I've finally succumbed

It's the first cold of the cold season...which isn't that bad. I've been really trying to stay on top of the symptoms this year, and take preventative measures at the first sign of trouble: scratchy throat, watery eyes, sneezes, etc. I guess this cold is actually confirmation that my regimen has been working well, since a few days ago I had a few telltale random sneezes that were my body telling me that something was coming...and I didn't do anything about it like I did throughout the rest of the year. I'd say I've fought off about four colds this season, and in past years, I would have gotten three of them.

I think losing 50 pounds has been good for my immune system as well, and I've been really trying to take a one-a-day vitamin. But most of all, I think staying healthy is a matter of listening to your body. When you're 37, you know what your body feels like when it's on the cusp of catching something. I've become convinced that if you get rest, plenty of vitamin C and make a few other healthy choices, you can stave off most colds. I just wasn't vigilant enough this time around.

My current cold fighting triumvirate starts with mega doses of vitamin C at the first sign of something funky. According to my natural health book, the body can utilize and handle about 20,000-30,000 grams of vitamin C, which is the amount you need to put into your body for vitamin C to be effective. The kicker is that vitamin C is really only helpful in the prevention stage. Once your cold sets in, vitamin C isn't very helpful. Beyond the vitamin C, I use Zicam faithfully--I'm believer! Finally, on top of all of that, I like to use Airborne.

I'm planning on this being the only cold I get in 2008. We'll see how things progress.