Nutritious Immunity

'Tis the season of sickness. Sometimes it can't be prevented, but a lot of times it can be! There are a lot of ways that nutrition play a roll in our life- including our overall wellness.
Here are 10 ways to help stay healthy throughout the winter and to help prevent sickness.

1. Increase your exercise- exercise is a big factor to keeping us healthy. It releases toxins and decreases stress, which is another factor of our immune system.
   You should do at least 30 minutes, 3X per week.
2. Healthy Diet- I tell everyone not to worry about the scale, but there is a guideline used from the scale. Being overweight can decrease your immunity! Eating things with a high sugar and fat content make your body work harder, because sugar attracts microbes, which can cause us to get sick.
   Increase your green vegetable intake along with fruits to help your body stay up on the vitamins and minerals it needs to fight off bacteria.
3. Sleep- Not enough sleep can increase risk of infection because the body cannot fight it off without sleep/energy. Sleep helps the body to heal itself.
4. Stress- Stress can lead to heart disease and high blood pressure- along with other health problems. How to help this problem? Exercise, meditate, do yoga or find a hobby that you love.
5. Lose the Booze- Over using alcohol or drugs will lower the immune system because it decreases resistance to infection. You can use alcohol in moderation, but not everyday to keep a healthy immune system.
6. Strong Relationships- Relationships can be hard sometimes, between living separate lives and bills and money, etc. Sex actually helps to build up immunity!
7. Fiber (soluble)- Fiber keeps everything moving throughout the body. You need a healthy digestive system to help fight off infections as well! It's good to eat a yogurt per day or if you don't want to eat yogurt, talk to your doctor about taking a probiotic for a healthy gut.
8. Wash your hands- Keep them out of your mouth, or any point of entry. Wash them as often as possible to lessen the transport of microbes into your body.
9. Stay Hydrated- Water is your best friend. Drink as much as you can throughout the day, it helps to flush your system and feel energized!
10. Use Spices 
    1. Garlic is a natural antibiotic, it stops bacterial growth
    2. Paprika stimulates metabolism (along with hot pepper)
    3. Ginger can help prevent colon cancer (contains gingerol)
    4. Cinnamon is rich in antioxidants that inhibit growth of bacteria & blood clots, it also stabilizes sugar

Hopefully you can stay healthy this winter and find these tips useful on how to stay healthy during this bitterly cold winter, and all year long! :)
xox

Resources: Harvard University of Health.