The drastic day-to-day change in temperature somehow messes up your immune system, the thinking goes, making you more vulnerable to viruses. If you feel yourself starting to come down with something during this time of year, it’s a sure sign that your body is crying out for help. Your immune system probably just needs some serious lovin’. The kind of love where we pay attention, listen hard and really try to understand what it is the body needs.
These 5 secrets just might save you from a week’s worth of bed-ridden house arrest, while your friends are out enjoying the nice weather
- Limit your sugar intake. It’s not rocket science. Sugar depletes the immune system. Eating too much refined sugar (and even natural sugars) can compromise the immune system and force it to have to work harder to fight back. Most of us are already on an up-hill battle to defend and improve our body’s defenses. Don’t make it even harder when you do start to get sick by adding a bunch of sugar to your tank. Sugar actually takes away precious nutrients from your body and depletes good healthy bacteria from your digestive tract, leaving you more susceptible to all kinds of bugs and viruses.
- Increase your sleep. When you’re sick, your body needs to rest period. The studies show time after time that when we are sick we need more sleep in order for our body to rest and repair. Go for at least a solid 8 hours, if not more. Cancel plans, forget your late night t.v. show and go to bed!
- Eat your medicine! Add ginger, garlic & onion to your daily diet. These foods in particular have amazing immune-boosting properties that will get you back on the road to wellness in no time. Swear. Add them to soups, salads or even eat them raw. You can chop them into pieces and add boiling hot water, drinking as a medicinal tea. Try mixing honey, lemon & ginger, steeped in hot water.
- Take it easy at the gym. The body is already under enough stress so just let it rest. Physical activity like running and weightlifting actually breaks down the immune system and can put a lot of additional stress on the body, leaving you more open to getting sick when you’re already half way there.
- Get your mind out of the gutter! If you can believe it, you can achieve it. Try not to think about how unwell or sick you feel. Replace the “sick” thoughts with high energy vibrational ones. Our thoughts hold energy and that energy can transform into a lot of physical stuff in our body. A lot of healing begins in the mind and your thoughts will become your reality.
