I find that herbal teas can be a great way to both alleviate some of the symptoms of a cold, and to stay properly hydrated. This fits into a lot of the points you make in this article! Breathing in the vapors of aromatic teas such as mint tea can be a great way to "get steamy" as recommended under point two in this article! Not only do the vapors of any tea help, but plants such as mint have aromatic oils which can help clear out congestion. Another herb to consider is rooibos, which has shown some promise in treating respiratory conditions by facilitating breathing. Also, the process of drinking warm fluids can relax you, and many herb teas have additional relaxing properties, which can help stimulate your immune system and get your body into heal & repair mode.
While there hasn't been much research on whether it actually carries through into shortening the duration of a cold or other viral infections, there are many herbs that are commonly used in herbal teas that have been shown to have significant antiviral properties in lab studies. For example, lemongrass, as well as many other lemon-scented herbs which contain a similar complex of chemicals, such as lemon balm, lemon verbena, and lemon myrtle, have been demonstrated to have potent antiviral effects in vitro. This has been demonstrated both through examining the essential oils extracted from these plants, and from studying individual chemical components of the oil. The lemongrass page I link to has citations of studies for anyone curious to see some hard science to back up these claims!
As a last point, some herbal teas can be a good source of vitamin C...especially those containing berries or rose hips.
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I find that herbal teas can be a great way to both alleviate some of the symptoms of a cold, and to stay properly hydrated. This fits into a lot of the points you make in this article! Breathing in the vapors of aromatic teas such as mint tea can be a great way to "get steamy" as recommended under point two in this article! Not only do the vapors of any tea help, but plants such as mint have aromatic oils which can help clear out congestion. Another herb to consider is rooibos, which has shown some promise in treating respiratory conditions by facilitating breathing. Also, the process of drinking warm fluids can relax you, and many herb teas have additional relaxing properties, which can help stimulate your immune system and get your body into heal & repair mode.
While there hasn't been much research on whether it actually carries through into shortening the duration of a cold or other viral infections, there are many herbs that are commonly used in herbal teas that have been shown to have significant antiviral properties in lab studies. For example, lemongrass, as well as many other lemon-scented herbs which contain a similar complex of chemicals, such as lemon balm, lemon verbena, and lemon myrtle, have been demonstrated to have potent antiviral effects in vitro. This has been demonstrated both through examining the essential oils extracted from these plants, and from studying individual chemical components of the oil. The lemongrass page I link to has citations of studies for anyone curious to see some hard science to back up these claims!
As a last point, some herbal teas can be a good source of vitamin C...especially those containing berries or rose hips.
February 10, 2010 - 2:29pmThis Comment
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