Prevention for the Common Cold
29 October, 2018 by Life Rituals
Prevention for the Common Cold
Prevention is always better than cure, these simple steps will help keep you well over the winter months.
- Stay warm and protect yourself from cold and wind. Its important to keep the chest, lower back, feet, head and nape of the neck well covered. Remember to dress warmly when outside and wear a scarf – Wearing a scarf helps to protect the body from catching a chill. The back of the neck area in Chinese Medicine is called the ‘gate of wind’. By protecting the neck from draughts you reduce your risk of catching a cold from the cool air.
- Include plenty of organic bone broth into your diet
- Include plenty of fermented foods and drink in your daily diet – the best quality is your own home made kind – easy to make Fermented food and Kefir making kits will get your started. These help to keep your gut in good health and prevent chronic immune dysfunction. Research shows probiotics help boost immune system and preventing cold and flus. Probiotic foods include fermented vegetables, kefir yoghurt and kombucha tea.
Fermented Kimchi
- Have a warm breakfast – Winter is the perfect season for porridge. Having a warm bowl on a cold morning isn’t just a delicious way to start your day, it can also help boost your intake of fibre. It also contains many vitamins and minerals.
Life Rituals Teas contain immune boosting adaptogens
- Take Adaptogens Cold and flu season starts its attack as soon as the temperatures begin to drop. During this time you’ll want to bring in extra immune support. Astragalus is an antibacterial and antiviral root adaptogen that can boost immune-regulating T-cells. Keep this with you to ward off any sniffles that start to creep up. For a daily adaptogen boost drink Energising Ritual Tea; Protection Ritual Tea or Eight Treasures Vitality Ritual and Daytime Calm Ritual teas.
- Check your Vit D status – During winter we are exposed to the sun much less and our Vitamin D levels can suffer. Vitamin D is important for strengthening our immune system, and helping with mood and bone health. Foods rich in Vitamin D include fatty fish, mushrooms, eggs, soy milk. It is recommended you take a Vitamin D supplement with at least 1000 IU for good immune health daily. It is great at regulating mood and reducing depression symptoms. Those with sub-optimal levels of Vitamin D have significantly increased levels of anxiety, stress and depression. We recommend a Vit D Spray for better absorption.
- Take Multivitamins which have many health benefits. In the short term they can increase energy, reduce stress, help fight infections. Long term they can benefit our immunity and health. Winter is most vital time for multivitamins. We recommend Biocare Methyl Multi Nutrient.
- Getting plenty of sleep is important to avoid your body getting ill in winter. During sleep our immune system regenerates and repairs the body. Natural hormones such as melatonin is released at night and helps to encourage sleep and support immunity. Those that sleep less than 7 hours a night are 3 times more likely to get sick and catch the cold than those who slept more than 8 hours. Aim to be in bed and asleep by 10pm at the latest. Don’t let yourself get run down. If you find it hard to sleep or have chronic insomnia get some acupuncture treatment and try bedtime ritual tea to help you sleep naturally.
- Minimise spread by washing your hands more.
- Take Chinese Herbs and get Acupuncture.
- Eat warm cooked foods, avoid raw cold foods like Salads. Warming foods help warm the body, expel cold and increase circulation. Eat more winter vegetables and soups such as carrots, parsnips, pumpkin and turnips. Use cooking methods such as roasting, mash or soups for a comforting winter meal. Have more ginseng, ginger, cinnamon and gou qi berries.
- Exercise More – Just because it is winter, doesn’t mean we can avoid exercise. It can help stop you from catching the winter bug. Exercising regularly can help your body flush bacteria and waste from the body through the lungs via sweating. The reduces your chances of developing colds and coughs. The key is exercise regularly at moderate intensity and if you are outdoors in the chilly air, remember to rug up.
- Drink Warm Liquids such as soups, tea and water. Avoid anything too cold as it can make you cough and it not as nourishing as warm liquids. Make it a priority to drink a glass of warm lemon water before breakfast. This helps to eliminate toxins, clear your system and increase digestive function better.
- Increase Vitamin C is great to help prevent colds and flus and increase our immune system. It reduces acidity in the body, and is an anti-bacterial. Make sure you get enough vitamin C in your diet, you can do this with food and drink – try Protection Ritual; Cleanse and Detox Ritual; or Unwind and Uplift Ritual Teas which are all packed full of high content organic Vit C ingredients. We also recommend taking a Vit C supplement.
If you are suffering from a cold or flu this winter or have extremely cold hands and feet, acupuncture and Chinese medicine are great to treat your winter cold. To find our more contact us for information.