I was intending to blog on how to avoid the flu this winter and ended coming down with the flu! I eventually worked out why.
Here are my top 5 tips including the prevention tip I was missing.
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1. Exercise at least 5 times a week
It is no surprise that a large percentage of people who get serious complications from the flu are obese. Exercise does wonders for your immune system. Remember to be careful if you have not exercised for a while, as overdoing exercise will have a reverse effect. Start out by doing a simple walk around the block each morning before work. If you have a park nearby (away from the busy traffic) then even better. I like the mornings as exercise at that time gives you extra energy to get through the day as well as boosting your metabolism for burning fat. Start now before it starts getting too cold to go outdoors.
2. Practice Daily Mediation and Mindfulness
In our modern age where we are cooped up in an office all day stress is a given. Stress limits the ability of our immune system to fight off flu viruses. Exercise helps but we also need to work on our thoughts and minds as a lot of stress is “in our minds” and not physical. Take out 15 minutes in the morning or evening before you go to bed to just meditate – just pay attention to your breath for 15 minutes. We all need to slow down and take timeout to just “experience existence”.
Furthermore, watch your thoughts, gossiping about others or winging about things and problems will elevate your anxiety and stress levels. Be mindful of your thoughts during the day. 99.9% of our negative thoughts are simply not true. Challenge them all. Is this thought true? Can I absolutely be sure this thought is true? Think about how you can turn problems and negative thoughts into opportunities and solutions that add value and help others.
We are tribal people by nature. It’s not natural to pass people without saying something. I truly believe this is one of the reasons big cities have so many stressed out people. When your walking down the street, observe everyone you pass and say out aloud in your minds-eye, “I send you loving kindness”, it does wonders in making you feel good.
3. Eat Fresh Fruit Daily
Fruit juice is never a substitute for fresh fruit. Instead of drinking orange juice buy a bag of oranges and have one each morning as the first thing you eat when you wake up. If you are lucky enough to have a garden with herbs and fruit, pluck some herbs straight off the plants and eat them before your morning walk – even fresher than supermarket fruit.
4. Avoid Drinking Too Much Alcohol
Drinking too much alcohol will cause havoc to your immune system. There are benefits to half a class of red wine a day but any more and your likely to get a reverse effect.
5. My Secret – Eat Kimchi
Ok here is the secret.
The reason I believe I got the flu was because I have not been regularly eating Kimchi. I usually do, but have not been eating it for the past 2 months. Kimchi is a fermented cabbage dish from Korea containing lots of Chili and Pepper. I had the other 4 tips covered but had been neglecting this one.
The Koreans believe that kimchi helps protects them from colds and flu and from my own testing it works for me. It’s not scientifically proven of course, but it’s one more remedy you should put in your prevention arsenal to combat the flu this winter.
Let us know how you go?
Do you have any other flu prevention remedies? Leave a comment.
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