It's that time of year again when we all start to feel not our best. You know what I mean. You wake up with a scratchy throat, a stuffy nose, and jut don't have that get up and go energy you normally have. That's because it's cold and flu season and there is no getting by it. The secret is knowing how to combat it.

Everyone and their brother have a different remedy they use to get rid of a cold. They are often times most common than the common cold. Take chicken soup for example. It has been used as a cure for congestion for centuries. But just because people have been using a remedy since the beginning of time, does it work? The truth is there are a lot of different ways to fight a cold but no cure all for one. For example, here are some more common cold remedies:

• The first thing you want to do is get a pot of water and put it on to boil. Once you've done that, place your head over the pot along with a towel over your head and try to breathe in all that steam for a good five to ten minutes. If that doesn't sound like something you want to do, just take a really steamy shower or lounge around in a sauna. As you can see the idea is for you to breathe in steam. It rids you of any cold bugs hanging out in your nose as well as clearing up your nasal passages.

• You'll want to drink plenty of liquids, notably water, tea, and juice. It is important for you to stay hydrated. Fluids help the body heal itself.

• Go to bed early while you're sick. The best medicine is often rest and that extra hour or two of sleep can really help your body fight off that cold. When I'm sick I'm usually tired anyway so going to bed early is never a problem.

• Take some vitamins, especially ones loaded with vitamin C. Citrus fruits, bell peppers, and other high vitamin C foods are another way of getting vitamins into your body to help fend off that bug. You may think dairy is good for you but actually it isn't. It will make things worse by stimulating mucus production and you don't want even more of what you already have. Steer clear of rich, fatty foods because all those fats use up a lot of energy to digest. That energy can be better used to help you feel better.

• This step is all dependent on how you are feeling. If you think you are up to get, try to get in a light amount of exercise. I recommend maybe a moderate walk or an hour of cardio. The point is, you want to get a good sweat going and your heart pumping. As your body temperature rises, the heat kills off viruses and bacteria. Why do you think you get a fever when you are really sick? It's the same concept. Another reason why exercise works is it gets your blood moving which in turn increases the amount of oxygen getting into your body which helps increase your white blood cells used to fight off disease.