Cold season coming in hot

My medicine cabinet is ready.

It still feels like high summer in LA, but cold season has already started. Ozzie spent Monday home with a cough and Freya had a touch of a runny nose. Honestly it was mild—let’s just call it a gentle reminder that cold season is on its way. I don’t remember getting sick very often before having kids, but having a germy toddler in the house really puts your immune system to the test. So this year, I’m coming armed.

PREVENTION
The best prevention is maintaining your overall health by eating a balanced, whole foods diet, prioritizing sleep, exercising, practicing stress management, and doing what you can to minimize your toxic exposure. Beyond that, here are some supplements I swear by:

Multivitamin
Taking a daily multi will ensure that you are getting a baseline of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to maintain your overall and immune health. A good multi will have immune heros like zinc, vitamin D, and vitamin C, in addition to other vitamins and minerals for optimal health. Needed has a great multi for women and men — I am still taking the Prenatal Essentials. (discount code: MIA20).

NAC
N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a form of the amino acid cysteine and powerful antioxidant. It is the precursor to Glutathione (the body’s master antioxidant), so supplementing with this can help reduce inflammation in keep your immune system in fighting shape for cold season. I recommend 600-900mg 1-2x a day. NAC is also a great decongestant and can help thin mucous in the event that you do get sick.

Needed Immune Support (discount code: MIA20)
Jamie, Ozzie and I all take this. It’s a delicious powder (we call it pink drink, lol) loaded with elderberry, zinc, pre and postbiotics for overall immune support and gut health. This will help keep you cold free this time of year and is great for any school-aged kids (and adults) bringing home all the germs. It’s also pregnancy and breastfeeding safe.

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ONCE YOU’RE SICK
Rest and a big bowl of homemade soup are your best friends when you’re sick, but these are a few other remedies that will get you out of bed and back to normal life.

Zicam Nasal Swabs
Whenever my family is sick or if I feel a slight tickle of a cold, I use these homeopathic nasal swabs, and I swear I have successfully managed to avoid a few household colds by using these. They’re also great to bring when you travel.

Zinc
I don’t generally recommend taking extra zinc beyond what’s in your multi for every day use—too much zinc can interfere with copper and won’t prevent the common cold. But, if you feel a cold coming or are already sick, you can take some extra zinc for a couple of days to (hopefully) shorten the duration of your illness. I like this Zinc Picolinate which is 30mg. I would take this 1-2x a day max (remember, your multi has some zinc too).

Neti Pot
My grandmother was religious about the Neti Pot, and truthfully, I always found it a little weird, but when you are stuffed up there is literally nothing better. My favorite is this porcelain one — buy it once and you can keep it for years (just don’t forget to clean it).

Power to Breath Inhaler by Olbas
I am obsessed with this essential oil inhaler. It clears your sinuses like nothing other and smells great. Can be used on adults and children 2 years and older.

Beekeepers Naturals Cough Drops or Throat Spray
Sometimes you need a cough drop or a soothing throat spay, but many of them are just candy in disguise. These are my go-tos. I also love these cough-drops-on-a-stick for kids. We call them “medicine lollipops” in my house.

Ginger Shot
Sure you can buy a ginger shot at the store or your local grocery store or juice shot (just be mindful of the sugar), but this recipe really packs a punch and will blast open your nasal passages.

Glutathione
Glutathione is the body’s master antioxidant and plays a significant role in immune health. It can help your body fight off an illness before it hits and recover better. I generally like to use NAC for everyday use to boost glutathione and reserve glutathione for when an illness hits. Here are two that I like from LivOn Labs and Quicksilver Scientific.

Breathe Right Strips
If you’re struggling to because of nasal congestion, this is a great way to get some relief. My acupuncturist first recommended to this me and I was skeptical at first, but there’s nothing worse than trying to sleep when you can’t breathe out of your nose! I tried it out of desperation and I have to say it works.