Are you ready for cold and flu season? If you want to avoid being sick and feeling like you have to go to the doctor to get antibiotics and other drugs, now is the time to be thinking about prevention!
To that end, here’s some great tips to strengthen your body’s immune system during the winter season.
1. Drink the optimal amount of water
With the winter season here, it’s more important than ever to consume the right amount of water for your health.
2. Keep stress to a minimum
Studies have linked high stress levels to making a person more susceptible to catching colds and flu. Minimize your stress by working reasonable hours at your job. Aim for at least one night per week to spend with friends and family.
3. Eat a healthy diet
Maintaining a good healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables and minimal amounts of organic meats is another way to keep your body clean and in good working order. Try eating an extra piece of fruit or veggie every day too!
4. Exercise regularly
It is important to exercise regularly, even if only for 15 minutes a day! Get out and take a short walk and enjoy the cooler weather.
5. Get the right amount of sleep every night
The average person needs 6-8 hours of sleep per night. If you’re not getting enough sleep, your body is extremely vulnerable to illness. Sleep is very much like fuel that recharges your batteries! You’ve got to do it to keep the machine running.
6. Wash your hands regularly
Keep the bacteria and viruses off your hands and out of your mouth and eyes. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer close-by for those instances where you can’t get to soap and water.
7. Don’t smoke
Most of you already know this, but it bears repeating because smoking significantly weakens your immune system. If you want to quit and have tried everything else, let me know. I have some nutritional recommendations that can help you quit!
8. Eliminate all forms of sugar
This includes not only the obvious kinds (cake, cookies and sweets, in general), but bread, pasta, rice, yogurt and commercial, store-bought fruit juices. Although all of these things are made with different types of sugars, your body still converts them to sugar, which will compromise your immune system.
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