By: Coach Maria - Salus Nutritionist & Food Expert
We've all seen the advertisements everywhere - Get Your Flu Shots Here! 'Tis the season for the runny noses, sore throats, coughing and days spent in bed with body aches and fevers.
Aside from the conventional flu shots and drugs, there are natural ways to boost our immune system in order to prevent the colds and flu this season. Getting pro-active with this precautionary approach can yield surprising results!
1. Eat Real Food. This blog is entirely dedicated to helping you stay healthy via tips and recipes that not only keep your digestion and taste buds happy, but will boost your immune system to help fight off the cold and flu germs. Keeping a diet rich in a variety of wholesome proteins, fresh vegetables, seasonal fruits and healthy fats is crucial in maintaining and boosting your immune system.
2. Get Your ZZZ's. Being chronically sleep deprived has a great impact on your mental clarity and energy throughout the day, but the biggest impact is on your immune system. There's lots of research linking sleep deprivation and modern diseases and illnesses, and even some interesting new research showing the efficacy between quality sleep vs quantity sleep. Regardless, we all know when we are sleep deprived or when we are not getting enough sleep. Know that your immune system is weakened during this period and susceptible to the season's invaders.
3. Stay Active. Keeping physically active each day will ensure your immune system remains strong. Even by going on a leisurely walk each day can help. It's not so much the intensity of the activity as it is the consistency. Some easy ways to stay active would be to make it a habit to park in spots that are farther, not closer to the entrance and taking the stairs rather than the elevator.
4. Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. Unless, of course, you have just washed your hands. Shared objects such as doorknobs, credit card keypads, shopping carts and office phones will undoubtedly have bacteria that can and will enter via eye, nose and mouth; causing us to become infected. Along with this tip, do plenty of hand washing to avoid infection.
5. Avoid Crowds. Easier said than done for some, but we all know that germs will spread easily in densely populated areas. At the very least, avoid people that are showing signs of illness such as a bad cough, sneezing and frequent nose blowing. Teach your children to sneeze into the crook of their elbow rather than their hands, since children are less likely to wash their hands.
How do you stay healthy during cold and flu season?
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