WE all have our tips and tricks for dealing with flu and colds.

You might a have trusty over-the-counter drug that sorts you out every time or you might down ginger shots in hope of preventing infections in the first place.

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But some of your go-to remedies might be more placebo than actual treatment, according to Dr Vikram Murthy.

The NHS GP and co-founder of Murthy Health clinic on Harley Street shared some persistent misconceptions about cold and flu that you might be convinced of – from ‘sweating out’ a cold by hitting the gym, to loading up on vitamin C and boosting your immunity with pills.

Dr Murthy debunked six myths and shared science-backed ways to stay well this cold and flu season.

Myth 1: There’s no such thing as ‘boosting’ your immunity

According to Dr Murthy, this is incorrect.

But guzzling ginger shots or supplements isn’t necessarily the best way to equip your immune system against viruses.

In fact, one of the easiest ways to make your body’s natural defence system is in tip top shape is in fact through making sure you’re up to date with your jabs.

“You can boost your immune system by having immunisations, which introduce a small amount of the virus into the body to produce antibodies, helping to reduce and prevent a full infection,” Dr Murthy said.

What you eat can help boost your immune system too, the GP went on.

“Nutrients like vitamins A, B, C, D, folate, iron, selenium, and zinc also play a role in supporting immunity.

“Eating fruits and vegetables, especially greens and root vegetables high in beta-carotene, will also help.

“Nuts, seeds, and pulses are great too. Probiotics can improve gut bacteria, which helps with immunity.”

Myth 2: Stress doesn’t impact on the immune system

Sniffles or a bout of the flu is the last thing you want to deal with when you’re stressed.

But long term stress can take an effect on your effect your ability to fight the infections off, according to Dr Murthy.

“When you’re stressed, your body produces a hormone called cortisol,” the GP said.

“In short bursts, cortisol can be beneficial for immunity, but if stress continues for long periods, this hormone causes inflammation in the body.

“As a result, your immune system becomes less effective, making you more prone to infections.”

Myth 3: You can ‘sweat out’ the flu

The idea behind sweating out a cold or flu is that you use heat, exercise or extra clothes and layers to make the infection go away faster.

“There’s no evidence that intense exercise or sitting in a sauna can “sweat out” the flu,” Dr Murthy stated.

“While it might make you feel temporarily better, it won’t shorten the flu.

“The body typically takes seven to 10 days to fight off flu symptoms.”

Myth 4: You don’t need a yearly flu jab

This myth is incorrect.

You might assume that your immunity against the flu will hold if you got a flu jab last year.

But Dr Murthy stressed that “the flu virus is constantly mutating”.

“Each year, the vaccine is updated to cover the most likely strains of the virus,” the GP said.

“Therefore, getting the flu vaccine annually helps boost your body’s immune response.”

Which cold and flu remedies actually work?

Sun Health reporter Isabel Shaw put 9 well-known cold and flu remedies when she was struck with a lurgy.

Over the course of a week, she tried products targeted all symptoms associated with cold and flu, as well as treatments that only aimed to get rid of specific issues.

These included:

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1. Hot honey and lemon
2. Steam inhalation and Vicks Vaporub
3. Echinacea
4. Chicken soup
5. A spicy curry
6. Beechams All in One Oral Solution
7. Strepsils
8. Lemsip Max
9. Sudafed Blocked Nose Spray

She took into account pain reduction, and how quickly and for how long they worked.

Read her full verdicts here.

As with every year, certain groups are eligible for a free flu jab.

This includes:

• All children aged two and three
• All children in primary and all children in school Years seven to 11 in secondary school
• Children aged six months to 17 years with certain long-term health conditions
• Those aged six months to under 65 years in clinical risk group
• Pregnant women
• Those aged 65 years and over
• Unpaid carers
• Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
• Frontline health and adult social care staff

If you qualify then you can get it free anywhere that offers it.

This can be at your doctor’s surgery as well as supermarket pharmacies like Asda and high street favourites like Boots.

If you’re not in the eligible groups entitled to a free vaccination listed above, you can pay for a flu jab at certain stores.

The NHS has urged Brits to top up their jabs ahead of a looming winter ‘tripledemic’.

Myth 5: Vitamin C can combat colds and flu

There’s certainly nothing wrong with making sure you’re consuming foods high in vitamin C.

According to the NHS, the vitamin can help protect your cells and keep them healthy, maintain healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage and even help with wound healing.

But, Dr Murthy said: “There is no evidence that high doses of vitamin C will prevent you from getting the flu or a cold.

