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Cold and flu season is here, so it’s time to be extra vigilant when it comes to washing your hands and keeping your immune system healthy and robust. Follow these tips to help keep illness at bay:
• Optimize your gut flora — This may be the single most important strategy you can implement as the bacteria in your gut have enormous control of your immune response. The best way to improve your beneficial bacteria ratio is to avoid sugars as they will feed the pathogenic bacteria.
• Optimize your vitamin D levels — Optimizing your vitamin D levels is one of the absolute best strategies for avoiding infections of all kinds.
• Avoid sugar and processed foods — Sugar impairs the quality of your immune response almost immediately, and it also can decimate your beneficial bacteria and feed the pathogenic yeast and viruses.
• Get plenty of rest — If your body is overly fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu.
• Exercise regularly — When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads.
• Take a high-quality source of animal-based omega-3 fats — Increasing your intake of healthy and essential fats like the omega-3 found in krill oil is crucial for maintaining health. It is also vitally important to avoid damaged omega-6 oils that are trans fats and in processed foods as it will seriously damage your immune response.
• Wash your hands — Washing your hands will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people.
• Use natural antibiotics — Examples include oil of oregano and garlic. These work like broad-spectrum antibiotics against bacteria, viruses, and protozoa in your body.
• Boost your immunity with nutrients — Nutrients known to offer powerful protection during cold and flu season are vitamins C and D, zinc, beta glucans and elderberry. These can also be used acutely if you feel like you're coming down with a cold or flu.