Snuggling in your bed, drinking a cup of coffee and nibbling on some fried snacks is probably the most ideal way to spend lazy and gloomy days in winter. Sadly, with this weather comes the fear of becoming prone to infections; thanks to a weakened immunity system. During winters, you are in for an increased risk of cold and cough or flu. Did you know your diet may also have a role in aggravating your condition? If you haven't known this already, we can tell you about some foods that can potentially contribute to excessive cold and cough. However, let's first see what happens when you suffer from cold.You get cold when a virus attaches to the lining of your nose and throat. The immunity system sends white blood cells to fight against these viruses, but tends to fail, considering they are weak enough to lose out. Your nose and throat then gets inflamed and makes a lot of mucus. With so much energy lost in fighting the cold virus, you are left feeling fatigued and miserable. A weak immunity system and virus can completely get you down. We tell you foods that may invite more problems than solving them.

1. Dairy Products

While you may have heard everything good about dairy products, there is a chance that they may be sneakily increasing your cold, causing your body to produce more mucus. Do not completely give up on dairy as it is a good source of protein and vitamin D that can help your body fight against infection. Just ensure limited intake in order to avoid causing excessive mucus.

2. Caffeine Intake

Caffeine loaded foods and drinks like coffee, tea and soft drinks are all diuretics that tend to dehydrate your body and this can lead to much thicker mucus, encouraging cold and cough and a weaker immunity. Avoid caffeinated drinks as much as you can and stay healthy.

3. Fried Foods

Fried junk food is not just responsible for adding bulk to your waistline, but may also become a serious cause of cold and cough in your system. The fats and oils present in the fatty foods, which are derived from animal products like butter, lard and omega-6 fatty acids may cause you to produce mucus, further aggravating cold and flu. Stick to healthier foods and focus on improving your immunity system than making it worse.

4. Histamine Dense Foods

Histamines are chemicals that your immune system makes. They help your body get rid of something that's not doing any good to you, for instance, allergens. They alert you when you have ingested something that may be allergic to you. So if you have cold or any allergy, histamines prompt thin walls to make more mucus, which can result in mucus formation. You can get a runny or a stuffy nose. There are foods that naturally high in histamines, which can contribute to the problem and make it worse. Avoid avocados, mushrooms, strawberries, dry fruits, alcohol, yogurt, vinegar and fermented foods.

5. Alcohol

Alcohol tends to encourage inflammation; further weakening your white blood cells which make it harder for your body to heal. So it is better to skip drinking alcohol that will only worsen your immunity system.

6. Sugar

Just like alcohol, sugar can too cause serious inflammation and weaken your immunity system making your cold and cough worse. Sweets may be comforting, but try and avoid as much as you can. You don't want to stay sick while others enjoy their share of sweets.

Enjoy winters without getting sick just by tweaking your diet a little. Stay healthy!

It's predictable to catch cough and cold during winters. People with low immunity mostly become victims and as winters begin, they try different methods to prevent the effects of cold weather. For most of us, ginger tea is the best remedy to treat cough and cold. It is easily available and found in every Indian kitchen.

Put a small piece of ginger in your mouth. Keep it for some time and swallow its juice. You may not like the taste but it will definitely give you the calming effect. In no time, the sourness in your throat will soothe down a lot and you will feel much better. You may not know it but this terrific method helps in neutralizing a poor taste in your mouth.

How to use papaya leaves to fight dengue.
On the other hand, you can also do this. Cut a piece (about an inch and a half long) of fresh ginger. You can either chop it or grate it. Put it in a cup of warm water and let it sit for five minutes. Squeeze the ginger and drink the warm water. You can drink three or more cups daily until you feel fine. If you want flavour, you can add a spoonful of honey.

However, if you prefer tea, here's how you should make your tea. It is another effective way to treat cold and cough. Ginger tea is also one of the most preferred teas and has many health benefits. It not only treats cold but helps in relieving nausea, reduces inflammation, fight respiratory problems and improves blood circulation. So, sip a hot cup of green tea and gain its different health benefits. For children, reduce the concentration of the tea a bit, so it's less spicy.

Trusting on home remedies to cure common cold and cough is something that many Indian households still believe.

Besides treating common cold and cough effectively, these home remedies are also free from any side-effects.

Here we have mentioned some of these home remedies that will help you treat common cold and cough.

Ginger tea
Ginger tea not only tastes good but also helps in treating common cold and cough. The tea helps in drying running and dripping nose, thus expelling phlegm from the respiratory tract. Among various health benefits of ginger, it is known to soothe common cold and speeds up the recovery process.

Mixture of lemon, cinnamon and honey
Another effective home remedy for common cold and cough is a mixture of lemon, cinnamon and honey. This syrup effectively cures cold and cough.

Luke-warm water
Drink luke-warm water frequently as it helps in fighting against common cold, cough and sore throat. Warm water reduces inflammation in the throat and helps in replenishing the fluids and infection out of the body.

Milk and turmeric
An essential ingredient found in almost all Indian kitchens, turmeric has a strong antioxidant which helps in treating many health problems. Turmeric mixed in warm milk is a popular and effective way to fight against cold and cough. Drinking a glass of warm turmeric milk before sleeping helps in faster recovery from cold and cough.

Gargle with salt-water
This is an age-old therapy that effectively treats cough and cold. Adding turmeric in this salt-water is also beneficial.

Honey and brandy
Brandy is known to keep your chest warm as it increases body’s temperature and missing honey in brandy helps in fighting a cough. Just a teaspoon of brandy mixed with few drops of honey improves cough and common cold.

Spiced tea
Add tulsi, ginger and black pepper while peparing your tea and this spiced tea is great for your health. These three ingredients play an important role in fighting a common cold and cough.