“However, it does help boost your body’s immune response.”

Myth 6: Antibiotics treat viral infections

This is incorrect, according to the GP.

“Antibiotics only work on bacteria,” he explained.

“Since flu and colds are caused by viruses, antibiotics have no effect on them.”

If you are in need of medicine to ease your symptoms, common over-the-counter drugs like paracetamol or ibuprofen can ease aches or lower a temperature.

You can also opt for decongestant nasal sprays, drops or tablets to unblock your nose.

WE’RE all guilty of assuming that any effort to be more mentally sound will be a boring slog.

At worst you might have to endure a miserable early morning run.

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At best, you might need to carve out some extra sleep – though perhaps not boring might seem like an impossible feat for some.

But in reality, there are lots of small, pain-free tricks that require minimal effort but could have a huge impact on our well-being.

The Sun health team share their tried and tested ways to boost your mental health, today.

1. Puppy love

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Alice Fuller, senior health reporter, said: “I can’t stand breathwork, and you’ll almost never catch me doing a guided meditation. 

“But sometimes, like everyone, I need to de-stress.

“As the textbook methods don’t seem to work for me, I’ve had to find other ways to look after my mental health. 

“One of the biggest winners has been BorrowMyDoggy – a website that connects dog owners to sitters and walkers across the UK.

“I’m a huge dog lover, but sadly my busy job and small flat mean I can’t currently get one of my own.

“BorrowMyDoggy allows me to look after other people’s pooches for a few hours, which gives me an instant mood boost.

“Puppies bring me joy on their own anyway (I mean, come on, they’re adorable!), but they also get me out into nature and walking – two things pretty much guaranteed to lift your spirits. 

“Snuggling a cute sausage dog or cockapoo is also scientifically proven to reduce cortisol levels, the stress hormone, in our saliva.

“And other studies have found caring for dogs reduces feelings of loneliness and isolation.“

2. Get Headspace

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Isabel Shaw, health reporter, said: “I hate an app subscription as much as the next person.

“But Headspace is one I will never stop banging on about.

“Like most people, I found the beginning of the pandemic a very stressful time.

“A friend recommended I try this guided meditation app called Headspace, and it’s honestly changed my life.

“As someone who struggles with silence the concept of sitting alone for 10 minutes with my thoughts didn’t thrill me.

“But within a few days of using it, I discovered a new level of calm I had never experienced before.

“Within the app, you can pick from a big selection of guided courses, from managing anxiety, handling financial stress to dealing with regret.

“I’ve tried a few but my current go-to is self-compassion, which I try and do at least ten minutes of each day.

“It involves Andy Puddicombe, the apps’ developer – who might just have the softest voice ever – guiding you through breathing techniques and visualisations.

“I’ve found the best time of day to do it is first thing in the morning, before the day gets going.

“I feel like it clears my head and allows me to go into the day with a more positive mindset.

“I can really notice the difference when I haven’t managed to fit it in, which I think says a lot. My mind feels busier and more chaotic.

“You can download the free version, which includes a few basic guides.

“Or you can pay for the full app, which doesn’t come cheap: a monthly subscription will set you back £9.99 per month, or £49.99 a year.

“But it’s the only monthly subscription – putting Spotify aside – I’ve never regretted forking out for.”

3. Tapping pressure points

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“Getting enough sleep really does make the world of a difference for me, but if my thoughts are racing as I’m trying to drift off I’ll find a five-minute long guided meditation session on Spotify or Youtube to clear my mind.

“After that’s done, I’ll switch to a brown or pink noise playlist on Spotify.

“It’s a bit like white noise but softer and lower-pitched, and the thrum of it in the background really helps relax me and quiet my thoughts in preparation for sleep. 

“A few weeks ago I wrote about a technique called self-compassionate touch.

“It involves placing your hands on your heart and belly and taking deep breaths while directing kind thoughts towards yourself.

“I’ve been trying to give it a go for a few seconds a day. 

“Pilates is my go-to form of exercise and I’ve found that making sure I do a couple classes a week – whether that’s in person or via Youtube – really keeps my stress levels down.

“If I’m short on time, I love switching on a video by Move With Nicole. 

“In a recent pilates class I took, our instructor guided us through a meditation technique called tapping.

“It involves tapping specific pressure points across your body to overwhelm your brain with sensory information.

“The technique is actually pretty well studied and it’s supposed to help relieve anxiety.

“I certainly felt extraordinarily calm and relaxed after giving it a go for two minutes in the class and I’m going to try incorporating it into my routine.”

