Flu season is upon us, and despite regular warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only about 32 percent of Americans are getting their annual seasonal flu vaccines.
Whether you have your vaccination or have chosen not to take the precaution (or if you fall into the high-risk categories for those who cannot be vaccinated), taking care of your body during these peak illness months is essential. Not only will you be less likely to come down with a serious bug, but you and your family also will miss fewer days of work and school and feel more successful and productive overall.
Here are six tips for boosting your immune system naturally – not just during flu season but all year round:
Get your Zzz’s: When it comes to balancing busy work and school schedules, extracurricular activities, holiday plans and family obligations, one of the first things to suffer is sleep.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase the body’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which is released when the body enters a “fight-or-flight” state. Because your body is programmed to release this hormone in short bursts and to escape life-threatening situations (such as fleeing a large predator), this hormone increases your heart rate and suppresses non-vital functions in these situations, including your immune system.
Giving your body the rest it needs to repair itself and maintain optimal function is just as important as meeting the never-ending string of deadlines. In the end, if you become ill, you’ll fall farther behind than if you take the extra hour or two to give your body a chance to recuperate.
On that note – WHEN you sleep matters as much as how much you sleep, and this isn’t good news for night owls. Studies show that the hours before midnight are more important for giving the body rest – so it’s better to go to bed at 10 p.m. and rise at six a.m. than to stay up until two a.m. and wake up at 10 a.m.
Manage Stress. Easier said than done, right? Just as with sleep deprivation, chronic stress caused by a crazy schedule, family or relationship tension, or financial woes causes adrenal glands to pump out cortisol and another stress hormone, epinephrine. These hormones were tremendously helpful in getting early man away from dangerous situations, but early man didn’t have to worry about a frustrating job, college prep, extracurricular demands or mortgage payments. Even if you can’t eliminate the causes of the stress in your life, you can take steps to manage your body’s response.
Yoga and meditation have been shown to do wonders for the body’s immune system, and music therapy or traditional therapy can both be useful in helping to cope with or recover from the daily stresses of life. If you find yourself feeling regularly stressed out and run down, consider that not only are you putting yourself at risk for illness, but you’re also increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and heart attacks. Chronic release of these stress hormones causes stenosis of the blood vessels and can contribute to wear and tear on the heart muscle.
Say yes to garlic breath. Garlic has well-known antimicrobial and immune-boosting qualities, and it has been used for centuries for these reasons. Studies have shown that garlic intake can boost the body’s T-cell production – a type of white blood cell that helps fight infections and pathogens, including influenza and the common cold.
So this winter, double down on the garlic, whether you take a supplement or load up your foods. And for maximum impact, minimize the exposure garlic has to heat, adding it to foods just before serving, rather than adding it at the beginning of the cooking process. Remember, heat deactivates one of the key components that gives garlic its healing properties.
Get outside. Vitamin D is absolutely essential to immune health, and while vitamin D-fortified milk and other products can help increase levels, it’s not surprising to find out that, with our hectic schedules and lack of outdoor time, a whopping 75 percent of American adults and adolescents are vitamin D deficient.
During the summer months, just 10 to 15 minutes of outdoor time can give the body the sun exposure it needs to produce all the vitamin D we need. However, during the winter months, which is also the peak of flu season, the sun’s rays are far less intense, and the weather requires that we cover up, minimizing sun exposure.
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to an increased risk of respiratory infections. So during flu season, consider taking a supplement of about 2,000 IUs daily for adults and 1,000 IUs daily for kids – and be sure to spend some time outdoors soaking up the rays.
Consider probiotics. Fermented milk products, like probiotics, have been proven to reduce respiratory infections in both children and adults. It may be surprising, but the majority of the immune system lies within the gastrointestinal tract (a function that’s suppressed during the fight-or-flight response and release of stress hormones), and daily probiotics can ensure that healthy bacteria exist in the right proportions and function optimally for peak health. In a healthy individual, a good daily dose is 10 to 30 billion CFUs, but those with GI disorders should talk to a doctor about the right dosage.
Get frisky. As long as your intimate relations are safe – meaning that you are either using protection against STIs or are in a long-term, monogamous relationship – sex is one of the best-documented immune system boosters. In fact, research has shown that sex lowers the risk of developing colds, builds up the body’s antibodies, and, because it provides a workout, cardiovascular health benefits, along with calorie burning and stronger muscles.
Even with all of the natural options for boosting immunity through the flu season, the CDC still strongly cautions that everyone over the age of 6 months – with rare exceptions – be vaccinated annually against the seasonal flu. Even if you got the vaccine last year, the strains you’re being protected against may not be the strains circulating this year, and you may still be at risk of contracting a serious and potentially deadly virus.
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