The flu has hit here severely

[caulfield]

I take daily:

1 multi-vitamin
1 packet effervescent powder containing:
-Marine grade coral calcium
-Vitamin D
-Magnesium
2 to 4 spoons of olive oil in my dinner salad
4 to 6 liters of water a day

And us Filipinos put garlic in damn near everything, but always cooked, and there seem to be three schools of thought on garlic:

1. Garlic is garlic and benefits you regardless of how it is prepared
2. It actually is best if garlic is ingested raw instead of boiled or fried
3. Not only should it be raw, but for full benefits, it should be eaten whole with only the skin removed. Not sliced or crushed, but whole pieces uncooked.

[winder]

I have added magnesium as a supplment lately as it helps with memory and is good for the heart.

I am also getting a load of antioxidants from my trail mix of:
walnuts
pecans
almonds
cashews
raisins
dried pineapple
dried papaya

I also take vtiamin C and a multiple and vitamin E.

I drink plenty of tomato juice for the lycopene (keep that prostate small).

Get my blueberries in yogurt.

If I could only find broccoli juice, I'd be set.

Garlic only gets potent in flavor and odor when cut or bruised, as enzymes are activated that create the highly potent odoriferous compounds.

[Susanoo no Mikoto]

Are there not problems with echinacea?
A friend of mine used to take it on a regular basis but stopped after hearing that while it can temporarily boost the immune system, it can also cause damage to this delicate mechanism.

indeed, as with any "drug" allowing the body to become accustomed with the extra "shot" echinicia and others give for the immune system, the body will become dependant on it and in the end be weaker without it...although, perhaps the system can regenerate with time....

I would suggest trying to find a propolis echnicia mix and take a bit once a day or so for a couple days...after which time, allowing it to do "its thing"...

you can also be all "buddhist" about it all and "become one" with the virus..."feel" the illness for all its worth....

I eat healthy food daily  

[Ashoka]

I drink beer every weekend, smoke cigarettes and my diet varies from junk food to vegetable curries.

I haven't had the flu for 7 or 8 years.

 :lol:

[senorsalvia]

When may we expect the book tour: / Ashoka's slacker diet??? --senorsal

[Stonehenge]

Melatonin is another good thing to take. It's an antioxidant and a hormone that all living things use. It's best to take it in the evening since it makes you sleepy.

Stoney

[Susanoo no Mikoto]

what doesn't kill ye makes ye stronger... it is rare that I get ill, but when I do...I generally let nature take her course....last time was ill...I didn't take anything to augment anything....I stilled was better quicker than the people I work with...it usually takes them a week to two weeks before they are healthy again...usually takes me 2 to 3 days to be healthy again...each to their own....I think its important to find a diet SUITED to you, the individual...as everyone is different...of course, this is all based on personal experience and speculation.....

[winder]

Regarding melatonin...

Melatonin and sex hormones

[Stonehenge]

Melatonin is found in all living creatures. It has been studied for many years and found safe. This study is interesting but it doesn't say what dosage levels were used or anything else. Also, it's hard to project from one species to another particularly from birds to humans. Did you know that there is no ld50 for melatonin? It's not needed by children but adult levels drop every year and supplementation is suggested. Melatonin shortages have been shown to be associated with disease including cancer.

[caulfield]

I suffer sporadic bouts of severe insomnia. This led me to meletonin long ago, but I no longer take it. I have a few issues with taking melatonin. For one thing, OTC doses are VERY VERY small. A normal non-timerelease OTC dose of melatonin might make me a little ready to sleep if it has been a while since my last dose and I have not been experiencing any difficulty in falling asleep lately... But otherwise, I've had to take pretty high doses. And umm... Strange things happen to your dreams after a certain range.

I forget the scale, but after a certain ammount I remember my dreams would get very vivid and bizarre resulting in somewhat disturbing dreams which after waking were easy to remember but very difficult to describe. At really high doses I remember there is a tendency to experience somewhat frightening erotic nightmares.

I know this post will probably perk some boardies' experimental interest, but remember that all of the above is what led me to STOP taking melatonin, not endorse it. However, I do know a fair share of people who have said that a normal OTC dose of melatonin did help them sleep, but I don't think any of them ever really sufferred from recurring or consistent insomnia.

-caul

[senorsalvia]

A few years ago, I decided to give Melatonin a whirl...  I found that I needed 3 times the recommended dosage in order to attain sought after good sleep.  I also noted that as the slight relaxation/sedation began to take hold, that the 'window of relaxation' was very tiny; say 10-20 minutes in which I felt relaxed enough to go to sleep...  That said, I have never been one that could remember having dreams, even years at a time...  After taking melatonin for approximately a week, I began to have dreams nightly.  (don't know if they are bizzare or not, as I have no previous reference point to compare to.)----  To me, the dreaming was a fun new experience; like a free pass to the movies....   I only took melatonin for a couple of months, but I now dream well, almost every night....From what I have read, it is an excellent antioxidant as well...    senorsal

[winder]

5-Hydroxytryptophan works better for me than melatonin, although together, they are quite effective.

[Stonehenge]

I take 5 htp and melatonin every night. They help a little but nothing major. I remember when I started taking 5 htp I started with a small dose and when I upped it to 200mg I got the best night's sleep I'd had in decades, seemed like. But it never did it again and I only get small benefits now. I've heard that high doses of 5 htp can have an anti depressant effect. Usually they take 200 to 500mg a day for that. I get instant benefit from salvia so I have no need to test that plus 5 htp is kind of expensive. In the vitamin shops its about 25 cents a pill for 100mg but you can find it cheaper if you look around the net.

Melatonin is overrated as a sleep aid though that's what it's usually recommended for. The health benefits are the real plus.

[senorsalvia]

Never tried 5-htp...  I fully agree with Stony that a bit of S.D. does the trick!!  IMHO melatonin works, but on a fairly subtle level...  One good thing I did note, was how cheap melatonin is.   I was getting mine at a Family Dollar store; 2 bucks for 90 three mg pills....  Though melatonin did somewhat aid in restful sleep, I found its real benefit in that it truly turned on my 'dream switch'....  'Course as already noted, Salvia is even more effective, more fun, rewarding, etc..........    senorsal

[Anonymous]

think about it