What’s the best way to get rid of a cold? 🤧 It’s surprisingly simple.
In fact, instead of having to read the entire article, the best way to get rid of a cold is as follows:
- Take vitamin D (around 2,000 IU a day is a good start)
- Get some light exercise (a brisk walk outdoors is particularly good)
- Stay well hydrated (water, soups and rehydration drinks)
- Get good sleep (at least 7 hours of good sleep)
(I explore these in more depth at the bottom of this article).
However, I love looking at global traditions and cultures – and there are loads that are used to cure the common cold. 🌎
If you want to learn how to get rid of a cold, read on…
- What is a cold?
- Best way to get rid of a cold: Traditions from around the world!
- Actionable tips for getting rid of a cold
- The final word on the best way to get rid of a cold
In this article, we travel to the Dominican Republic, Iran, Japan and other countries to learn how they cure a cold and whether these traditions are of any use.
Some of the tips I’ll share later will help you because they have helped me.
I used to get loads of colds and they used to last ages. Now I don’t and when I do they are so much milder, and I can still function well.
What is a cold?
Whether it’s on your summer holiday or – more likely – during Christmas, you notice something…
Your throat suddenly feels a little scratchy. You sneeze. You cough. Uh oh… you have a cold! 😩
Common colds have been around since… forever. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, once described the common cold as: “a running at the nose and . . . a discharge from the nostrils . . . it makes the nose swell and renders it hot and inflamed.”
A cold is a viral infection of your upper respiratory tract (i.e., your nose and throat), leaving you feeling pretty grim. Headaches, runny nose, sore throat and coughing…
Come on, you know what a cold is!
Best way to get rid of a cold: Traditions from around the world!
Colds affect the entire planet, so – of course – our global cousins have many traditions to help get rid of a cold and feel better.
I’ve found several traditions from countries around the world that may help treat a cold.
Now let’s look at whether it’s worth incorporating them into our lives. Or at least incorporating aspects of these cultures into our lives.
Unusual drinks from the Dominican Republic
We’ve all heard of hot lemon – lemon juice and hot water, sometimes mixed with some honey or plant-based sweetener like agave syrup. 🍋
Naturally, many countries tend to follow this culture of using hot drinks for colds – and for good reason.
They are comforting drinks, they taste nice, they soothe your throat and they can relieve congestion.
However, this one from the Dominican Republic is… a little unusual to say the least.
Instead of lemon and honey, people in the Dominican Republic use passionfruit and… onion made into a tea.
Yep, that’s right, the sweet tropical taste of passion fruit mixed with the astringent flavour of raw onions.
Hmm. Not one for the taste purists, although this could well be a good call!
Firstly, onions are rich in vitamin C, which – as you probably already know – is a vitamin linked to immune health and improvements in cold symptoms.
Onions also come from the allium family of vegetables, which also includes things like chives, garlic, and leeks. These foods are a good source of quercetin, which is a plant nutrient with known antiviral properties.
As for garlic, this is often used in tea too.
People in Mexico supposedly add garlic to hot lemon drinks to battle colds and flus. Like onion, garlic has antiviral and antibacterial properties, and has been shown in many studies to help reduce cold symptoms and the duration of a cold.
If you can’t stomach mixing sweet drinks with strong flavours like garlic, then you can still get the benefits of these foods by using more onion and garlic in your cooking.
You can also take daily garlic capsules, which are available in many health-food shops and online.
Root vegetables in Iran
Sticking with foods, let’s hop over to Iran. We all know how good wholefoods are for you and vegetables are clearly going to be an effective way to battle a cold!
When a cold strikes in Iran, there’s one vegetable they turn to… Can you guess it?
No? Not carrots. Not cabbage…
It’s… turnips!
In Iran, people with colds often eat a plate of cooked, mashed turnips.
There’s definitely some sense here, because turnips are packed with vitamin C (around 27mg per cup) – which, as you already know, is good at reducing the severity of a cold. It’s also full of other vitamins, like vitamins A and B.
Now, you may have heard of an expectorant. This is a medication that help clear mucus from the airwaves.
Interestingly, turnips are believed to act as an expectorant, which is another reason the Iranians tend to eat them when struggling with a stubborn cold.
I actually love mashed veg – so I’d say grab a few turnips, boil them, mash them, add some seasoning (maybe some garlic!) and then enjoy!
Looked up turnips… actually swede.
Umeboshi from Japan
Ok, so you’ve finished your turnips or swede… what’s for dessert?
If you still have that pesky cold, then it’s time to grab a few plums. Not just any old plums, but pickled plums.
