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Holiday season is cold and flu season—but it
doesn’t have to be for you. I’m going to show you how you can support your
immune system and fight off wintertime viruses.
The holiday season presents many challenges to
our immune system in the form of stress, eating more sugary foods, changes
in the weather, and travel. When your immunity drops, viruses have free
reign to set up residence in your mucous membranes. The result: upper
respiratory infections and secondary bacterial infections.
The good news is that you can be proactive in
keeping your immune system optimally healthy. Your overall lifestyle—diet,
exercise, stress levels, emotional wellness—should enhance your health, not
destroy it. As the season changes, if you are getting frequent infections
and feeling depleted and tired at day’s end, that’s a sure sign that you
need to pay attention to your lifestyle and make some changes.
What’s wonderful about our bodies is that they
have the ability to fight off viruses and heal themselves naturally—as long
as we are helping, not hindering, those natural processes. Here are some
ways you can boost your body’s immune system this holiday season and beyond.
Manage stress.
A simple way to understand stress comes from Roger Mellot,
internationally known expert on stress management. He says we have a limited
amount of energy to expend each day, and that our stress levels increase
significantly when we spend the majority of our time on things we value
least. So ask yourself this question: Where am I spending my time and
energy each day? For example, are you working like crazy at the office
to meet deadlines, and feeling guilty that your family at home is being
neglected? If you value your family more than your work, then the way you
are prioritizing your time will produce stress. You will be happier and
healthier by putting your energy and time into people and activities you
love and value most. In other words, get clear about your values and live by
them. After the holidays wind down, make this a New Year’s resolution:
Identify your top three values, and then begin to rearrange your schedule so
that you are spending your time proportionate to what’s most important to
you.
Eat healthfully. You
can maintain strong immunity by eating healthfully. It’s quite common for
many of us to consume foods and drinks around holiday time that we normally
don’t have, in quantities to which we’re unaccustomed. Eating a poor diet
with lots of sugary foods is one of the quickest ways to lower your immunity
to winter viruses. According to a study published in the American Journal
of Clinical Nutrition, sugar can impair your immune cells’ ability to
fight off infection. Keep immunity strong by limiting sugary and processed
foods, and by increasing whole foods that are rich in nutrients, such as
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and low-fat animal products. During
times when you are most vulnerable to colds and flu, it’s also a great idea
to eat more garlic. Numerous studies have found that garlic supports the
body’s immune system and has potent antibacterial properties as well.
Stay physically active.
Regular exercise makes you feel good, look good, and helps your immune
system function better. Research published in the August 2000 British
Journal of Sports Medicine points to a direct benefit: “Moderate
exercise across the life span seems to increase resistance to upper
respiratory tract infections.” The key word here is moderate, as the
researchers also found that “repeated strenuous exercise suppresses the
immune system.” For most of us, however, too much vigorous exercise is not
the problem! This holiday season is a great time to start exercising
regularly. Schedule winter walks with your partner and your friends. Ask for
a gift certificate to a local gym or yoga studio. Begin dance classes. Find
something you love to do, and try to make it a regular activity. This is one
of the best, and most enjoyable, ways to strengthen your immune system.
Sleep and rest plenty.
There is a reason why sleep is often called “healing sleep.” Adequate sleep
is critical to a healthy immune system. I am always surprised to discover
how many of my adult patients are sleep deprived, either because they have
trouble falling or staying asleep, or don’t allow themselves more than five
or six hours a night. A study in the January 1998 Psychosomatic Medicine
found that poor-quality sleep is detrimental to your immune system. It also
stated that lack of sleep leads to elevated stress levels, which can raise
stress hormones, in turn preventing a good night’s sleep and resulting in
decreased immunity. So sleep and stress and immunity are all interrelated.
You will know how much sleep your body and immune system need by following
this simple rule of thumb: You should feel rested when you wake up. Turn
sleeping into an enjoyable ritual. Go to be early. Buy a new pillow. Sleep
in a dark room. Luxuriate in healing sleep. Take naps.
Holidays come but once a year. The best way to enjoy them is by staying
healthy and strong. If you keep these tips in mind, your immune system will
be robust and you should be able to celebrate the holidays this year without
sniffles, sneezing, fevers, and body aches. Happy holidays!
Dr. Laurie Steelsmith
(www.drlauriesteelsmith.com) is a
naturopathic physician and licensed acupuncturist in Honolulu, as well as
author of the Hawaii bestselling book Natural Choices for Women’s
Health; How the Secrets of Natural and Chinese Medicine Can Create a
Lifetime of Wellness (Three Rivers Press, 2005).
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