The How to Not Be Sick Guide:
5 Simple Steps to Stay Healthy This Influenza Season
It seems like I get a lot of questions lately about how I stay healthy when I’m constantly surrounded by sick people either at work or at home! I myself have had my fair share of illnesses, and believe me, allergies and asthma have put me down a time or two, but these are my tips to stay at your best during this flu season!
Drink Your Water
Staying hydrated is important not only in the summer, but also when it’s colder outside during the flu season. This prevents your body from being more susceptible to illness. The general rule of thumb is to drink 8 – 8oz glasses of water daily totaling 64 oz daily; however, there is more push to drink half of your body weight in oz daily in water now. For example, if you weigh 200 lbs you should be drinking 100 oz of water daily by this thought process. The main thing to not forget is you still need to drink just as much water in the Winter as you do the Summer.
Exercise
Exercising regularly can help to keep your body healthy and keep it in good condition to fight off illness. Exercise can also help your overall mental health. Staying in good physical and mental health can help you from getting worn down and prevent illness! Mayo Clinic recommends at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise weekly. That is easily achievable in 3 – 30 minute workouts.
Eat Healthy
Staying healthy starts with eating healthy, junk in means junk out! Plan your meals and your grocery list. Don’t have the junk around if you can’t resist it! Meal prepping is the easiest way to eat healthy, plan out your meals and have them ready to go for the week. In the morning before work or at lunch time there is no question what you are pulling out of the fridge, this will also reduce your urge to get fast food or reach for unhealthy snacks.
Take Your Vitamins
Take your multivitamin, and for women, make sure it includes iron and vitamin D, especially if you live in an area that doesn’t get much sunlight in the winter. I never realized how important vitamin D was for immunity until I started doing some research and read this article from the US Library of Medicine. It’s amazing since I’ve made sure to get Vitamin D regularly how much less I’ve been sick! The International Institutes of Health recommends women between the ages of 19-70 get 600 IUs of Vitamin D daily, however if you live in an area with minimal sunlight speak with your physician or family provider about how much you should be taking!
Wash Your Hands
Even though it seems simple, there are still a lot of people that don’t wash their hands upon returning home from the store or when their kids get home from school. Washing your hands is the single most proactive thing you can do to prevent the spread of illness including influenza this flu season. Although disinfecting surfaces will help, everything we touch will be reinfected if we didn’t wash our hands!
All of these things seem somewhat simple but you add them all up and they are your 5 simple steps to build your immunity and to help to keep you healthy through this flu season which is expected to be more active than normal.
Remember nothing can completely save you from illness, but these tips can help keep you in better shape both physically and mentally to prevent and handle illness especially with our influenza counts rising in the Midwest recently.
What are your go to steps to stay healthy and not sick through the winter?