This is what the Japanese do during cold season.
They are actually known as umeboshi, which is a kind of pungent apricot. Umeboshi can be eaten as they are (if you like the sound of a pungent apricot…), but it may be easier to enjoy them steeped in a hot lemon drink.
The reason these umeboshi are used is because of their reported antibacterial effects. Unlike garlic and onions, there is no scientific evidence to support this.
However, if they have been used for so long, there may well be some truth in it.
Regardless, eating more fruit when you have a cold is generally sensible because fruit is full of immunity boosting vitamins as well as nutrients like quercetin – apples, berries and citrus fruits in particular.
Menthol in Mexico
Ok time for one more tradition, then I’m going to get into some tips!
I really like this one from Mexico.
Basically, if a child has a cold, they smear a vaporub on the child’s chest and their feet, then put socks on. Then they wrap them up in heated sheets to sleep off the cold.
It’s all quite sensible.
A 2010 study found that the camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus oils in vaporub may relieve symptoms and improve sleep in children with upper respiratory infections.
Obviously, rubbing it on the chest makes sense as that will help clear the airwaves and congestion.
I don’t really understand why you’d rub it on the feet, but from what I have read it actually seems to work!
I’m not sure of the science behind this or whether it’s just a placebo, but if you have some vaporub and some socks, then give it a go (only if your child is older than the age of 2).
As the for the heated sheets, these are thought to help the child sweat out a cold. But as far as I have read, there is no way to sweat out a cold, it just doesn’t work like that.
However, raising the body’s temperature when you are ill is what the body does naturally to fight off infection.
What I’d say is do whatever makes you feel more comfortable and able to get a good night of sleep.
Sleep is when your body is in full repair mode and most effective at fighting off whatever virus you have picked up. So don’t stay up late or go out partying if you have a cold. Get some good quality rest.
Actionable tips for getting rid of a cold
Let’s move onto some tips on the best way to get rid of a cold, as we mentioned earlier in the article.
Firstly, there is no way to prevent a cold. 🫤
However, washing your hands makes good sense. Carry some antibacterial gel with you, especially if you are in crowded areas or on public transport.
Instead, I suggest you keep your body fighting fit.
Vitamin D
We all know how important vitamins are in keeping our immune systems healthy. Vitamin C is great for reducing severity of a cold, but when it comes to preventing a cold, look for vitamin D.
Research shows that vitamin D can stimulate the production of a virus-killing protein, and taking D supplements can lead to fewer viral infections.
I take a daily multivitamin, but I also take additional vitamin D – around 2,000 IU a day. The safe upper level of daily vitamin D intake in 4,000 IU, although up to 10,000 has been shown to have no adverse effects.
A multivitamin is safe for anyone, and so is vitamin D, although I would recommend doctor if you are on other medication or have any concerns.
Otherwise, get out in the sun as often as you can this winter, because the sun is a free and natural source of vitamin D!
Exercise
This brings me onto my next tip… exercise!
If you are trying to cure a cold, the last thing you may want to do is lace up your trainers and go to the gym.
However, exercise has been shown to boost circulation of immune cells throughout the body. There’s no need to go crazy and perform something at high intensity, but I suggest getting outside and walking.
This also gives you chance to get outside into some fresh air.
When you have a cold, it’s easy to sit at home breathing in the same air, but taking in some fresh air really helps.
So a walk outdoors will kill two birds with one stone!
Stay hydrated
A hydrated body is more efficient and will battle off bugs more effectively. It can also help you loosen mucus in your lungs.
So throughout the day sip some warm water, some tea, some soup, or some hot lemon… maybe add in some fresh garlic like we discussed above! 🧄
Get some good sleep
As mentioned above, get some sleep – this is one of the best ways to get rid of a cold!
Sleep is when your body repairs itself and good sleep is vital to the immune system and fighting off colds.
Using vaporub if you are feeling particularly bunged up can help open the airwaves. Whether or not you use it on your feet is your call!
I would also suggest trying kiwi fruit to help you sleep, as these have sleep-aiding properties and are packed with vitamin C (which is obviously good for your cold).
The final word on the best way to get rid of a cold
You’ll notice that none of my actionable tips are particularly glamourous, but they are the tried and tested cold remedies that work.
Whether you are reading this in the midst of cold and flu season or you have an annoying summer cold, I hope this article has helped either prevent or cure your illness.
Keep these tips in mind – they really are the best way to get rid of a cold. Follow them and you will go a long way to both preventing and reducing a cold.
Do let me know how you get on! Now, where are those tissues…
Planet Health 
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