Another day, another list to help you live better. Winter is finally upon us, which means it is the season of sickness. If you’re anything like me you tend to get sick often – up to twice a month – it means that either your immune system is not great or you are not taking precautionary measures when it comes to your health. I’m all about Advil and Tylenol, or a good cup of NeoCitran when my throat starts to feel scratchy but I prefer natural methods to help me cope or to stop me from getting sick in the first place.
So, here is some advice from me to you on how to stay healthy this season of sickness, au naturel.
1. Avoid alcohol
This is obvious, but you would be surprised. I’ve known a few adults that say alcohol puts a burn in your chest; that some of the ingredients in alcohol can help sickness, or that it benefits your immune system. None of that has actually been proven with facts. It is not a danger to enjoy a glass of red wine before bed, but that does not mean you should be drinking while also fighting a fever of 103° F.
2. Get your Vitamin C
There is conflicting evidence as to whether or not vitamin C has any real benefits to preventing sickness, but it is among many methods that would not hurt the immune system. Plus, Mayo Clinic says taking vitamin C “before the onset of cold symptoms may shorten the duration of symptoms.” So, it might not stop you from becoming sick but it can help those symptoms from lasting too long or getting much worse.
3. Drink tea
That is, green tea with lemon and honey, more specifically. Not only does it taste good and give you a warm and fuzzy feeling just bound to make you forget how you feel for a moment or two, but the antioxidants in green tea are known to help cell damage and protect our bodies against diseases. If that is not enough to convince you green tea is helpful to your body during the colder months, we can talk about other tea: peppermint tea contains menthol that soothes a sore throat, licorice root tea helps stomach pain, and ginger tea prevents nausea.
4. Don’t forget about protein
This might be surprising, but the lower the levels of protein you have in your system, the more likely you are to become sick. Not getting enough protein in your diet means your immune system will be shot. It does not mean that eating red meat all the time will stop you from being sick, but it does mean upping that intake will definitely give your system an extra defense when bacteria comes around. If you are not into red meat than, milk, cheese, beans, and eggs are good places to start when thinking about changing your protein intake.If you use these tips– even just one– then you have a better chance of staying healthy during this season of sickness. Personally, after learning about how protein and vitamin C can help relieve sickness more effectively, I have been consuming them nonstop. I see a change in how often I get sick after trying it for about 3 weeks. It is good to feel good, I hope these tips can help you too.