> Health and Disease > Colds, Infections, and Viruses

We all know the knock-you-off-your-feet misery of colds and flu: the aches, chills, fever, dry cough, and lingering exhaustion. And with the winter season fast approaching chances are many of us will feel it again sometime soon.

OTCs don’t work

“If treated, it lasts a week. If not, it lasts seven days.” So goes the conventional wisdom about the common cold. While a cure has yet to be discovered, drug stores are filled with modern medicines designed to fight the annoying symptoms of a cold.

Most over-the-counter cold medicines simply mask symptoms without addressing the underlying cause or shortening duration of illness. Such temporary relief has its downsides: antihistamines can make you groggy, decongestants can make you jittery, and certain pain relievers upset the stomach and stress the liver. Prescription antibiotics don’t kill viruses, so they’re not effective in treating the flu (although in severe cases, when a secondary bacterial infection has developed, their use may be required.) However, natural remedies are both safe and effective.

Clinically effective traditional medicine

Scientists are finding that a traditional Zulu medicine made from roots of Pelargonium sidoides (a type of geranium unique to South Africa) can reduce severity and shorten duration of symptoms associated with common colds and other upper respiratory illnesses such as sinusitis and bronchitis.

Studies show that a natural medicine made from P. sidoides’ roots successfully treats upper respiratory illnesses—whether of viral or bacterial origin. Research indicates that it interferes with the ability of a virus or bacteria to attach to human cells. In addition, certain phenols, tannins, and coumarins found in its roots have mild antibacterial activity and help stimulate the body’s own immune response. P. sidoides also helps loosen excessive mucus.

In a recently published study of children with acute, nonstreptococcal tonsillitis (sore throat), P. sidoides shortened the duration of illness by at least two days, compared with those who took a placebo. Another double-blind, placebo-controlled trial found that adults with acute bronchitis were able to return to work up to two days sooner by taking P. sidoides. Clinical research showed that 90 percent of 361 patients with acute sinusitis had remission or improvement of individual symptoms with P. sidoides. In study after study, P. sidoides effectively reduced the severity of symptoms, including body aches, congestion, cough, headache, hoarseness, fever, and sore throat.

Getting better sooner

Although modern medical science has yet to find a cure for the common cold and other upper respiratory ailments, it has validated P. sidoides as an effective treatment for a speedier recovery. You can find natural P. sidoides medicines as liquid drops and syrups at health and nutrition stores.

It’s one of Mother Nature’s secrets that the Zulus have known for centuries.

Karlene Karst, RD, registered dietitian and director of education for Nature’s Way, appears frequently on television and radio across Canada and is co-author of Healthy Fats for Life (Wiley, 2004).

Source: alive #276, October 2005

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