1,000 mg fish oil, 1 multivitamin, and 2 aspirin a day. Eat something leafy and green, or a mango each day. Mango are seriously packed with fiber and illness killing goodness. If you ever have a cold, doing this will have you back on your feet in about 3 days. Also, eating chicken seems to help. If you can't eat, then juicing the mango is also an awesome way to get what you need out of it. You can freeze the pulp into a flavorful treat for later.

I gotta say, the above advice I would be very wary about following. You don't want to take more vitamins that you actually need, even if sick. Fish oils can be good, but not in supplement form, as you really need a certain balance of all types of omega-X oils and some trace minerals. But you eat fish from time to time and that will get you more than enough. (Also, fish oil supplements are very bad for guys as it increases the risk of prostate cancer.)

Two REALLY BAD things though are trying to 'sweat out' an illness, as intentionally making yourself hot and sweaty risks dehydration and can weaken your immune response, making it harder to fight off a virus or bacteria. A mild fever, if one occurs (and stays mild) during it is okay ad quite normal, but don't try and force one. Some mild exercising (stretches, light yoga, etcetera) can help, by keeping good blood flow and oxygenation, but not heavy exercise, as your body will use protein from your muscles as part of the systemic immune response, so heavy exercise can overwork the muscles, leading to severe fatigue and hindering the recovery process.

Burning calories has nothing to do with fighting infection. The amount of white blood cells (erythrocytes, leukocytes, etcetera) and the speed of your body making new antibodies is more about making sure you're taking in all the nutrients that you need. You'll already be using more calories just fighting the infection!

NyQuil won't make the cold last longer and can help you be more comfortable as you deal with it. Chicken soup IS good, as hot soup will help with mucus and irritation in the throat and the protein will go towards making sure your body has enough as it fights the infection. Finally, the idea that you have to be awake in order to beat what's making you sick is also very much a myth and the 'detox' drinks (and similar) at best will do nothing and the vinegar and citric acid could upset your stomach, or possibly worse, if you have existing stomach or GI problems.

A final warning, especially as you're in your mid-20s: It's far better to take acetaminophen or ibuprofen, to aspirin. They'll fight inflammation and pain better, and most of the cough/cold remedies will have one or the other of acetaminophen/ibuprofen. Aspirin is not as effective, plus, it's also a blood thinning agent, which if a severe dry cough (or any GI problems, old or new) causes any bleeding from scratchiness or anything, could make it more unpleasant. Also, and this bit is -! IMPORTANT !- young people, upto mid-to-late 20s can in rare cases develop a severe side-effect from Aspirin called Reye's Syndrome, which is a 'Go Directly To Hospital, Do Not Pass Go, Do Not Get $200' kind of complication.

Here's a tl;dr:

Rest Plenty.
NyQuil + Chicken Soup + Fruit and Veggies.
Drink lots of liquids. Hot tea can soothe things.
Isotonic drinks (like Gatorade) are excellent if you're sweating a lot, they'll keep your electrolytes balanced and energy up.
If you've had a fever or feel very run down, get about +20% calories, to balance your faster metabolism whilst ill.
If it hurts or things are inflamed, take ibuprofen or acetaminophen, NOT ASPIRIN.

That's all~

glad to hear you are feeling better