Gargling with Tea for Health (Respiratory Infections, Flu)

[kind2creatures]

Benefits of gargling with tea for upper respiratory health, fever and flu...

Gargling with tea in order to reduce the incidence and severity of upper respiratory infections is a great example of the best case scenario. A just published study in the Journal of Epidemiology is the latest publication to support the practice of gargling with tea.

In the research, a group of over 19,000 nursery school children was observed over a 20 day period. The young participants were classified into two groups: those who gargled during a period of respiratory infection and those who did not. The children who gargled with green tea were much less likely (- 68%) to present fever than non-garglers.

Similar findings have been documented in other age groups, including healthy adults and seniors residing in nursing homes. In the study involving the elderly residents, a gargling solution containing 200 microg/mL of green tea catechins, was administered thrice-daily over the duration of a typical cold and flu season. Some trials have even reported that black tea and plain old tap water likewise decrease the duration and risk of respiratory infections.

These findings have lead some health advocates to recommend the widespread use of gargling in an attempt to reduce health care, insurance and workplace spending.

If you’re wondering how gargling with tea has such a potent preventive effect, the answer may lie in previous investigations unrelated to gargling. In them, researchers report that: Rinsing with tea extracts produces significant antimicrobial activity in the mouth. And, drinking green tea supports immune function by stimulating a subset of T-cells which may protect against influenza infection in at-risk populations such as health care workers. As winter approaches, I know I’ll be gargling as a preventive and therapeutic measure. Will you?

Full Article with links...https://www.healthyfellow.com/990/tea-gargling-for-health/#more-990

 

[Cookie]

Gargling simply with water is also helpful.

Actually, there was a study done years ago that gargling with water beat out gargling with an iodine solution to reduce the incidences of flu & colds. You would think gargling with an antiseptic solution would kill more bacteria, right? The water gargling also lowered the incidences of catching colds & flu.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16242593

 

[kind2creatures]

Gargling simply with water is also helpful.

Actually, there was a study done years ago that gargling with water beat out gargling with an iodine solution to reduce the incidences of flu & colds. You would think gargling with an antiseptic solution would kill more bacteria, right? The water gargling also lowered the incidences of catching colds & flu.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16242593

Thanks Cookie, more handy and cheaper too!

 

[u&iraok]

Gargling simply with water is also helpful.

Actually, there was a study done years ago that gargling with water beat out gargling with an iodine solution to reduce the incidences of flu & colds. You would think gargling with an antiseptic solution would kill more bacteria, right? The water gargling also lowered the incidences of catching colds & flu.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16242593

I was just going to say the same thing! Just the act of gargling dislodges bacteria in the throat. Everyone should do it regularly in flu and cold season, or all the time.

 

[Cookie]

It's such a simple thing to do too!

Another good thing to do is use a plain ole saline nostril spray, for the same reasons.

 

[u&iraok]

It's such a simple thing to do too!

Another good thing to do is use a plain ole saline nostril spray, for the same reasons.

I thought about saying that too, but didn't. I'm glad you did.

Nasal rinsing is not something Americans are used to doing, but they do it regularly in India (Neti pot) to prevent colds.