Solutions for Year-Round Health
There’s just no getting around it. Once the temperature drops, cold and flu season looms over us like bad weather. The impacts of our fast-paced lifestyles, back-to-school season, holiday stress, along with the seasonal changes, lead most of us to believe that colds and flu are inevitable elements of fall and winter.
They’re not.
With a healthy diet, lifestyle choices, and supplementation, you can protect yourself year-round with natural solutions that will help strengthen your defenses and keep you vibrant and energized.
Cold or Flu? Know the Difference
As an integrative physician, my patients often come to me with an important question: how can I tell whether I have a cold or the flu? Both are respiratory illnesses, but each is caused by different viruses. In general, colds are usually milder than the flu and present symptoms that include nasal stuffiness, sneezing, and a runny nose. Adults and older children generally have minimal or no fever, but infants and toddlers often run a fever in the 100-102 degree range. Depending on which virus is the offender, a cold might also produce a headache, cough, postnasal drip, burning eyes, muscle aches or a decreased appetite—but the most prominent cold symptoms are usually nasal related.
The flu is a much more serious illness and can produce symptoms such as fever, body aches, fatigue, and dry cough. Most people who get the flu recover within a week (although they may have a lingering cough and tire easily for a while longer), but for elderly people, newborn babies and people with certain chronic illnesses, the flu, and its complications can become life-threatening.
1. Healthy Lifestyle for Immune Support
Keeping the immune system in top form does take a bit of vigilance. That’s because there are numerous contributing factors that can weaken immunity, including stress, exhaustion, chronic inflammation, sedentary lifestyle, overly processed/refined foods, dehydration and exposure to toxins, among others.
Combat challenges to your immune system by following these health-promoting habits which can boost your immune system and overall health and vitality.
2. Hydration to Prevent Cold and Flu
One of the most important things you can do to steer clear of illness is to stay hydrated, since water comprises over half of your body mass. Proper hydration allows for efficient transmission of your body’s most critical communications, and helps eliminate toxins and foreign invaders so you can clear infection more efficiently.
3. Proper Sleep to Prevent Cold and Flu
Deep, restorative sleep cycles are a fundamental part of your body’s repair process and a number of studies have demonstrated that failing to get enough sleep has numerous consequences for physical, mental, and emotional health. It is important to set regular sleep patterns to help regulate and strengthen your immune system.
4. Balanced Diet to Prevent Cold and Flu
A nutrient-rich diet emphasizing fresh fruits, vegetables, nourishing proteins, and unprocessed foods is critical for maintaining optimal immune health throughout the seasons. This type of diet is linked with increased immune activity, decreased oxidative and free-radical damage, improved digestion, healthy inflammation response, healthy glucose metabolism, healthier lipid profiles, and many other benefits. In addition, high-quality proteins are essential to help your body maintain and build strength and immunity. Good sources of protein include organic meat & poultry, wild fish, whole legumes, nuts, and seeds.
5. All-Natural Remedies to Prevent Cold and Flu
In addition to leading a balanced lifestyle, incorporating nutrients, herbs, and supplements into your daily routine can offer critical support for short and long term immune health. Here are some of my favorites:
6. Modified Citrus Pectin (MCP) to Prevent Cold and Flu
opens in a new windowModified Citrus Pectin is an all-natural supplement made from citrus fruit peels and modified for enhanced absorption and bio-activity throughout the body. Numerous studies show that MCP is a powerful anti-cancer therapy, inflammation-reducing, and a safe chelator of heavy metals and toxins. Recent studies also prove its ability to significantly enhance immune function for both short term and long term immunity. MCP boosts the functional ability of our most powerful Natural Killer immune cells, blocks cancer in the body, reduces inflammation, and safely removes heavy metals and environmental toxins. These diverse benefits make MCP a powerful daily supplement for immune and overall health.
7. Medicinal Mushrooms to Prevent Cold and Flu
opens in a new windowMedicinal mushrooms regulate immune function and combat infection, especially on a long-term basis. Mushrooms naturally contain Beta-glucan compounds which enhance immunity by boosting macrophage activity – your first line of defense. Species that are especially beneficial for immunity include Reishi, Cordyceps, Maitake, and Shiitake, among others. Each offers numerous health benefits that can improve vitality, decrease harmful pathogens in the body, and even prevent deadly viruses from infecting us.
8. Herbal Formulas to Prevent Cold and Flu
There are many powerful herbs and herbal formulas for immune support. My top recommendations include the Chinese herbal formulas Yin Qiao San, Gui Zi Tang, and Ge Gen Tang, as well as a opens in a new windowTibetan herbal formula containing 19 unique botanical ingredients that synergistically perform to reduce inflammation, boost circulation, improve immune function and increase antioxidant defenses. Also, tonifying and adaptogenic herbs such as Astragalus, Ginseng and Siberian ginseng can be effective on a preventative level or can help combat symptoms once they’ve set in, depending on the specific characteristics of the flu or cold.
9. Vitamins and Minerals to Prevent Cold and Flu
Research shows that daily doses of vitamin C, vitamin D-3 (especially during winter), and zinc offer significant boosts to the immune system. Zinc is also the most important mineral to the thymus gland, which orchestrates the immune function in the human body.
10. Simple Health Tips to Prevent Cold and Flu
Lastly, practice common sense tactics on a daily basis to maintain your health year-round. Some of the easiest and most effective strategies include keeping your distance from people who are sick, avoiding contact with your nose, eyes or mouth, and washing your hands frequently. Simple daily and long-term natural cold and flu prevention—paired with natural treatment options—can help keep you and your family healthy throughout the seasons.
