Don't Let Cold and Flu Season Knock You Out This Winter

Getting sick is an inconvenience, particularly when it drags on and keeps you from getting things done, seeing your family, and resuming work or school. Typically, cold and flu symptoms arise a week to ten days following exposure to a virus. These infections are usually self-resolving, but the severity and duration of cold and flu symptoms are largely influenced by your body’s immune response. 

The complexity of the immune system means that we can’t simply turn up the volume on our immune activation, at least not without potentially damaging the system’s communication network. Baselessly boosting immune cells to act can trigger hyper-responsiveness and lead to harmful inflammatory cascades or autoimmunity. On the other hand, no response at all leaves us vulnerable to all sorts of infections and diseases. It turns out that the key lies not in immune boosting, but in knowing when to mobilize, replenish, or calm the immune system in response to specific triggers. 

While we can’t avoid infection entirely, we can certainly implement strategies that keep our immune system well-stocked and vigilant. Long-term and immune-supportive strategies include getting high-quality sleep, regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, and reducing stress—these are also important lifelong routines. Priming your immune system through immunizing, antimicrobials, and clearance means the infection is less likely to have long-lasting negative consequences, and you’ll be less prone to catching another infection while you recover.  

I Have a Cold – Now What? 

For those acute infections, AOR has developed Cold & Flu. It contains a unique combination of ingredients specifically formulated to reduce the severity of cold and flu symptoms and simultaneously bolster the immune system. This formula combines the botanical plants Andrographis, South African Geranium, and Tinospora cordifolia along with zinc and copper—key minerals that support the cells of the immune system. Andrographis is an herb used in its native India and Sri Lanka for its antimicrobial action, and it was shown to reduce the number of sick days patients took (from five days down to three days).

Short-term ingestion of the roots of the South African Geranium plant helps reduce the duration of infection by preventing bugs from binding and continuing to infect. Finally, Tinosporia cordifolia, known as Guduchi in Ayurvedic medicine, contains ​various active compounds that have been shown to activate immune cells (specifically macrophages and lysozymes) to break down and clear the foreign invaders.  

Finally, we know that zinc is vital to the immune system, evidenced by the fact that even mild to moderate degrees of zinc deficiency can impair immune cells that are essential for full immune competence. Additionally, when supplementing with zinc, you should ensure you have a balanced formula that also contains copper.

Complete your immune apothecary with long- and short-term solutions and find your way to fewer colds and shorter sick days, with more time to do the things you love. 

At AOR, our vision is to transform health through natural, personalized, and therapeutic care. We seek to catalyze change and challenge conventions through continuous innovation. For twenty-eight years, it has been our mission to transform scientific research into evidence-based, natural health products that empower people to lead their best lives.