5 Things We are Using to Avoid Falling Sick
Working as a pharmacist, it is hard to avoid falling sick. Worse if you come home to a sick kid or two, imagine the amount of bugs that are trying to kill you. And it does not matter to children under five if you are ill, because they need you even if you are dying for real. So, me and my other pharmacist friends have some stuff we religiously use to avoid catching the bugs from our customers/ children/ whoever it is …
Of course, working at places where sick people love to go to, we have to arm ourselves with ones that really works. So these are 5 of the popular stuff you can get from the local chemist that might help.
1. ArmaForce by Bioceuticals
You have to ask for this, usually it is behind the counter because this is a brand that specializes in practitioner dosages. Meaning you can find it in Naturopathic stores, as long as someone is there to counsel you on suitability and usage. Bioceutical does do good research on their products, so rest assured that it does work. This one in particular aims to reduce severity and duration of an upper respiratory tract infection, like cold and flu.
What ArmaForce has: standardized andrographis (King of Bitters), echinacea, olive leaf, vitamin C and zinc. Although specifically aimed to help with preventing colds, ArmaForce is quite good at stopping a lot of other stuff. It comes in tablets, crush-able for kids.
2. Probiotics
With Probiotics or prebiotics, the only thing I stress is going for the good brands. I myself am an Ethical Nutrient Brand person, but if you like Bioceuticals, UltraBiotic (buy link) is a good one as you don’t have to put it in the fridge. Having said that, there is a ceiling temperature you can store outside, I think it is 30 or 25, can’t remember. Ethical Nutrient comes in a powder only form, dairy and gluten-free best for children.
Yes, with Ethical Nutrient’s Inner Health Plus (ebay) you have to fridge it, while Amazon has other brands that does not, if you live in the States. My advice is not go for drinks like Yakult or Sustagen, yes they do contain healthy strains but they also contain a high amount of sugar. In bottles, these are dormant so they do not need sugar or whatnot to sustain them while they sit in bottles.
3. Kyolic
You could actually just eat loads of aged garlic, or you can opt for this brand: Kyolic. The main reason is the process: Kyolic retains its sulfur compounds via a special bio-conversion process, which takes around 20 months. This is not dehydrated garlic crushed into powder, the efficacy reflects that. I know, the price tag is a little high.
Now, Kyolic is still being manufactured by Wakunaga, where is used to be Wagner Health but not sure what happened in between. Anyway, Kyolic Immune also has vitamin C, Astragalus and mushrooms, presumably for the Vitamin B. Rest assured that this one does not have the garlic smell, good news for those who work close to other people.
4. Sambucus nigra (black elder)
Sambucus nigra is a shrub that grows around North America and Europe, with the extra interest in Austria, where it is used as a traditional medicine. The flowers and fruits are typically eaten/ drunk to help stop a cold, and infections involving gastrointestinal tract, including the mouth. It is recorded in the European pharmacopoeia for its role.
In Australia, we have liquid, in form of popular brand Sambucol, made from German company Flordis. The benefit of this bottle is that you can use it in children as well, and it is quite nice. Mainly for cold and flu, Black elder flower does work quite well, I have used once or twice and find that it is effective. So long as you follow the dose.
Unfortunately, it does not help with the man flu.
5. Olive Leaf Extract
Probably the most foul-tasting of them all: The Olive Leaf Extract, with standardized oleuropein from fresh olive leaf. The brand/ bottle above contains 5g per mL of oleuropein, the antioxidant and active part that will help you keep your health. This stuff tastes really bad, even with the mint flavor, although with this I had managed to avoid falling sick the whole time. Imagine me taking this in the middle of winter while working at store front, getting sneezed and coughed at, no joke.
You will notice that a lot of health products will add olive leaf extract in a combination, usually in immune related products. For example, the ArmaForce above already has it. Although I think if you want to try it, you have to go high dose and properly extracted.
I know you can use the tablets, but the olive leaf extract in liquid does work wonders. You have to dry and add more stuff to make the tablets, so I am not sure if it retains as much nutrients/ antioxidants as the liquid extract. Worth a thought, especially if you have to taste it everyday.. ugh…
Why not Vitamin C?
Things like Vitamin C, vitamin B are well-known immune boosters, so I do not think I should tell you to eat more fruits and vegetables. There is a favorite Chinese saying: no time to be sick, only time to die. It is sad, showing that people are neglecting their health to the point of no return. So don’t neglect your health!
So far, the 5 products/ brands above do have good research backing. By research I do not mean case studies and testimonials, but proper randomized studies involving more than 20 people, hope they are not lying. For me, these are stuff that I am either using or used in the past, as well as products that my friends swear by.
What is your go to health product to avoid falling sick?
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I will have to keep these items in mind. My husband was trying to share a cold with me just the other week so I know this will come in handy.
husbands can be annoying, they are like big children sometimes
i know, no thanks to the dumb weather
Some of these I have not heard of. I do try to eat properly and get enough sleep. I do have something in the cabinet to take when I feel the beginnings of a cold.
that’s good, sometimes things get a little out of hand in my home, so i need extra strengths