Nothing welcomes you to the colder season better than a throbbing, burning throat, a blocked nose stifling you from a wink of sleep, and a spluttering cough that always seems to forget its exit cue.
If you’re anything like me, simply hearing other people infected with something nasty will give you anxiety. Just the thought of being chained to those dreadful symptoms for at least a week is depressing enough, but when you’ve got to accommodate it alongside dealing with all the stresses of life? I just don’t have the energy for it.
Naturally, there’s nothing you can actually do to prevent catching something (if only!). There are, however, ways to boost our immune system to ensure it’s functioning at its best. And of course, a healthy immune system will provide us with the healthiest chances of avoiding an illness.
So what can we do?
When you think about it, it’s pretty obvious. The whole point of sleep is to rest and restore your brain and body so it’s working at its full capacity the next day. Think about it like charging a phone – if it’s not recharged fully for the day ahead, you may be having to shut down functions and applications running in the background in order to keep its basic power going. It’s not really much different from your body: a lack of energy means it simply can’t resource its immune system fully.
Scientifically speaking, sleep has been linked to fending off colds better. Studies have shown that well-rested people who received the flu vaccine developed stronger protection against the illness. On the other end, not getting enough rest leads to more inflammation in the body and notably higher levels of stress (more on the harmful impacts of that later on).
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away” may be a little exaggerated, but it isn’t entirely false here.
Incorporating more Vitamin C into your diet may quite possibly be the most beneficial change you can make this upcoming cold season. It’s particularly important we ensure to get it as our bodies don’t naturally produce or store the vitamin. Furthermore, a lack of it can even make you more prone to getting sick.
As an antioxidant, Vitamin C fights free radicals to keep our defence system as healthy as possible. Not only that, but it contributes to bodily repair, so even if you are cruelly subjected to a seasonal illness, it’s believed to decrease the length of symptoms by as much as a day to a day-and-a-half.
Perhaps it’s time to treat yourself to a delicious fruit salad? (Just make sure it’s packed with citrus fruits and strawberries – they’re the richest sources!).
Lowering your sugar intake will also put you at an advantage. Studies show that consuming too much sugar restrains immune system cells that attack bacteria. This detrimental effect will last at least a few hours after downing a couple of sugary drinks/snacks – not the best if you’re surrounded by a cold or virus epidemic.
Other foods proven to boost positive immune system functioning include fresh garlic, green tea, cold water fish (such as tuna and salmon) and good old-fashioned chicken soup. It’s also no myth that the latter is a perfect food source for fighting infections even after they’ve inhabited your system.
Just like with high sugar levels, stress hormones suppress the immune system, rendering you far more susceptible to catching something nasty.
While avoiding stress completely is almost impossible, there are multiple ways to help manage it:
Ensure you’re getting enough sleep. This was listed above, but bagging at least 7-8 hours a night will place your system in a far better position to fight off both the physical and mental stresses of the day.
Exercise. Studies have linked daily 30-minute exercise sessions with a lower chance of obtaining a cold or virus. This is mainly down to the boost of feel-good chemicals it releases, helping the body to combat stress. Not only that, but it encourages better sleep quality.
Don’t forget to laugh. This is a brilliant antidote for stress hormones. So good, it even boosts a certain type of white blood cell linked with fighting infection. There was never a more perfect excuse to curl up to a feel-good comedy movie!
Try meditating. In one experiment, people who meditated over an 8-week period made more antibodies to a flu vaccine than people who didn’t. 4 months down the line, they were still showing a stronger immune system response.
There are a multitude of health-related reasons as to why we should be drinking our recommended 2 litres a day! But its contribution towards fighting off possible infections is certainly an added incentive this cold season. So what exactly does it do?
It helps to oxygenate our blood. Well oxygenated blood will effectively be pumped through all our cells and organs – ensuring they’re working at full capacity.
It flushes out harmful toxins. This very well may mean that any harmful toxins already in our body may get sorted before they’ve even done their intended harm.
It boosts the production of lymph. This is essentially a fluid that flows through the body, collecting bacteria and then transferring it to the lymph nodes where it is ultimately destroyed.
This is something we all are guilty of forgetting from time to time. Germs and bacteria can live on surfaces for up to 24 hours, so even if you didn’t actually see someone sneeze or splutter on that table or staircase banister, it’s really important that you keep washing your hands before they go anywhere near your face/mouth.
If someone in your household is already sick, just ensure that you give kitchen surfaces a quick wipe down with disinfectant before preparing food. Likewise with shared bathroom facilities. Although, do try not to make them feel too close to an infected zombie from I Am Legend!
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