Surviving and Thriving: Avoiding Fall Germs
1. Probiotics:
You might have already heard of this tip but probiotics are e s s e n t i a l to strengthening your immune system. Why? Well, 60 to 80% of our ENTIRE immune system lies within our digestive tract. Weird right? Who would think the same place we shove our food holds such importance to our overall well-being? The number one thing in our digestive tract that helps our immune system is bacteria.
“But bacteria is bad right?” No. Not all bacteria is bad, and the good bacteria are essential to our health. Probiotics help our immune system by balancing our good/bad bacteria ratio. According to American Nutrition Association, our gut should typically have around 85% good bacteria and 15% bad bacteria. Taking probiotics every day helps in balancing this ratio (they also have many other benefits for overall mental and physical health). You can find probiotics in a variety of foods ranging from yogurt to kombucha drinks. I personally just take a probiotic vitamin every day because I find it difficult to remember to eat a certain food or have a certain drink every day.
2. Emergen-C: Immune defense
It’s name says it all. I personally think this stuff is a life saver. Whenever I feel a cold coming on or even if I have something more sever like the flu, I take a packet of this a day. It’s packed with vitamin C which is said to be helpful to your immune system (It is still debatable- according to Harvard Health “more is not necessarily better”). There is a large controversy over whether or not a “mega” doses of Vitamin C really help sickness but I personally think it gives me the energy I need.
3. Air purifier
This is a new addition to my life and it’s probably made the biggest difference. We all remember (or currently are) moving into those beautiful “historic” freshman dorms that come with cute vintage accents like the mold that’s been in the air vent since they installed it in 1889. In high school, I rarely was sick but since the day I moved into my freshman dorm I felt significantly worse until the day I moved out. There was undoubtedly mold and bacteria floating in the air, waiting to engulf me with germs. I recently invested in an air purifier and it has instantly improved the air quality. It has a sanitize setting which is used to kill germs. I typically leave it running all day until I go to bed (I’d leave it on at night too if it wasn't so noisy).
4. Water
Yes, I know you’ve heard “hydrate” more than enough times but I feel obligated to incorporate this. Whenever I feel tired or sick or even just not put together I drink A LOT of water. This summer I felt a cold coming on before I had to take a trip to New York. In preparation for the trip I drank 90 ounces of water a day for 3 days straight. Not only did it help me feel better but it also cleansed my body There are SO many benefits ranging from clearing up your skin, flushing out toxins, preventing cramps, boosting your immune system, to helping headaches. I honestly had to train myself to drink more because it was just something I never thought about, but once you make it a habit I swear you’ll notice improvements.
5. Eat Clean(ish)
At this point I just sound like your mom. We’ve all been there. “Eat your broccoli it's good for you blah blah.” I know it's one of the most annoying things to hear. I used to (and still sometimes do) just shut down when someone tries to lecture me on their new “gluten, dairy, sugar, and happiness free diet.” I’m not one to force my lifestyle on someone just because it helped me, I’m just here for suggestions. In high school I ate like s**t. I would either have a sugary coffee with a side of carbs or a pack of mini donuts for breakfast (I still go soft for a good caramel macchiato or other flavored lattes). I never felt 100% because I was eating a range of fried foods and lacked any source of nutrients. Freshman year, I tried to eat relatively healthy and I currently still crave my favorites, but I’m not eating a rounded diet of chicken nuggets and donuts (partially because I went vegetarian). When I go to the grocery store I typically buy 60-75% produce (its both cheaper and better for you). Clean foods are not something you will wake up one day craving, you have to start to slowly incorporate them into your diet. A lot of the vitamins in natural foods like vitamin C and E actually help build up immune cells that help the immune system so your body will get better at defending you from whatever sickness is thrown your way.