While cold is in full swing, try drinking potato peeling broth. The peelings should be half an inch thick, boiled it for about half an hour then strained and cooled, taken twice a day. After fever goes, a low calorie raw fruit and vegetable diet can be attempted, although you may not feel much like eating at this point. Raw juices and herb teas will also help. The best herb teas for fighting common cold are:-

Rose hips Camomile Peppermint Ginger

There are many products that help with runny noses and congestions - most are based on eucalyptus oil, and indeed, this is most helpful. Try putting a few drops in a cup of boiling water, then inhaling vapors with a towel over your head. For a sore throat - gargling with crushed aspirin in warm water is also useful, although be careful you don't swallow it, and don't do it to frequently.

The most popular water treatments include hot mustard foot baths (to reduce sinus congestion), Epsom salt baths while drinking sweating teas, hot ginger chest compresses and salt water nasal douches to open sinuses. Some people swear by steam inhalation (with eucalyptus, pine needles, cloves, or thyme).

And of course, you could always try prevention - stay warm, keep your immune system strong by eating sensibly and exercising regularly!

4. What are results of human studies?

Although tea has long been identified as an antioxidant in laboratory, study results involving humans have been contradictory. Some epidemiological studies comparing tea drinkers to non-tea drinkers support claim that drinking tea prevents cancer; others do not. Dietary, environmental, and population differences may account for these inconsistencies.

Two studies in China, where green tea is a mainstay of diet, resulted in promising findings. One study involving over 18,000 men found tea drinkers were about half as likely to develop stomach or esophageal cancer as men who drank little tea, even after adjusting for smoking and other health and diet factors (3). A second study at Beijing Dental Hospital found consuming 3 grams of tea a day, or about 2 cups, along with application of a tea extract reduced size and proliferation of leukoplakia, a precancerous oral plaque (1).

5. Is NCI evaluating tea?

National Cancer Institute (NCI) researchers are also investigating therapeutic use of green tea. One recently completed but unpublished NCI trial studied antitumor effect of green tea among prostate cancer patients. The 42 patients drank 6 grams of green tea, or about 4 cups, daily for four months. However, only one patient experienced a short-lived improvement, and nearly 70 percent of group experienced unpleasant side effects such as nausea and diarrhea. The study concluded drinking green tea has limited antitumor benefit for prostate cancer patients (5).

Other ongoing NCI studies are testing green tea as a preventive agent against skin cancer. For example, one is investigating protective effects of a pill form of green tea against sun-induced skin damage while another explores topical application of green tea in shrinking precancerous skin changes.

Visit pcshealth.com for more articles and research on green tea.