सर्दी आणि खोकल्याच्या व्हायरसच्या मदतीने कॅन्सरवर उपचार करणं खरचं शक्य आहे का? तुम्ही म्हणाल काही काय म्हणताय? पण या प्रश्नाचं उत्तर ऐकून कदाचित तुम्हालाही आश्चर्य वाटेल. खरचं सर्दी आणि खोकल्याच्या व्हायरसच्या मदतीने कॅन्सरवर उपचार करणं खरचं शक्य असल्याचे संशोधकांनी एका संशोधनातून सिद्ध केलं आहे. म्हणजेच, कॉमन कोल्डचे व्हायरस कॅन्सरच्या पेशींना मुळापासून नष्ट करण्यासाठी मदत करत असल्याचे सिद्ध झाले आहे. मेडिकल एक्सप्रेस या वेबसाइटने दिलेल्या वृत्तानुसार, संशोधकांचे म्हणणे आहे की, कोल्ड व्हायरस म्हणजेच, coxsackievirus किंवा CVA21 ब्लॅडरमधील कॅन्सरच्या पेशी मुळापासून नष्ट करण्यासाठी मदत करतात.

संशोधनाच्या ट्रायलसाठी इंग्लंडमधील यूनिवर्सिटी ऑफ सरी द्वारे करण्यात आलेल्या एका तपासणीमध्ये पित्ताशयाच्या कॅन्सरने (ब्लॅडर कॅन्सर) ग्रस्त असणाऱ्या 15 रूग्णांना सामाविष्ट करण्यात आलं होतं. सर्जरी करण्याच्या आधी या रूग्णांना coxsackievirus किंवा CVA21 नावाचं कोल्ड व्हायरस इंजेक्ट करण्यात आलं. सर्जरी केल्यानंतर जेव्हा रूग्णांच्या पेशींची तपासणी करण्यात आली, त्यावेळी कोल्ड व्हायरसने फक्त कॅन्सरच्या पेशीच नष्ट नाही केल्या तर प्रजननामार्फत या व्हायरसने आपली संख्या देखील वाढवल्याचे दिसून आले.

वैज्ञानिकांनी सांगितल्यानुसार, कोल्ड व्हायरस कॅन्सरच्या पेशींमध्ये प्रवेश केल्यानंतर एका प्रतिरोधात्मक प्रोटिनला जन्म देतात, ज्यामुळे इतर पेशींना संकेत मिळतो आणि त्यादेखील या व्हायरसशी जोडल्या जातात. तपासणीमध्ये सहभागी करण्यात आलेल्या सर्व रूग्णांमध्ये असं दिसून आलं की, त्यांच्यामध्ये ट्यूमर नष्ट होण्यासोबतच कॅन्सरच्या पेशीही मुळापासून नष्ट झाल्याचं दिसून आलं. एवढचं नाही तर काही आठवडे ट्रिटमेंट घेतल्यानंतर कॅन्सरची काही लक्षणं आणि संकेतही पूर्णपणे नष्ट झाले.

आजकाल ब्लॅडर कॅन्सर म्हणजेच, पित्ताशयाच्या कॅन्सरही इतर कॅन्सरप्रमाणे साधारण झाला आहे. सुरुवातीला या कॅन्सरची लक्षणं समजणं कठिण असतं, कदाचित म्हणूनच या कॅन्सरला ब्रेस्ट कॅन्सरप्राणेच सायलेन्ट किलर म्हटलं जातं. जास्तीत जास्त रूग्णांना या आजाराची लक्षणं वाढल्यानंतर समजतात. 2016मध्ये करण्यात आलेल्या एका संशोधनानुसार, ब्लॅडर कॅन्सरने ग्रस्त असलेले सर्वात जास्त रूग्ण उत्तर भारतामध्ये आढळून आले होते.

टिप : वरील सर्व गोष्टी संशोधनातून सिद्ध झालेल्या असून या आम्ही केवळ माहिती म्हणून वाचकांपर्यंत पोहोचवत आहोत. यातून आम्ही कोणत्याही प्रकारचा दावा करत नाही. त्यामुळे कोणताही उपाय करण्याआधी तज्ज्ञांचा सल्ला घेणं फायदेशीर ठरतं.

पावसाळ्या उद्भवणाऱ्या अनेक समस्यांपैकी अजून एक समस्या म्हणजे सॉक्स (मोजे) ओले होणे. अशावेळी कधी एकदा ते सॉक्स काढतो, असे होते. पण तुम्हाला माहित आहे का? ओले मोजे घालण्याचे काही आश्चर्यकारक फायदे देखील आहेत. जाणून घेऊया...

ताप किंवा सर्दी असल्यास ओल्या सॉक्सचा हा प्रयोग करुन पाहा. तात्काळ फरक दिसेल.

पोटाची समस्या
पोटाच्या समस्यांनी त्रस्त असाल तर पाण्यात काळ्या जिऱ्यासोबत बडिशेप देखील १० मिनिटे उकळवा. या पाण्यात सॉक्स बुडवून पायात घाला. खराब पोटाची समस्या दूर पळेल.


ताप
घरात कोणाला खूप ताप आल्यास व्हिनेगरच्या पाण्यात सॉक्स ओले करा. त्यातील अतिरिक्त पाणी पिळून ताप आलेल्या व्यक्तीच्या पायात घाला. ताप लवकर उतरेल.

सर्दी
तुम्हाला जर वारंवार सर्दी होत असेल तर कांद्याच्या रसात चमचाभर मध मिसळून त्यात सॉक्स ओले करा आणि पिळून पायात घाला.