Sick days… Medical expenses… making arrangements for
sick kids… No energy to party and have
fun… there are a million and one appealing reasons why you don’t want to get
sick.
As you know, Cold and Flu season is
here but that doesn't mean you are doomed to get sick this holiday season. Stay
healthy all winter through with these simple steps:
·
Immunity-Boosting Foods: These foods are great addition to your
diet during the cold & flu season, because they are high immunity-boosting
nutrients, or anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties:
§ Probiotics (cultured and fermented
foods)
§ Essential fats – e.g. from cold-pressed
seed oil and cold water fish
§ Fresh fruits and vegetables, especially
carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, tomatoes – they are rich in beta-carotene, a
precursor of vitamin A
§ Healthy sources of protein – fish, ground
seeds, lentils, beans
§ Mushrooms
·
Nutrients for a Strong Immune System: The best way to use nutrition to boost
your immunity is to eat a balanced diet of fresh, whole foods. Sometimes it’s challenging
to do so everyday, during the season when we are so busy with work, friends and
family. The following are the nutrients that you should pay attention to
(supplement when necessary) in order to help you keep your immune system
healthy:
§ Vitamins A, B6, B12, and C
§ Zinc
§ Antioxidants
·
Using Herbs to Boost Immunity and Fight
Infection: There are different ways
that herbs can help boost the body’s immunity – by working directly with the
immune system, by aiding the body to better deal with stress, and by helping
the body fight infection.
You can boost your immunity with these
herbs:
§ Astragalus
§ Calendula
§ Echinacea
You can help your body fight infection
with:
§ Garlic
§ Echinacea
§ Oregano oil - use as short term remedy
only
·
Gut Health and the Immune System: The guts houses 70% of the immune
system – keeping the digestive system healthy can boost your immunity. These
are a few things you can do to keep your digestive system healthy:
§ Start your day with a cup of warm water
with juice of half a lemon first thing in the morning on an empty stomach to
support liver and gall bladder (which feeds into the digestive tract)
§ Promote healthy gut flora by adding
foods that are rich in probiotic
·
Lifestyle
Improvements: Ultimately though, your first line of defense against illness is to
make healthy lifestyle decisions. The more you can avoid putting toxins into
your body and maintain or improve the condition of your vessel, the easier it
will be for your body to fight off infection. How many of these healthy-living
strategies are you already doing?
ü Don’t smoke and drink
alcohol in moderation.
ü Learn your sleep needs
and get adequate rest.
ü Exercise regularly,
even a moderate walk 20 minutes a day is beneficial.
ü Maintain a healthy
weight – we all know that being overweight is unhealthy but yo-yo dieting is
nearly as bad for your body.
ü Washing your hands,
counters, doorknobs and light switches frequently.
ü Avoid stress and
practice stress-relieving strategies such as meditation, breathing exercises,
walking, counseling, journaling, etc.
ü Try skin brushing or a
hot towel scrub to aid lymphatic drainage.
ü Stay hydrated to flush
out unwanted pathogens.
I hope this has helped reduce your
fears and left you feeling empowered to naturally prevent and fight disease
this cold and flu season. For more information on this topic or for support in
putting this information (and more) into practice, check out my immune support program
available on my website.
And as a health coach, I must legal
tell you: Please note these statements have not been evaluated by the Food and
Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure
or prevent any disease. For more information please see my full Disclaimer,
visit my website
or contact me.
