7 NATURAL REMEDIES FOR FIGHTING FLU THIS WINTER

Until something goes wrong you don’t realise what a fantastic job your immune system does. So give it some support!  
Surprisingly, it is not the freezing weather itself that causes illness, but being confined in small, inside spaces with others infected with a bug. Come November, we’re much more likely to lounge on a sofa than breathe in fresh air at a local park. Making a few simple changes to your diet and exercise habits  can help to avoid most colds.

• Choose your foods.  Eat plenty of vegetables to help strengthen your immune system. Incorporate  some immune-boosting garlic when appropriate. Eat soups, stews, casseroles and curries. Make a chicken soup – it boosts your white blood cell count. Eat oily fish to stimulate your white blood cells, or if you’re vegetarian add flax seeds to your diet. Go easy on sugar as it affects white blood cells ability to react to bacteria. This weakens the immune system. 

Eat nuts: Brazil nuts contain selenium. Selenium reduces the ability of a virus to replicate in your body and is important for immune function.  Almonds contain chemicals believed to encourage our body to identify and kill viruses. 

• Zinc.  Taking zinc within 24 hours of the start of symptoms help shorten colds  according to the Mayo clinic. Zinc may help to keep cold viruses from multiplying in your nose and throat.Zinc can be taken in supplement form  If supplementary zinc is taken there are risks and too much zinc can depress the immune system and there can be interaction with other medcation. The safest course is to talk to your doctor before considering the use of zinc to prevent or reduce the length of colds.

From a nutritional perspective  a healthy adult woman should get a minimum of 8 milligrams (mg) of zinc per day, and adult men 11 mg. This amount is easily obtained through a healthy diet that includes zinc-rich foods such as poultry, red meat, and fortified breakfast cereal. 

• Drink plenty fluid. It’ll help flush out your system and support your circulation and is a good way of clearing mucus from your body. If plain water doesn’t appeal, try herbal tea or hot lemon and ginger drinks. Gargle with salt water. Inhale steam
• Have enough sleep. Most people need 7 to 8 hours of good quality sleep each night. If you regularly do not get enough sleep, it will be much more difficult for your immune system to ward off an infection, and it will take you much longer to recover. A cold that may have lasted 3 days can linger for two weeks if you don’t receive deep, restorative sleep.
• Wash your hands with warm water and soap. It is an extremely effective method of washing away bacteria and viruses that can cause disease. 
• Make friends. ​Studies  have shown that those with a good friendship group are less likely to get sick.
• Go for a walk. Vitamin D strengthens your immune system and reduces the risk of infections. You make vitamin D in your body when your skin is exposed to the sun’s UVB rays. Exercise  helps to boosts circulation and moves those cells involved in fighting infection around the body. Take time to relax.  Enjoy something: feel-good music, a massage, quality time with those you care about.

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