She is a social media junkie and a novice blogger excited about developing her own space to share her thoughts and ideas.

She and her husband, Dr. Jerry Kennedy, own and operate Midwest Upper Cervical in Belleville, IL where they raise their three children: Shaelin (6 years), Knox (2 years), and Beckham (5 months). 

I wanted to give a little background about our immune system and how it works in protecting our health. Our immune system is an intricate network of specialized organs, cells, and substances that is our body’s key defense against disease as well as an array of bacterial, viral, and fungal infections that we come in contact with every day just by breathing, eating and living our lives. Our immune system is busy removing cells that have been killed due to trauma, toxins, microbial attacks, and other processes that occur in the body every day.

Three Vital Defensive Strategies

There are three vital defensive strategies that our immune system utilizes:

1. Our first line of defense is our skin and gastrointestinal tract that acts as a physical barrier and the millions of immune cells that help prevent an infection.
2. The second line of defense is our bloodstream and our body’s inflammatory response.  That is why it is recommended not to treat a minor fever as it is the body’s way of fighting off the infection. With an inflammatory reaction we see our body become warm and/or swell and tissue redden. All of these responses happen to help contain the infectious agents and prevent them from spreading further. You don’t want an inflammatory response to go on too long as it can damage tissues and cells.
3. The final line of defense is within our various organs in the body, particularly the spleen. liver, and lymph nodes (Source:  Alternative Medicine).

When our immune system is impaired we become vulnerable to illnesses. This can be due to environmental insults, chronic stress, a poor diet, toxins and food allergies among other assaults. The result is an immune system that becomes unbalanced and becomes either underactive or overactive.

According to the authors of the must-read book about health – Alternative Medicine: “A dysfunctional immune system can leave us vulnerable to illnesses such as allergies, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Cancer results when the immune system malfunctions and no longer recognizes and destroys cancer cells.” (Source: Alternative Medicine).

You can see it should be a priority to keep our immune system as strong as possible. This means we should pay attention to what types of foods we eat, try to manage our stress levels with exercise, and engage in activities that bring us peace of mind. This could mean going to lunch with some girlfriends, spending quality time with the family, and/or spending time at your place of worship. Whatever helps to calm the mind will in turn help to keep the body balanced as well. In my next post, I will talk more about ways to strengthen you body’s immune system.

Reference:

• BurtonGoldberg, Alternative Medicine – The Definitive Guide.  2^nd Edition by Celestial Arts.

How do you help make your immune system strong? How do you stay healthy during the colder months?

Melissa Northway, M.S. in Human Nutrition, is a mom, writer, and her company, Polka Dots Publishing, produces children’s picture book apps.  Her first storybook app, Penelope the Purple Pirate, has been chosen as a Top 10 Educational iPad App.  To help celebrate the holiday season, Penelope is having a Christmas/Holiday Giveaway. Follow Penelope the Purple Pirate on Facebook to learn about more about how to enter to win a $50 iTunes Gift Card and other goodies! You can reach her at: @melissanorthway and mcube@sbcglobal.net.

Many of the symptoms that we experience with a cold are our body’s defense mechanisms fighting off the cold. For example, though an elevated fever is not comfortable, it is believed that a fever should not be suppressed during an infection unless it is greater than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Of course, if you are treating your cold with natural remedies, it might be more uncomfortable, but the illness is usually shorter-lived due to the immune-enhancing effects of natural compounds (Source: Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine).

5 Remedies to Speed Your Recovery of the Common Cold

Only you can decide the level of discomfort you are willing to deal with! Here are some remedies recommended by Michael Murray, N.D., and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D. in their bestselling book: Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine:

1. As in preventing a cold, the importance of sleep and rest during a cold is a must.
2. Drink plenty of liquids such as water, diluted vegetable juices, soups and herb teas.
3. Again, sugar consumption only feeds the cold. So try to limit your simple sugar consumption (which includes fruit sugars) to less than 50 grams per day.
4. Vitamin C has been found to decreases the duration of a cold by nearly a full day – which is roughly twenty-one percent – if taken at a dosage of 1 to 6 grams per day. According to M.Murray and J. Pizzorno, they state “that the argument in the medical literature that vitamin C has no effect on the common cold seems to be based in large part on a faulty review written two decades ago.” My take on this argument – vitamin C taken in these dosages is not harmful, and why not see if it does in fact help you cut the amount of time you have the cold! (Source: Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine).
5. Most of us have heard about using Echinacea for a cold. It is interesting to note that in 1994, German physicians and pharmacists prescribed Echinacea more than 2.5 million times for the common cold. The Germans have long toted the benefits of natural herbs in treating various ailments. There have been over three hundred scientific investigations on the benefits of Echinacea on the immune system. I would go to your local health food store and ask the vitamin specialists what brand they would recommend.

I sure hope that you will be able to avoid the common cold this season, but if not, the former recommendations should help you cut the length of time you have a cold. Here’s to a fun-filled holiday season!

How do you remedy the common cold? What steps do you take to keep your family free from the common cold during the chilly months?

References:

• Michael Murray, N.D., and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D., Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine. Revised 2nd Edition. Three Rivers Press.

Melissa Northway, M.S. in Human Nutrition, is a mom, writer, and her company, Polka Dots Publishing, produces children’s picture book apps. Her first storybook app, Penelope the Purple Pirate, has been chosen as a Top 10 Educational iPad App. In celebration of Children’s Picture Book Month, Penelope is having a four (4) book giveaway going on until November 13th. You can read more about the giveaway here: http://melissanorthway.com/news.html. And follow Penelope the Purple Pirate on Facebook to learn about more giveaways coming up for the holidays! You can reach her at: @melissanorthway and mcube@sbcglobal.net.