They may not be very scientific and Dr. Oz may not do a show on them, but here are my 5 mommy-tested tips for staying healthy this cold and flu season!
1. Eat well! Your mama was right when she tried to stuff you full of stew or a hearty meal of roast beef and mashed potatoes! Eating well doesn’t just mean eating that big bowl of chicken soup once you’re already sick, it’s about keeping that furnace in your body well fed and full of hearty foods (vitamin rich foods preferably!) Eat, eat! <— said in my best baba voice!
2. Get enough rest! Yeah, I know you totally just rolled your eyes at me for that one and I’m right there with you but the fact remains that getting enough rest can help your immune system immensely! PVR Grey’s Anatomy and watch it the next day while pretending to totally be involved in the Lego fort being built at your feet.
3. Keep stress at a minimum. Again, I know you’re giving me the stink eye but the first step to reducing stress is being aware of it. Get rid of the drama queens in your life (yes they’ll gossip about you for doing it but the fact is they’re gone baby gone!) and when the stress of the kids, work, whatever, get the best of you – a glass of wine or a cocktail at the end of the day is a fabulous stress reducer. Or other fun activities after said glass of wine. The point is, be happy and minimize stressors in your life when you can.
4. Wash your hands! It goes without saying but wash your hands after the usual (bathroom, sneezing, dealing with the kid’s bathroom, dealing with the kid’s sneezing!) but also throughout the day as well. I’m a germophobe so whenever I get home from somewhere, the first thing I do is wash my hands. Think about it, that debit machine you used at the Timmie’s drive through? How many gross hands touched that before you this morning?
5. Use natural items already in your household as extra warriors in the fight. Garlic is full of antioxidants and is delicious in hearty home cooked meals (see #1). In fact, one of garlic’s chemical components, allicin has been proven to help deactivate viruses, bacteria and fungi. Ginger warms your body by helping to improve circulation while also stimulating the protective functions of the immune system and easing congestion in the respiratory tract. Vitamin C and Echinacea have long been touted as helping to boost your immune system and reduce the severity of colds, though the jury is still out on how effective it is. I pop Echinacea when the kids are sick or I’m feeling run down and I feel it works (and mom is always right in my household!)
Fantastic tips! Washing your hands is a biggie that I think a lot of people still take for granted as the easiest way to prevent colds from spreading. Dead on 🙂
Sleep is the hugest one our house – but I agree with all of them! 🙂 I just find that when sleep is down, moods are down, and it seems then along come the sicknesses! Here’s to a healthy winter (now that we’re getting over our first colds of the season! :P)