The recent news about the Coronavirus has most everyone concerned. Will it spread to my area? What can I do to avoid catching it? Is there a cure? These are all questions that are on our minds. And while the following information relates to colds and the flu, there are a couple of things you should know.
First of all, the common cold is a coronavirus, although the Coronavirus we are hearing about in the news is not a simple cold. It has been likened to “the flu on steroids”. Secondly, the “regular” flu has killed far more people than the Coronavirus, to date. This to say that the frightening word coronavirus can be a simple, common cold, and that the flu, Coronavirus or not, can be quite dangerous. Overall, the methods we employ to fight common colds and the flu will also apply to the Coronavirus.
Simple Ways to Boost Your Immune System This Winter
Colds, the flu, and the Coronavirus are all more likely to be caught by the young, the old, and people with compromised immune systems. Whether you fit into one of those groups or not, we all have times when we could use a little extra boost to our immune system. Cold and flu season are certainly part of that time, or the long winter weeks when we’re stuck inside and more likely to catch something. It’s also important anytime you board a plane or when your kids start school. Here are four simple things you can do daily to strengthen your immune system. Which brings up a good point: For best results, implement daily. Let’s start.
1. Good Hand Hygiene is Your Best Line of Defense Against Cold and Flu
Your first line of defense to avoid getting sick this year is simple – Wash Your Hands. That’s right. The simple act of washing your hands frequently, with soap and hot water, will limit the spread of cold and flu viruses, and your chance of coming down with them. And I want to emphasize the word frequently. Get in the habit of washing your hands whenever you’ve been out in public, and whenever you can throughout the workday. Wash them before you eat or drink food. And when hot water and soap aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Why is this so important? Because you are more likely to pick those viruses up with your hands than any other way. Sure, having someone cough in your face doesn’t help, but your chances of getting the flu or coming down with the common cold, thanks to contact with a handrail or a doorknob, are much higher. You pick the virus up by moving about your day. It could be touching the handle of a shopping cart or closing a door behind you. It could be touching the flush handle in a public restroom. It’s now on your hands, which isn’t necessarily a big problem by itself. It can’t enter through the skin there, unless your skin is broken.
The problem arises when you touch your face. It happens a lot more than most of us are aware of. We touch our nose, rub our eyes, or get our fingers too close to our mouth or nose when we eat or cough. The virus then makes it to a mucous membrane in any of those areas and it’s right where it wants to be.
That’s why it’s important to wash your hands. It isn’t some busy work that healthcare professionals give you to make you feel like there’s something you can do. It is your best line of defense. So, what are you waiting for? Go wash your hands.
2. Stay Healthy Through Good Diet and Exercise
One of the most important things you can do to avoid getting sick – and not just from cold and flu, but anything else out there that’s contagious – is keep your body as strong and healthy as possible. One of the best ways to do that is to eat a healthy diet and get some sort of daily exercise. Here’s what that may look like.
Start Eating Healthier Foods
Improving your diet to eat healthier can seem like a challenge. But there’s a lot you can do. The key is to just get started and make small improvements as you go along. A great place to start is by cutting out sugar and processed foods. Replace them with whole foods options where you can. Have an apple instead of a candy bar when you need a snack. Fix some scrambled eggs instead of pouring a bowl of sugary cereal in the morning. Skip the fast food burger and fix a salad to take to lunch. You get the idea.
Eat Plenty of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
From there, I would encourage you to add more fresh fruits and vegetables. Try something new. A new piece of produce, a new healthy recipe, a new way to cook your favorite foods in a healthier way. Experiment and don’t be surprised if your tastes change over time. A baked sweet potato will start to taste better while soggy burgers will start to lose their appeal.
All systems of your body work best when they are properly fed. This includes your immune system. Stick to a mainly whole foods-based diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you feel like you might be a little under the weather or suspect that you may have come into contact with someone sick, increasing your intake of Vitamin C may help as well. Eat a few citrus fruits. Broccoli, cauliflower, and kale are other great options.
Avoid eating processed foods. There is so much wrong with these foods and what they do to your health, but for now, let’s just say it takes a lot of time and effort to digest them and you don’t want to weigh your body down with extra work when that energy could be used to boost your immune system, keep you from getting sick, or help you get well sooner.
Try Probiotics
Your immune system starts in your gut, so taking probiotics can help establish good gut flora, which will help to strengthen your immune system. Probiotics can be taken as a supplement, or can come from certain foods. However, don’t think they are a substitute for healthy eating. Why not do both!
Get Some Exercise
In addition to eating well, get out there and get regular exercise. For best results, work out in the fresh air. Something as simple as a daily quick walk can help you stay well and strengthen your body. Plus, it has the added benefit of helping you to de-stress. I don’t have to tell you that you’re more likely to get sick when you are stressed out. Use daily exercise to de-stress and stay well.
Simple Ways to Sneak More Exercise into Your Day
The key to regular exercise is to create a few habits. An easy way to start is to incorporate a brisk daily walk. Something as simple as a stroll after dinner or first thing in the morning can contribute to a healthy body. Another option many find helpful is to wear a pedometer or fitness tracker. Monitor your daily step count for a few days and then start to increase it until you get to the recommended 10,000 steps – or challenge yourself to do even more.
