At the grocery store, in the nail salon, at the dentist’s and just about wherever we go this time of year, the talk is all about the terrible viruses that are laying us all low for weeks. As there are really no foolproof ways to prevent getting sick, it can be quite frightening to consider these horrid molecules lurking about every corner. This brings us to the first tip for preventing illness this season….
- Stay Positive. Worrying about getting sick contributes to the production of cytokines, which is a chemical in your body that promotes the inflammatory response. We’ve been hearing about inflammatory compounds that create asthma, obesity, cardio-vascular disease, and more. Now we understand that they also increase your chances of getting viruses like colds. Cytokines cause most cold symptoms. When we worry, we contribute to chronic stress, which inhibits our GCR (glucocorticoid receptor resistance). This allows those inflammatory chemicals to win. To further understand this mechanism, check out this research.
- Keep your hands away from your face. Washing hands frequently is great, but virus exposure happens constantly. Make it a game to keep hands away from the places where viruses love to incubate, where it is warm and moist in the respiratory track.
- Feed your body to starve a cold. Proactive nutrition can play a huge part in boosting your immunity. Eat more veggies! Frozen or canned produce is an excellent alternative in our area during winter. Boost vitamin C to 2,000 mg a day (is that safe? See article here)
- Rest more. If chronic stress reduces immunity, then it stands to logic that a well-rested body is more protected. These videos show some very relaxing and helpful restorative yoga postures that can even be done in bed. Aim for 20 minutes per day of meditative time during which there is no TV, books, social media, talking or planning.
- Move more. A key part of our immune system is in lymphatic circulation. Unlike blood, there is no heart to pump this fluid. Muscle movement is the only way. Lymph nodes are concentrated in the groin, belly, chest and arm pits. Exercises that move those parts of your body are the most effective. Seventy-five per cent of drainage (which means discharging the virus-filled fluid) occurs in the left breast. Inverted positions, with the legs higher than the heart, assist with this.
Happy winter, everybody!
