4 Steps to Staying Healthy This Fall

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We all know that there is no “cure’ for the common cold, so that leaves us with options to best prevent us from catching one in the first place. Your best defence is, of course, to be as healthy as possible! When we over-tax ourselves one of the first things to give out is our immune system. Our first goal then is to boost our immune system by;

  1. Boost your energy with sleep, NOT stimulants: Most adults require between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night to be well rested. Less will leave you feeling tired which might lead you to rely on stimulants such as caffeine and sugar to increase your energy level.Both of these choices are bad news; caffeine over stimulates your immune system and sugar prevents the absorption of vitamin C which is needed to help increase your immunity!
  2. Keep germs where they belong, off your hands: We can learn a lesson from our school-aged children. They are now being taught the “proper” way to sneeze and cough in schools, into their elbows, not hands. By doing this, nasty germs are not being spread with hand-to-hand contact.The other important component to making sure germs stay off our hands is to wash or use waterless hand sanitizers regularly. Clean hands equals fewer germs to attack your immune system!
  3. Don’t touch your face or lick your fingers: My Grandmother always slapped my hands when I went to lick my fingers after eating. She was a wise lady way ahead of her time. Studies now show that people who don’t lick their fingers tend to be less sickly than those who admit to savouring the taste of their food instead of using a napkin.When you think about this, it only seems simply logical. Not an easy habit to break (trust me I know!) but just as not touching your face, a habit that once broken will help to save you from unwanted colds. “Don’t touch your face!” was another saying both my Mom and Grandma were famous for shouting at us kids. Again, wise women! Germs are mostly spread from hands-on contact and this includes onto our faces. If you must scratch an eye or your nose, make sure you wash your hands first.
  4. Increase your immune system naturally: A balanced diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables is essential to maintaining a healthy immune system. Make sure that your choices include dark green, red, and orange colours on a daily basis to get as many phytochemicals as possible.Supplementing with a high quality all natural multi-vitamins is also a good way to ensure your giving your body all the nutrients needed to maintain your immunity. Exercise also helps to keep your immune system healthy. The more you exercise the more virus-killing cells are created by your body.Without these cells your immunity will not be strong enough to fight off the smallest cold or flu if exposed. Exercise is also a great way to reduce stress. This important since stress and decrease the production of something called interleukins. These little guys have the most important job of fighting off cold and flu viruses. Exercise reduces stress, which allows a higher level of interleukins to be produced.

No one is “immune” from catching a cold, but with these simple steps we can greatly increase our immune system naturally and be better prepared to fight off these nasty viruses. Following these four suggestions, not only will you find that your immunity is stronger, you will find that your overall health will increase. It really is a win-win arrangement. Better immune system, better health, and all done 100% naturally! Doesn’t get any better than that!

Antonia
A science enthusiast with a keen interest in health nutrition, Antonia has been intensely researching various dieting routines for several years now, weighing their highs and their lows, to bring readers the most interesting info and news in the field. While she is very excited about a high raw diet, she likes to keep a fair and balanced approach towards non-raw methods of food preparation as well. (http://www.rawfoodhealthwatch.com/)