Five Tips to Outrun Cold and Flu Season

Scratchy throat, sinus congestion, warm body, achy head and overall fatigue… The telltale signs of when a cold of flu bug is taking up house in our body. Here are my top five tips for immune boosting and cold treatment.

BY: Jenn Pike

ONE: Heal your gut! More than two-thirds of your immune system lives in your gut and depends upon the right balance of key bacteria and flora to fight off the bad bacteria’s and invaders in order to stay strong and vital. Reducing the most common digestive offenders like dairy, wheat, gluten, corn and GMO soy plus sugar in your diet will have a MASSIVE impact on this but also taking a daily probiotic is essential to overall gut health and immunity.

TOP PICKS: Probiotics for an active athlete of life are, Genestra HMF Forte, Pure Encapsulation and Natural Factors.

TWO: Choose incredible quality food for your body. Consuming more organic fruits and vegetables should be part of our daily routine. A healthy diet is one that mainly consists of plant-based foods; raw nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, organic poultry, organic eggs and small amount of grass-fed beef. I also recommend non-dairy milk alternatives such as almond, cashew, rice, hemp, coconut and Brazil nut to use in smoothies, cereals, baking etc.

When you are sick sometimes the best thing is to stick to soups, bone broth, smoothies or cold pressed juices. It can be hard to give your body the micronutrients it needs without over-taxing your body with digestion. One way I ensure to get in my vitamins and minerals daily is by taking Juice Plus. With a nutrient profile of 30 non-gmo fruits and vegetables plus vine ripened vineyard berries each and everyday I am good to go.

TOP PICKS: Supplement our bodies with 4000iu-5000iu of Vitamin D in a liquid form each day. I also add in extra Vitamin C – between 2,000mcg – 8,000mcg, if you induce loose bowels simply back off 2000mcg at a time until bowels regulate. And finally zinc lozenges are a must-have for everything from sore throats, to body aches, fevers and chills. One of our bodies key antioxidants zinc is extremely immune and boosting and supporting.

THREE: Stimulate your lymphatic System. The primary function of your lymph system is to transport fluid containing infection-fighting white blood cells, throughout the body.
Simple daily steps would be to exercise and sweat, to use a dry-brush and gently slough the skin and body waking up and moving the lymph and using great quality skin care products that are free of chemicals.
TOP PICK: A homeopathic remedy that I stock year round for my family and I and swear by…Lymphdiaral by Pascoe. It is used to relieve symptoms of swelling, inflammation and infection, such as pain, fever, swollen lymph nodes due to injury it even great for recurrent or chronic conditions including ear infections, tonsillitis, and sinusitis. What I love most is that it comes in both tincture and ointment form so you can take it orally and apply topically.

FOUR: Sleep. I cannot stress enough how vitally important sleep is to building and maintaining a strong immune system. Our bodies do their best work when in a state of rest and digest and there is no better place or time for that level of healing and internal cleaning up to happen than when we are sleeping. Aim to be get at least 7-9 hours each night and in bed by no later than 10:30/11pm.

FIVE: Stress. My final and most important tip yet one that feels the most challenging: decrease your level of stress. We have become so completely over-scheduled as a society it is insane. We overschedule ourselves with too many commitments, working late, staying up to search Facebook or watch the latest Netflix program…it’s a big problem and must stop.

Take a breath, slow your pace, find your chill zone and visit it often!
To book a private consult or purchase holistically life enhancing products visit jennpike.com.