Colds are body's escape mechanism. When whole system is overloaded it crashes. The body stresses out and immune system drops its threshold. The nose releases toxic wastes in form of mucous and body often aches and feels exhausted. Pay attention to what your body is saying because an unchecked cold can become far more serious if you keep it buried.

If you are one of those people who can tell when you have a cold coming on, then it can be stopped, or at least minimised, in several ways. Firstly, rest is essential. There is no way your body will self-heal in a stressful situation. If you have to work, take it easy or delegate a bit more. Lemon juice, rose hips, parsley (not if you're pregnant) and fresh orange all contain vitamin C, so take them.

Even though most microorganisms are invisible to human eye, life, as we know it would be utterly impossible without ubiquitous bacteria. We can all enjoy blessings of photosynthesis, digestion and formation of natural gases thanks to innate power of bacteria to break down substances.

Ironically, much of anti-acne industry is built around destroying widely misunderstood yet biologically necessary bacteria known as Propionibacterium acnes, or p acne bacteria.

All life forms strategize to survive and procreate. Weeds, worms, birds, fungi and bacteria all work to sustain their own lives on this planet. In fact, we humans survive because of biological games constantly unfolding in our mist.

P acne bacteria are no different. They want and need to survive. Skin bacteria perform an important function. Bacteria use secretions of our sweat and sebaceous glands (sebum is oil that makes our skin look shiny) as nutrients. P acnes that are in balance with your body prevent colonization by more harmful bacteria.