January 10, 2021: Preventing Illness
My weekly Get Your Stuff Together Sunday email series gives you one actionable focus for the week that will make your life a little easier.
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Even if you are exercising, managing stress, sleeping 7-9 hours, and eating whole, unprocessed, nutrient dense foods, you could wind up sick with a cold or flu this winter. This week, we’re going to talk about preventing illness as we get deeper into winter.
How to Prevent Colds and Flu
Four key lifestyle factors impact if and how often we catch what is going around. We all are exposed to bugs, viruses, and potential invaders to our immune system each and every day. Why is it then that some individuals get sick and others don’t? Well, how strong our immune system is will dictate whether or not we end up sick. If our immune system is too busy/overactive fighting off food sensitivities, inflammation, or attacking our own cells (autoimmunity), it can’t do the job it is meant to do and fight off the everyday offenders we are exposed to.
Good supportive nutrition, stress management, quality sleep, and exercise are key to a healthy immune system. Here are tips for optimizing these particular lifestyle factors:
Avoid inflammatory foods, such as sugar, dairy, soy, corn, and grains
Incorporate homemade bone broth into your diet daily or several times a week
Manage stress with good boundaries and time management as well as deep breathing, meditation, yoga, exercise, or any other act of self-care that reduces stress
Aim to be in bed and asleep at a regular time and allow yourself to get 7-9 hours of rest
Get active 3-5 times per week
Ease a Cold
Avoid grains, dairy, and sugar - These foods will only make the inflammation you have worse and feed any bugs in your system
Drink lots of water - Staying hydrated is key to regulate body temperature, remove wastes, flush toxins, and aid the body in it’s healing processes
Drink herbal tea - Nothing soothes a sore throat like a nice cup of tea. Throat Coat w/Lemon and a camomile with a little honey
Use a humidifier - A humidifier in your bedroom is key during dry winter months, and it’s especially good for when you’re stuffed up and mouth breathingA humidifier can also help with dry skin and eyes, two things that tend to get me frustrated in colder weather with the heater on
Next Sunday, we’ll talk about the difference between training and exercise.
Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again.
Do you have a friend who could stand to G(her)ST? Feel free to forward this!
I hope you have a wonderful week,
Kelly
Kelly Morgan, Ph.D.
Tsirona - www.tsirona.com
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