How to Beat a Cold in 24 Hours — Have Health Do Travel (2024)

This site contains affiliate links to products. I may receive a commission for purchases made through these links. However, this does not impact my reviews and comparisons. I highlight products I use and recommend to friends.

Of course, I can’t promise this outcome, but I very rarely have a cold that lasts for more than a day.

And in this day and age of covid spread, when if you so much as sniffle in public everyone looks at you like you are trying to spread the Bubonic Plague, you are better off getting rid of this cold as quickly as possible.

The two main recommendations I make – vitamin C and sleep – are obvious, but there is some specificity within them that make them particularly effective for me. Read on to make them work for you too!

1. Vitamin C.

We all know that this is the big guy powerhouse in fighting off infections. There are two keys to getting the most bang for your buck here though:

• Get it from real food, not from Emergen-C or a supplement.

  Scientists cannot determine what is in the nucleus of a vitamin C cell, so anything in a supplement is synthetic. Your body will be able to utilize it more efficiently and effectively if you get it through actual food.

• In particular, strawberries, broccoli, and red bell peppers have even more vitamin C than does the humble orange. (Anyone who has ever worked with me knows this fact because I harp on it anytime someone in the office gets sick.) I will share with you a recipe I am convinced is the secret behind me never having a cold for more than a day, and it is very simple to make.

First things first, I always eat a big bowl of mandarins and strawberries as soon as I start to feel myself getting sick.

A note on vitamin absorption – you will get more benefits from it if you space it through the day.

So don’t have just one meal with vitamin C, have a couple of them. Which means for dinner, I make…

THE PERFECT COLD & FLU FIGHTING MEAL:

Combine 1 sliced red bell pepper (or half a bag of frozen peppers and onions), half a bag of broccoli, a healthy dose of garlic (2-3 cloves), mushrooms, spinach, and pre-browned beef or lentils. Stir fry until veggies are wilted and meat (if using) is cooked through. I add in fajita or taco seasoning as well, but you could certainly use a more traditional stir fry sauce if you are craving an Asian flair. Top with some crushed red pepper.

Why is this the perfect cold-fighting meal?

In addition to the vitamin C from the peppers and broccoli, you are getting zinc (another immunity boosting powerhouse) from the mushrooms, spinach, beef, and/or lentils; sulfur from the garlic, which helps the body absorb zinc; and capsaicin from the crushed red pepper, which has anti-inflammatory properties (more on that below).

2. 9 – 10 hours of sleep.

Yes, I know this sounds like a crazy amount. This is my magic number – you need to figure out what works for you. (For reference, I aim to get 7 – 8 hours per night normally, so I just up that by a couple of hours.)

I know getting a ton of sleep might sound unrealistic, but if you put aside some things that don’t have to be done tonight and stop scrolling through Instagram videos, devoting that time to getting shut eye will do a world of good. To put it into perspective, you will be much more productive tomorrow and the next few days if you aren’t sick, so you will make up for that additional sleep time easily.

Note: if you need help falling asleep, I would recommend melatonin rather than cold medicine or Advil PM. The latter two always give me a hangover and leave me feeling groggy for hours the next morning. Melatonin, however, leaves me with no lingering side effects.

The spray is more effective and faster acting for me than pills! It has gotten me through some tough times…

3. Vitamin D.

Unlike vitamin C, there are not a ton of food-rich sources for D.

You can find it in seafood, mushrooms, and fortified foods like cereal, milk, and orange juice. Most notably, vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin because your body produces it when exposed to UV rays. Unfortunately, cold and flu season falls smack dab in the middle of the dreariest and shortest winter days for those of us in the Midwest and northeast, making it particularly challenging to get enough naturally. For this reason, I always take supplements in the winter, especially if I feel like I am coming down with a cold.

4. Probiotics.

Would you be surprised to learn that 80% of your immune system is in your gut?

It seems like every day we learn another reason why gut health is important, but this one is a biggie. Probiotics allow the good bacteria in your digestive system thrive, which helps boost immunity. Pearls are my absolute favorite (I never travel without them!), and it is a nice convenience that they do not need to be refrigerated.

5. Spicy food.

If you are like me and put crushed red pepper or hot sauce (there are some great low sodium options) on everything, use your sickness as an excuse to really go hog wild. I used to wonder if this was a placebo effect where I felt like I was killing germs, but it turns out the capsaicin that gives peppers their heat actually does have anti-inflammatory properties. An added bonus is if you also eat horseradish – that really clears out the sinuses.

6. Fluids.

You know you need a lot of fluids to stay hydrated and flush out toxins when you are sick. Nothing is off limits here, but try to stick as much as you can to water, and as an added immunity boost, add a couple of lemon wedges each time you refill. This not only gives you an extra antioxidant and vitamin C boost, but the flavor might encourage you to drink more.

7. Honey.

If you have a sore throat, put some honey in your tea – it will coat your throat to make it easier to swallow. In addition, honey has a lot of antioxidants, plus antibacterial and antifungal properties, so while soothing yourself, you are also fighting the infection.

For extra antioxidants, I love Honey Colony’s raw honey. It is darker than regular honey because it is collected in Ghana - that darker color means more nutrients. Click here to get 10% off your first order of African raw honey!

8. Homeopathic nasal spray.

I am not a big fan of pharmaceuticals here because they either don’t work well, or your body can get hooked on them.

As someone with chronic sinusitis, that makes things challenging. However, I have found a homeopathic solution that is amazing, NutriBiotic Nasal Spray.

Thanks to the grapefruit seed oil, this stuff kills fungus, viruses, and even yeast. Be prepared to sneeze for about 3 minutes after spraying it, but it’s worth it. It’s a good burn, and I don’t think I could live without this.

Best of all, it’s all natural, and you can use it ever day (even when you aren’t sick and just facing allergy season).

9. Rosemary oil.

I like to put several drops in my shampoo when I shower. Between the scent and the steam, it really opens up my sinuses…plus it adds an element of spa-like indulgence which is nice when you feel yucky.

10. Open your windows.

Whether germs are escaping, or it is nice to just get some fresh air, I always feel better after I do this when I’m sick. (Also, when you feel better, change your sheets. You are likely not going to recatch a cold from them, but it just feels better.)

As I started off with, there is nothing groundbreaking here. However, sometimes the simplest advice is the most effective. If you try my ultimate cold fighting recipe and get a really good night’s sleep, though, I’d be willing to bet you will have the same results!

We all get sick from time to time, but if you want to decrease the frequency, read my post on Why We Need to Eat the Rainbow.

Food is our first line of medicine, and it has no side effects.