Flu Season Hints and Tips

Wash hands frequently

Washing your hands frequently throughout the day, but especially before eating, is your first line of defense against many diseases, not just cold and flu.  To really be effective, you should wash your hands for 20 seconds under running water.  If you're not one for counting, one rousing round of "Happy Birthday" will do the trick.  Remember, good hand washing habits are critical for your children, as well.

Do not touch eyes, nose or mouth

Usually, when you catch a cold, flu or other "bug," it entered your body through either your eyes, nose or mouth.  If you can break yourself and your children of the habit of rubbing eyes, nose and mouth, you will have a happier, healthier season.

Avoid all sugar

Sugar creates the perfect environment for viruses.  It interferes with the white blood cells' ability to fight germs for up to five hours after eating it.  It prevents both Vitamin C and Zinc from performing their crucial roles in protecting you.

Sugar affects everyone, but it affects children more profoundly.

This caution about sugar does not just apply to sugar you add from the sugar bowl, but it also includes presweetened products, as well.  This caution also applies to soda and sweetened teas.  So do please check your food and drink labels carefully, because, as if adding insult to injury, all those lovely processed carbohydrates such as white flour, white pasta and white rice turn into sugar in your system.

Sleep

When you are feeling tired and rundown from a lack of sleep, guess what else is tired and run down.  That's right, your immune system!  Adequate sleep and a good diet work together, hand-in-hand, to provide the second line of defense against colds and the flu.

Remember the old adage, "Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise"?  It turns out that staying up past 10pm leads to increased cortisol production.  Cortisol productions works to exhaust your adrenals and pull necessary hormones away from their functions as well as encourage increased belly fat.

Build up your immune system

One of the first steps you can take to help boost your body's immune system is to eat whole, raw, organic and green foods on a daily basis.  Here are some additional steps you can take:

Cold and Flu Fighter

1/2 c. chopped onion
1 whole bulb chopped garlic
2 tbs. chopped fresh ginger root
1 chopped jalapeno

Put all ingredients in a 1 qt. jar, cover with raw vinegar and let sit 4-6 weeks.  Strain out the vegetables and use at least 2 tbs of the mixture each day.  If you do get a cold or the flu, take every hour.

Grapefruit Seed Extract

You can purchase this at any health food store.

Children's dosage: 3 drops in water, once a week.  At the first sign of illness, children should take 3 drops daily, while adults should take 10-15.

Toddler Recipe

To help toddlers take Vitamin C and grapefruit seed extract, mix the following:
1 tbs. or more of no-sugar-added yogurt
Crushed Vitamin C tablet - smaller dosage for toddler
Juice of 1/2 orange
2 drops grapefruit seed extract
Stevia for sweetening

Mix together and give to toddler as needed.

Speaking of Vitamin C, check out our Suggested Supplements that will explain the benefits of 3 we work with that are rock stars when it comes to immune system support and protection against the flu.