Keep your bones strong and improve your overall fitness by adding some simple weightlifting routines. You don’t need any fancy equipment. Use your body weight for resistance and grab some cans to use as weights. Of course, if you’re feeling motivated, you may also choose to join a gym or hire a personal trainer to help you get into a good workout routine.
Between the healthy food you’re eating and the exercise you’re getting, you’ll start to feel better, get stronger, and become healthier. As a result, your immune system will be in a better position to protect you from whatever cold and flu season sends your way. It will also help you with the next way to boost your immune system.
3. The Importance of Sleep to Help Your Body Fight Colds and Flu This Season
Can you recall a time in your life when you didn’t get enough sleep? For many of us, this happens from time to time. We’re staying up late to study for finals in school. Or how about those many sleepless nights after welcoming a newborn. Or maybe you suffer from the occasional bout of insomnia. Think back on one of those times. Chances are that those were also times when you were more likely to catch a cold or come down with the flu or a stomach bug.
On the flip side, making sure you get plenty of quality sleep can serve as a sort of insurance policy. It strengthens your immune system and helps your body fight off any type of infection or threat that comes its way. In addition, your body will be able to heal itself faster should you come down with something if you get plenty of rest. That’s why your doctor often orders plenty of rest and fluids when you have a cold.
But why exactly is sleep so important both to boost the immune system to avoid getting sick in the first place – and during the recovery period, should you come down with something? Your immune system uses antibodies to fight an infection. At the end of the day, it works the same whether you’re preventing an infection from taking hold or fighting one off that’s taken enough of a hold to make you feel sick. These antibodies stick to the virus and affect cells, rendering them ineffective. The virus-antibody combo can then be eliminated, which is why it is important that you drink plenty of fluids. It makes it easier for your body to flush them out.
This still doesn’t explain the role of sleep, does it? I’m getting there. Your body produces antibodies more effectively while you sleep. I’m no scientist, but I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that your body isn’t busy doing everything else it has to do as you move about your day, running around, eating, getting that papercut that requires additional resources… you get the idea. While you are asleep, your immune system can work more efficiently at producing antibodies and deploying them throughout the body to fight the infection.
Keep this in mind the next time you’re tempted to burn the candles from both ends, and use it as motivation to stay home and take a nap instead of heading into work when you’re coming down with something. Tell yourself that by taking a nap, you’re not doing nothing, you’re working on your immune system!
Make Time for Sleep
This tip is easy to skip over, yet it is the most important one for most of us and the one that can give your immune system a great boost. Make the time to get seven to eight hours of sleep each night. Practice good sleep hygiene. Don’t let the word scare you. It means turning off your phone and other screens a couple of hours before bed. Keep your bedroom calm, quiet, and at a temperature that encourages sleep. It also includes establishing and sticking to a bedtime routine. As an added bonus, you’ll feel more energized for everything else you have to do all day. Which brings us to our last tip.
4. Avoid Getting Sick by Keeping Your Distance
There are quite a few things you can do to avoid coming down with the flu or catching one of those nasty colds this year. Yes, you can get a flu shot. Get plenty of sleep, eat a healthy diet, and exercise regularly. The healthier your body, the stronger your immune system. Another important preventative measure, as discussed before, is washing your hands. But don’t stop there.
As much as possible, keep your distance from people who are coughing and sneezing. Turns out that the average cold or flu virus only travels about three-to-six feet through the air. That means if you can keep a little bit of distance between yourself and anyone that looks like they are sick, you improve your chances of staying healthy.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. Sometimes we end up stuck in meetings with sick coworkers who didn’t stay home. Or we must brave public transportation. Or worst of all, we have to wait in a doctor’s waiting room or hospital. Wearing a mask and washing your hands will help. You should also do your best to keep that six feet distance I mentioned earlier. Move a few seats if you can. Take a different route when you see someone with glassy eyes, or someone who’s showing any kinds of symptoms that indicate they may have a cold or the flu.
He should have stayed home!
Teach your loved ones to do the same. If they get sick, you will be surrounded by people who spend most of their day within close proximity of you, needing your help and physical attention. Eat a healthy diet and go out and exercise as a family. Boost your vitamin C intake during the winter months when cold and flu are most rampant. When they do get sick -and it happens – do your best to protect yourself. Wash your hands and try to avoid getting coughed or sneezed on. I know, easier said than done, but do what you can.
Last but not least, use your influence to encourage others to stay home when they are sick. Lead by example. Stay home from the office and avoid heading out to the store when you’re sick. If you have to venture out, keep your distance and wear a mask. Don’t sneeze or cough into your hands. Use hand sanitizer before touching common use items like the keypad at the grocery store and the handle of the shopping cart. Keep your kids home from school. Spread the message of the importance of staying home when sick to get others to do the same.
Staying Well
With cold and flu season underway, and the new pandemic scare and those of recent years, we all want to do what we can to avoid getting sick. Unlike bacterial infections that can quickly be cleared up with a round of antibiotics, with sicknesses caused by viruses like the flu or the common cold, you often have to ride it out. While there are medications that can help ease your symptoms, your immune system must fight the viral infection off. Why not take it easy on your body and do what you can to avoid catching it in the first place?
