Fight The Sniffles

Did you know that we suffer from around 200 odd colds in our lifetime? You could easily avoid about a quarter of them, instead of rushing to the doctor for consultation, if you just followed these simple tips.

Feel The Sunshine

Take a vitamin D supplement. This vitamin is formed in sunshine and is important for our immune response to infection, but many of us are in short supply of it in winter. Boost your vitamin D intake by going outside daily — and eat oily fish and eggs.

Move Your Body

People who exercise for at least five days a week and feel fit cut their chances of having a cold by around 45 per cent, according to a study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Half an hour of daily, moderate aerobic exercise doubles the body's response to the flu vaccine, a separate US study found. But don't overdo it. Too much exercise increases your risk of illness and infection.

Get A Handle On Stress

Stress hormones trigger anti-immune reactions. You can't always control what's happening in your life, but it's important to manage your response to it. Try meditation. Researchers found that volunteers who had eight weeks of meditation training produced more flu-fighting antibodies than those who didn't meditate.

Be On Bug Alert

Use antibacterial sprays and wipes on 'hot spots' such as door handles, and toilet flush handles because cold and flu viruses can survive for up to 48 hours. Avoid using communal pens in banks and post offices. Storing family toothbrushes in the same container spreads germs in bristles.

Have More Sex

Regular lovemaking protects against colds and flu. People who have sex once or twice a week produce 30 per cent more immunoglobulin A cells — viral antibodies — than those who don't.

Breathe In Steam

Place a bowl filled with steaming water on a firm surface, put your head over the bowl and place a clean towel over your head to keep in the steam. Keep your eyes closed and don't let your face get too close to the water. Adding drops of menthol or eucalyptus oil to the water can help relieve congestion.

Have A Hot Drink

While any hot drink will help to soothe inflammation in the throat, honey and lemon is a popular combination because the taste of citrus can boost your wellbeing, while the honey coats the throat and relieves irritation as the natural sugars pep you up. Strong-tasting lozenges will also help by promoting salivation to soothe sore throats.

Tuck Into A Hot Curry

Spices in curries make your eyes and nose run, creating extra mucus to trap the virus and clearing the airways.

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The article originally appeared in MensXP.com.