Natural Antivirals During Cold and Flu Season

It’s cold and flu season, and headlines are filled with stories about RSV or respiratory syncytial virus. How do you stay healthy in the face of this viral onslaught? Let’s take a look at 5 natural supports that act as natural antivirals to help maintain your overall health.

Nature has provided us with an array of powerful virus fighters that can boost overall immunity and help protect against viral infections. All of them are easy to find, easy on the budget, and have very little risk of adverse side effects. That makes them the first line of defense against the common cold and flu without a doctor’s prescription.

1. Zinc

Zinc is for a healthy immune system. Since immune system functioning declines with age, some adults may benefit from a supplement, and it may also become more critical during times of seasonal illness and stress, which can lower your immune function.

Studies show that short-term oral supplementation with zinc safely and efficiently induces the stress response in healthy white blood cells from elderly participants. The stress response may be the pathway connecting zinc deficiency with aging and the natural degeneration of the immune system over time. Proper dietary zinc intake may protect neurons from stress.

Zinc supplementation has also been shown to improve symptoms of depression. Zinc lozenges are a popular way to boost intake of this vital nutrient and have been shown to be very effective at eliminating common cold viruses 3 times faster than in those not taking zinc.