Top 6 Tips to Staying Healthy this Cold and Flu Season

In my part of the world, summer is definitively over and the rainy season, which the Pacific Northwest is known for, has begun.  This year, I decided to embrace the beauty of fall instead of mourning that summer is over.  So far, it’s going well. What I like about this season, is that it is a great time to work on things which were neglected during the summer months. Whether that involves home renos, arts and crafts, cooking and baking or … well, inner transformative work!

What better time than now?

One thing which derails even the most dedicated life-hacker, is getting sick with a cold or flu. Three quarters of my child’s kindergarten class was home sick this week!  As a parent, you know your next. So this topic is really front of mind for me. Have you had your first encounters with a cold or flu this season? Keeping yourself healthy this time of the year, is a timely topic to tackle.

Because nothing haults self development more than being sick.

I used to be one of those folks who became sick by simply being in the room with another sick person. That’s really all it took. If any of my co-workers or family members were ill, I caught it too.  I tried to stay positive and tell myself that it would not happen yet again, but to no avail. Do you always catch every cold which is going around? I invested a lot of time and resources to research and understand why I was so prone to catching colds and flus. I found out why. I needed to include immune boosting practices in my daily life. And do it consistently. Since then, I’ve barely been ill.  I’d like to be of service to you and share what I have learned in this blog. 

What can you do to ward off getting the flu this year?

Check out my top 6 tips – tried and true immune enhancing suggestions:

Eat healthier.

This means eating more veggies, fruits and healthy fats, as well as eating specific foods aimed at preventing colds and flus. Vitamins and minerals are excellent cold and flu busters, especially vitamin C and Zinc. Healthy, bug fighting foods are: Garlic, chicken soup, citrus fruits, collard greens or kale and camomile tea.

Eating healthier also means eating less starchy carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, corn and potatoes. And much, much less sugar. Starchy carbs basically turn into sugars in our bloodstream. Can you guess who else likes to eat sugar – besides yourself? Viruses, bacteria and other pathogens. It’s their most favorite energy source. If you eat less sugar, you make your body less hospitable to them.

Get regular exercise.

Our body is meant to be active. Although it may not always feel like it (especially if you have not been doing a lot lately), but the undeniable evolutionary truth is that we were made to move. And when we don’t, we pay for it. In many ways. We feel less energised. Our bodies start to ache. We get injured doing the simplest things. And our mental state suffers. We are also more prone to illness. For most of us, it is easier to exercise in the summer months, but our bodies need it more than ever in the fall and winter to stay healthy and ward off bugs.

Use natural preventative remedies.

Generic medicine has solutions once you are sick, but offers little help to keep you from getting sick in the first place. This is where tried and true alternative medical fields – like Naturopaths, Chinese Medial Practitioners, Herbalists, Integrative Doctors and Homeopaths – can offer a multitude of different options. I am not an expert, but I have benefited from their advice many times. I urge you to try preventative medicine for yourself. If you are a sceptic, just consider that their remedies have stood the test of time. Most are older than what we call modern medicine today. I am not suggesting seeking their help in place of regular medicine, but explore what a good practitioner may offer to keep you healthy this cold season.

Go outside.

This one can be linked with exercising, but does not have to be. It is about being outside in nature, breathing fresh air and changing the scenery.  Studies have shown over and over again, how beneficial the outdoors is to human beings. Again, that should not surprise us. Evolutionarily speaking, we were made to be outside. We were not made to sit inside, breathing circulated air and only moving our fingers (to operate key strokes). My suggestion: Dress for the elements and get outside whenever you can.

Get enough sleep.

Many of us struggle with this one, to the point that it is annoying to be reminded to get more sleep (by a blog like this).  I get it and feel your pain. Often, people struggle with sleeping not from a lack of wanting or trying. People have many reasons for not getting enough sleep. And as annoying as it is to read “get more sleep to feel better”, there is simply no denying the truth behind it. AND instead of panicking and getting more stressed about not sleeping enough, it is important to prioritize getting enough sleep by turning this into a conscientious goal. In the future, I will dedicate a full blog just to the topic of getting enough sleep. In the meantime, if you are sick of getting sick, invest effort to discover why you don’t sleep enough. And do something about it. What could you start doing to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep? How about you start tonight?

Be bug smart.

No article on the topic of avoiding colds and flus can be devout of this aspect. You can’t get sick without being exposed to pathogens. I am not suggesting quarantining yourself, but it is helpful to be a little more conscious of picking up germs. Wash hands frequently with warm water and soap – long enough to sing “happy birthday” … twice.  Especially when you or your young kids are in public places like children’s play zones, the library and the doctor’s office. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Clean surfaces like door handles, telephones, computer key pads, fridge doors and faucets regularly. It’s not rocket science, but takes extra work. So suck it up.

There you have it! That’s my top 6 list. You can’t live the life of your dreams when you have a cold or flu. But you can try to avoid them. Here’s to a healthy fall and winter season everyone!

Namaste,
Simone

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Simone Alberts is a success coach, psychologist and founder of The Self Coach Approach. She empowers freedom seekers by teaching them how to coach themselves to independently create the life they really want. Versus settling for the default life they just think they can make happen.