4. Move your body whenever you can

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Lizzie Parry, Head of Health “I NEVER thought I’d be this person, believe me.

“For years and years, I listened to people say that movement was their therapy and I won’t lie, it made no sense to me.

“All I saw was a lot of pain and no gain!

“I’ve always had a gym membership, but I was one of those people who shells out the money month on month without ever really breaking a sweat.

“I would vow to ‘get back into it’, and I would succeed for a few weeks – a month tops – before giving up and finding excuses to skip it.

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“Like lots of us, I was fuelled by the desire to shed a few pounds, get ‘beach body ready‘ (whatever that really means), tone up and generally look better. Like it’s that easy!

“Everything changed when I slipped a disc in 2017.

“I’d endured a few months of back pain before rolling over in bed one Sunday morning and feeling the worst pain I’d ever experienced.

“I couldn’t move, and for months I lived in constant agony. My 10-minute walk to work took half an hour, I couldn’t sleep, my left leg went numb, I fell out of the shower, I could barely dress myself and the constant pain left me in tears on a daily basis.

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“Eventually, I was one of the lucky ones and I had an operation to fix it. I woke up and the pain had gone… yes, I was aching from my op but the constant agony had disappeared.

“As part of my rehab, I signed up with a personal trainer, desperate to build up my core strength so I never, ever have to go through that pain ever again.

“It was probably when, during the first lockdown in 2020, I was unable to see my PT Will (shameless plug) that it dawned on me that it was exercise and my sessions with him that keep my mental health in check.

“As a health journalist, Covid crept into every waking moment of my work and home life.

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“Like all of us, I was overwhelmed, and have never felt anything quite like it.

“When I could finally see Will and exercise again, I had my light bulb moment.

“I get it… and six years on poor Will is still stuck with me. Yes, I’ve never been physically fitter but the biggest thing that exercise does for me is help me mentally.

“It’s my stress relief, it calms me down and it makes me feel good about myself.

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“It’s become the most important tool in my mental health first aid kit, along with reading for a bit of escapism, and I now know it’s something I need in my life.

“When I have busy weeks and can’t exercise as often as I would like, I feel the overwhelm build again, I struggle to sleep well and any attempt to eat a healthy diet goes out the window.

“Moving my body, whether it’s a gym session or a walk outside, calms my mind and brings my stress levels right down.

“I have no doubt that were it not for my slipped disc, I would still be that gym-goer, sporadically going and giving up. 

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“Don’t get me wrong, it takes months of consistent dedication to the exercise cause to get fit and feel that mental weight lift.

“And had my motivations not switched from exercising to look good to a determination to be stronger, I might not have stuck with it.

“While slipping a disc was undoubtedly the worst pain I’ve ever been through, it’s proved to be the best thing that’s happened to me, health-wise.

“Because here I am… that annoying person who can confidently say, movement is now MY therapy.”

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5. Keep to-do lists and get on a bike



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Sam Blanchard, health correspondent, said: “To-do lists keep me sane.

“I’m a busy person and get stressed when I have a lot to do – writing everything down in separate workday, weekly and long-term lists helps to get it all out of my head and assure me my life is under control.

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“I also like to do most of my long bike rides and runs alone and without headphones in.

“A few hours exercising with just the sound of the countryside is my kind of meditation.”

6. Get outside



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Vanessa Chalmers, health features editor: “My best tip for mental health is to get outside – but most importantly, get outside surrounded by nature!

“I always feel better when I have gone to my local common and sat in a place that I can’t hear or see the city’s traffic, but may come across a bird, dogs or other animal.

“If you’re a regular to nature and the outdoors, I’d suggest confiding in someone if you need to get some thoughts out.

“A trusted friend should be open to hearing you are feeling a bit down and will have their unique way of making you feel better.” 

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Help in a crisis

• If you’re having thoughts of suicide, are harming yourself or have thought about self-harm it’s very important to tell someone. 
• These thoughts and feelings can be complex, frightening and confusing but you don’t have to struggle alone. 
• If you can’t wait to see a doctor and feel unable to cope or keep yourself safe, or you simply need somebody to talk to, contact one of these organisations to get support right away:
• Find your local 24/7 NHS crisis line at nhs.uk/urgentmentalhealth or visit 111.nhs.uk.
• If you’re under 35 and experiencing thoughts of suicide, or if you’re worried a young person is thinking about taking their life, visit papyrus-uk.org, phone 0800 068 4141 (9am–midnight, 365 days a year), text 07860 039967 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org.
• If your life or someone else’s life is at risk call 999.