Avoiding catching colds? Tips wanted

any tips for not catching a cold from the various sicknotes that are infecting the studio

[killing them and burning the bodies might be a bit extreme]

really don't want to catch a cold before the London to Paris ride

ta

Stay at home? ;)

Smoking.

take plenty of Vit C to boost immune system

1000mg vit C tablets.
one per day.
works like a dream.

too slooooooow

i find that just riding, at least once in the morning once in the evening, keeps any illnesses at bay.

Or zinc and selenium pills, used to work for me... :)

Others suggested preventative remedies:
A teaspoon of cod liver oil once a day
A litre of fresh juice once a day
Copious amounts of garlic once a day.

same here. chick in front and old dude next to me are coughing their guts out in perfect harmony. psssn me off. why dont they just stay home?

im buying some oranges this lunchtime

Be healthy.

3 x tablets a day:
Vit C
Echinacea
Cod Liver oil

Wash your hands a lot.

don't get the tube

Don't breathe, and/or have a good immune system.

30 cigs a day definetly kills germs and avoiding any form of public transport.

Wash your hands a lot.

+1

there is no way to avoid catching a cold virus, if you come into contact with one. I once asked a Doctor that very question, and he told me it doesn't matter how fit you are, or how many oranges you ate that morning - if you come into direct contact with the virus, you're going down with the cold.

fitness and good health will limit the length of the infection, but won't stop you getting it. it's a lottery.

All of the above and a wee dram of good quality single malt.

Keep yourself well fed and rested (lots of fruit and veg) exercise (but don't run yourself down)
As nimhbus says you can't totally avoid it, but if you are fit/healthy/well nourished you will fight it off better and wont feel the symptoms as much.

Good luck.

regularly eatin stuff off the floor keeps the immune system strong.

I woke up with a killer sore throat this morning,
I hate my flatmate right now. Could have also been the aircon from yesterday though.

Tip, dry yourself and change socks and shirt if you have been getting all sweaty cycling.

regularly eatin stuff off the floor keeps the immune system strong.

+1

also eating shit for breakfast works sometimes

Be healthy.

+1

You could try cell saturation with Vitamin C when you feel you may have the beginnings of a cold.

Someone more 'medical' (like eyebrows) may correct me on the details but it goes something like this, a cold virus spreads by using a 'spike' on it's surface to break into a cell, it pierces the lipid (fat) outer to get into the aqueous (water) centre - once there it divides and then these new cold viruses burst out of the cell (destroying the cell - this destruction causes some of the symptoms of a cold, the aches and pains and so on).

These new viruses split up, spread and break into their own individual new cells, each multiplying and bursting out of that new cell and so on and so forth, growing in number and multiplying all the time - basically spreading the cold - until your immune system kicks in and kills them off - which might take a week or two.

So . . . there are two (well three) know and proven aids in this battle. First cell saturation, flood your body's cells with Vitamin C, I forget the exact amounts, but it is something like 3 grams every 4 hours (yes 3000mg !) - don't worry about overdosing on vitamin C is has a very very low toxicity (I have heard it is less toxic than tap water) - and anyway if you do overdose on C you don't die or even become ill - you get diarrhea. This you can use as a good guide to whether or not you have reached cell saturation, take your Vitamin C up to a level where you start to get a bit of diarrhea then back off the next dose by (I guess) 500-1000mg.

Cell saturation basically inhabits the cold virus and stops it from reproducing, I forget the reasons it is either that it disables the hemaglutin spike on the surface of the virus - or it disables an enzyme on the surface of the hemaglutin spike needed to puncture the lipid outer of the cell wall. I am going to embarrass myself here (when someone with a medical degree finds this post and corrects me) but I think this enzyme on the outside of the virus's spike is called 'rumatase' (???) (looked it up on google and found nothing !) - anyhow the name is not important nor the method of the viruses timely death, what's important is that this is a know technique.

In addition Sambocol (elderberry extract available in most pharmacies) is said to also disable the enzyme on the surface of the hemaglutin spike (the one I forget the name of) and help slow or stop the spread of the cold.

And finally zinc had been shown (in proper double blind trials) to reduce the length of time you have a cold significantly.

Eat well...
Lots of fruit and veg. Not 'too' much red meat. Avoid if possible.
Better for your body to get the vitamins from food rather than tablets.
Tons of water.
No alcohol binges. Weakens the defense.
Lot's of cycling.

No hanging out in dirty dives or with dirty bikers! ;-)

++

To add to the above, I should say that if you do cell saturation don't make the mistake of getting an ester of C (soluble in fat) - you need to pick up plain old ascorbic acid from somewhere like Holland and Barrat.

I get a powdered ascorbic acid mix in a couple of table spoons of Sambocol, grind up some zinc, sling that in, and mix it all into a large glass of orange juice.