Combating it all

Between the stress from moving and this crazy cold season, my immune system has been hit with the worst.  Luckily I avoided any major sickness despite the fact that it went around my house and hit my babysitter and Bar pretty hard.

Here are some tips on keeping your immune system boosted to avoid the flu and some tips on how to heal quick and soothe in case you do get hit:

In avoidance of:

• Green juice!  Add lots of lemon and ginger.  Lemon helps our bodies detoxify while ginger is an immune booster and anti-inflammatory.  Chlorophyll is like a blood transfusion (not literally of course).  It is chemically similar to hemoglobin, so cleans our blood and gives us a boost.  It's life at it's simplest form.
• Green tea.  The benefits are too long to list.  Drink it!  Lots!
• Avoid sugar.  It's bad for everything and taxes your system.
• Eat whole grains, enough fiber, tons of veggies, beans beans beans.
• Neti pot on a regular basis and use salt.
• Take your vitamins!  Specifically a whole foods multi, vit D, omegas, probiotics.
• Get enough sleep!  I can't stress how important this is.  As a parent of young children, I understand life can get in the way and getting enough sleep can feel impossible, but sleep and stress can dictate how our lives go.  They both control our energy levels and motivation among other things!

In the case you feel something coming on or find yourself stuck with a cold:

• Use your humidifier and put 5-10 drops each of tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus.  If you can find it, replace the tea tree with medieval mix or thieves.
• Green juice!
• Take zinc, echinacea, and 1000mg of buffered vit c with bioflavanoids on top of your regular vitamins.
• For a cough or anything bronchial make a drink consisting of the following: apple cider, the juice of one orange, honey (preferably ginger, garlic, 1/2 onion, cinnamon, turmeric.  Bring it to a boil, let it simmer for 10-15.  Drink it warm!
• Make a natural chest rub of any oil or lotion you like along with a few drops of eucalyptus and tea tree oil.
• Neti pot.
• Miso soup!!

Good luck!  Stay healthy!  Enjoy this gorgeous winter!