Once you're in a groove with your workout routine, the last thing you want is to be stuck at home with a cold. Fortunately, science has given us a number of strategies aimed at staying well during cold and flu season. Many are just common sense, with doctors recommending that you wash your hands often and thoroughly with soap, keep your hands away from your face, avoid people with colds, and drink plenty of fluids to help the mucous membranes wash away the germs that cause infections.

Supplements can help keep a cold away, too. For an extra measure of defense, try some of what science has to offer to help you stay healthy through the winter months. Our Stay-Well Cocktail consists of five of the best bets for effectively banishing illness so you can stick to your training schedule.

Echinacea
One of today's most popular cold-fighting remedies is echinacea extract, usually taken from the roots (among other portions) of one or more species of purple coneflowers (Echinacea augustifolia, purpurea, pallida or a blend). Studies suggest echinacea increases antibody production, boosts immune cell activity and eases inflammation.

"Like goldenseal, echinacea boosts antibody production in rats whose immune systems were previously challenged with a foreign protein," explains Alan Maisel, associate professor of internal medicine at the University of California at San Diego. "Unlike goldenseal, echinacea stimulates production of a different type of antibody called IgG." Interestingly, one of echinacea's components, echinacein, reduces production of a bacterial enzyme called hyaluronidase that's used by germs to penetrate tissues and cause infection. Any of these reasons could explain why in some (but not all) studies echinacea lessens the frequency and severity of cold and flu infections in humans.

Scientific data are contradictory, probably because so many types of echinacea plants and extracts have been studied. Unfortunately, choosing a good echinacea product is made even more complicated by adulterated extracts made from cheaper herbs such as Parthenium integrifolium (prairie dock), which are sometimes sold as echinacea.

To ensure purity, go with a large manufacturer, avoid economizing and check the ingredients for mention of Echinacea purpurea, Echinacea augustifolia and/or Echinacea pallida. Words starting with "echin" on the label are also a good sign; echinacosides (echinacea's natural antibiotics), echinolone and echinacein are chemicals specific to echinacea. The designation Echinacea spp. Compositae, a batch or lot number, and a date of expiration and/or manufacture also suggest an authentic echinacea product, though these are only rules of thumb.

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