Simple Tips to Stay Healthy During Cold & Flu Season
Wednesday’s post was all about treating a cold easily, frugally, and naturally at home with three simple items that you probably have in your home already. Did you realize that salt water, hydrogen peroxide, and garlic were such effective treatments?
While it’s great to know that simple home remedies can do much to relieve a common sickness, we’ve all heard it said many times that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Thankfully, there are many simple lifestyle and dietary habits that can do much to keep us healthy when cold and flu season sets in! Today I’m offering a handful of ideas to get you started.
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Build Up Your Gut with Healthy Bacteria
Did you know that the immune system is linked with our gut health? Amazing! Keeping a good balance of healthy bacteria in our gut is a key factor in building immune health and avoiding sickness. Eating cultured or fermented foods (think yogurt, kefir, kombucha, or naturally-fermented sauerkraut) is a fantastic way to build up that healthy gut flora with probiotics from real food!
Rest and De-Stress
I know, I know, I know. With a house full of youngins (and one on the way) who need to be fed, clothed, cleaned, instructed, and discipled, I feel very busy, too! But no matter where we are in life, we all need to invest in our health and spend time resting and de-stressing often. Walk outside. Simplify your expectations. Connect with the Lord. Connect with your loved ones. Make sleep a priority. Your body and mind will thank you!
Focus on Whole Foods
Healthy eating can be simple! Food allergies and intolerances aside, most of us can thrive on a diet of very simple, whole foods. It’s not really about the latest super-food or package from the health food store. Think real fruits & vegetables, real meat from a butcher, real eggs from someone’s farm or backyard, and real, whole dairy.
Avoid Sugar and Processed Foods
On the flip side, sugar and processed foods can really wear our system down and make us much more susceptible to infection. I frequently notice my children being more prone to sickness around the holidays when they enjoy more sugary treats than we normally allow. Limiting refined sugar and processed foods is a great way to keep your body strong!
Take Your Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil may not be the tastiest supplement on the planet, but it does much to keep a body healthy! It’s high in essential fatty acids as well as Vitamins A & D (so long as it hasn’t been processed and deodorized). Fermented cod liver oil is said to be best, but as the price can be prohibitive, other unprocessed oils are still helpful and are what we currently take.
Green Clean
Don’t panic; your house doesn’t have to be spotless for you to stay healthy! Rather, focus on keeping things relatively clean and disinfected by avoiding antibacterial cleaning products and using natural alternatives like baking soda, vinegar, peroxide, and some basic essential oils. Striving to eliminate all germs through chemical warfare leads to mutant microbes that don’t die easily. No good. Keep a better balance and a healthier home environment with natural alternatives.
Don’t Forget to Exercise
Yes, I still struggle here, too. I love my Fit2B membership, but it is still a challenge to make exercise happen in my house! However, I notice a difference when I’m faithful, and I really notice a difference when I slack! My family needs me to be healthy and strong, and I am continually working to manage my time better to make exercise a priority. Care to join me? (Psst! Don’t forget that you can get $10 off your three-month or one-year membership to Fit2B with the code SMITH at checkout!)
These tips are just the start when it comes to preventing a cold or the flu. Do you have some things you’d like to add? Have you found one of these tips to be more helpful than others?
