Immune Boosting Tips for Cold and Flu Prevention
The pews at church are sparse, and our school programs have low attendance as well. Teachers/coaches are asking us to wash jackets/hats/coats. If you get the flu you have to stay home for 5-7 days AFTER symptoms are gone (or you should), since you could still be contagious. But people don't stay home, and the flu spreads.
So, what's a girl to do?
Well, this girl doesn't want to get sick, so I'm doing a few things within our home to boost our immune systems. I thought maybe I should share them with YOU to help you stay healthy and well until the spring sun shines. These tips will also just help you FEEL better (in lots of ways), but mostly we will focus on immunity.
First, before I get into the changes we are making, did you know that about 200,000 people a year are hospitalized due to flu, and anywhere from 2,000 to 39,000 will die from flu per year? 5-20% of the population will contract it. That's so sad! Yes, children and elderly are at a higher risk, so when we don't take proper measures to take care of your immune system we are putting THEM at risk. The flu also costs the US about 10 billion dollars per year. Yikes. That's a lot of money.
Ok, so there are several immune boosting changes we are making:
1) We are eating "Yeast-Free (aka Optimal Eating Program)" for 30 days. This is an eating program to help fight candida overgrowth. It's mostly paleo but you also can't have fruit for the first 2 weeks. It's intense but we feel awesome. Not eating sugar is what helps the immune system. Every teaspoon of sugar suppresses the immune system for about an hour after you eat it. The usual birthday party or super bowl food choices could leave your defenses down for days. Maybe just this year, if you REALLY don't want to get the flu.... don't eat the sugary stuff.
2) We are taking our vitamins every day. We are sure to take the right amount of vitamin D-3. My husband and I take 5,000iu daily since we were diagnosed through blood tests with low levels. My girls take about 2,000iu daily. Ever since we started taking extra vitamin d with doctor supervision, our immune systems have been pretty rock solid. Me and my daughter had sinus infections last year, but other than that we haven't been sick in a very long time. I think the sinus infections were from stress, though- and nothing that was viral or contagious.
3) We take a walk in a park or in our neighborhood almost every day for a little boost in our step count as well and lower stress. Lowering stress will boost your immune system. Maybe you prefer yoga or lifting weights, or sipping green tea which helps ease tension.
4) I added lemon essential oil to our natural house cleaner. The cleaner didn't say if it was antibacterial, so I added lemon oil drops to make sure that it was. I use the NOW foods brand of oils. If someone gets sick then I pull out the Lysol and go to town, natural or not. When we are using cleaners daily for prevention, I go natural as best I can. I like Ms Meyers spray cleaners. Basil is my favorite.
5) We got flu shots. Only multi dose viles have mercury, so if you ask for a single dose vile or flu mist, you don’t get the mercury mega dose. A few years ago one of my girls got the flu and her temp got up to 104. It was scary and I decided we WOULD get flu shots from then on. Even if it is only 60% effective; that's better than 0%.
Ok, so there you are. That's what me and my family are doing to boost our immune systems. So far so good. I hope you got a good idea or two for avoiding the flu.
Here's to wellness, (subscribe if this was helpful and you will see more of these tips)
Tink
So, what's a girl to do?
Well, this girl doesn't want to get sick, so I'm doing a few things within our home to boost our immune systems. I thought maybe I should share them with YOU to help you stay healthy and well until the spring sun shines. These tips will also just help you FEEL better (in lots of ways), but mostly we will focus on immunity.
First, before I get into the changes we are making, did you know that about 200,000 people a year are hospitalized due to flu, and anywhere from 2,000 to 39,000 will die from flu per year? 5-20% of the population will contract it. That's so sad! Yes, children and elderly are at a higher risk, so when we don't take proper measures to take care of your immune system we are putting THEM at risk. The flu also costs the US about 10 billion dollars per year. Yikes. That's a lot of money.
Ok, so there are several immune boosting changes we are making:
1) We are eating "Yeast-Free (aka Optimal Eating Program)" for 30 days. This is an eating program to help fight candida overgrowth. It's mostly paleo but you also can't have fruit for the first 2 weeks. It's intense but we feel awesome. Not eating sugar is what helps the immune system. Every teaspoon of sugar suppresses the immune system for about an hour after you eat it. The usual birthday party or super bowl food choices could leave your defenses down for days. Maybe just this year, if you REALLY don't want to get the flu.... don't eat the sugary stuff.
2) We are taking our vitamins every day. We are sure to take the right amount of vitamin D-3. My husband and I take 5,000iu daily since we were diagnosed through blood tests with low levels. My girls take about 2,000iu daily. Ever since we started taking extra vitamin d with doctor supervision, our immune systems have been pretty rock solid. Me and my daughter had sinus infections last year, but other than that we haven't been sick in a very long time. I think the sinus infections were from stress, though- and nothing that was viral or contagious.
3) We take a walk in a park or in our neighborhood almost every day for a little boost in our step count as well and lower stress. Lowering stress will boost your immune system. Maybe you prefer yoga or lifting weights, or sipping green tea which helps ease tension.
4) I added lemon essential oil to our natural house cleaner. The cleaner didn't say if it was antibacterial, so I added lemon oil drops to make sure that it was. I use the NOW foods brand of oils. If someone gets sick then I pull out the Lysol and go to town, natural or not. When we are using cleaners daily for prevention, I go natural as best I can. I like Ms Meyers spray cleaners. Basil is my favorite.
5) We got flu shots. Only multi dose viles have mercury, so if you ask for a single dose vile or flu mist, you don’t get the mercury mega dose. A few years ago one of my girls got the flu and her temp got up to 104. It was scary and I decided we WOULD get flu shots from then on. Even if it is only 60% effective; that's better than 0%.
Ok, so there you are. That's what me and my family are doing to boost our immune systems. So far so good. I hope you got a good idea or two for avoiding the flu.
Here's to wellness, (subscribe if this was helpful and you will see more of these tips)
Tink
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