As well as being a time for family celebrations, the winter holidays are unfortunately also high season for colds and flu. As people come together to celebrate, bacteria and viruses are passed from person to person, with the result that everyone ends up sniffling into a tissue before December is over. How can you keep yourself and your family healthy this season?
Winter Hygiene
You can reduce the spread of germs by carrying hand sanitizer and using it before and after shaking hands with other people. Hand-to-hand contact with other people exposes your hands to germs, which are transferred into your nose or mouth when you touch your face with your hands, causing infection.
When you sneeze, droplets of fluid teeming with germs fly out into the air, where they can be breathed in by other people. To avoid infecting your friends, catch your sneezes and coughs in a tissue. Throw out the tissue as soon as possible and wash your hands to avoid spreading germs to surfaces you touch.
Encourage your children to adopt good hygiene practices such as frequent hand washing. Building good habits in your children while they are young will help them to stay protected from infectious diseases throughout their lives.
Support Your Immune System
During the winter months, it is more important than ever to support your immune system. When people stay in closed indoor spaces to avoid bad weather, it is easy for cold and flu viruses to pass from person to person. A strong immune system fights off common winter illnesses quickly, reducing the duration of symptoms or even preventing them from developing at all.
The immune system depends on a combination of vitamins and minerals to support its function. Vitamin A boosts the production of the antibodies that fight off infection in the body, while vitamin C lowers the duration of colds and promote overall immune function. Riboflavin and other B vitamins support metabolism, the process through which the body liberates energy from food, which underpins the functioning of the immune system.
EnergyFirst's Immunity Formula contains the vitamins needed to support a healthy immune system, as well as natural compounds long known to be helpful in warding off winter illnesses. Garlic is a natural anti-bacterial agent, while Korean ginseng stimulates the glands to produce hormones that support the immune system and promote overall health and wellness.
Self-Care
If you do succumb to a winter bug, there are things you can do to take care of yourself and speed up your recovery. Hot diluted lemon juice mixed with honey will soothe a sore throat, while a warm bath will help to clear your sinuses and soothe aching muscles. Most importantly, you need to get plenty of rest: fighting off an infection takes up a lot of the body's energy and resources and it will need time to recover. You can help with that process by replacing lost protein through healthy eating or protein shakes. Also try EnergyFirst’s Greenergy green drink which is formulated with antioxidants and nutrients that support a strong immune system and helps rid your body of toxins.
Don't let winter colds and flu dampen your spirits this holiday season. Take some time to protect yourself and your family so you can enjoy the holidays in good health.
REFERENCES:
1. Microbes Infect. 1999 Feb;1(2):125-9 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10594976
