How to Prevent the Common Cold and Flu

Are you tired of being a magnet for the common cold or flu?

Let’s talk about how we can prevent the common cold and flu.

Here we go…

1. Stay Hydrated

Hydrated mucous membranes make it very difficult for viruses and bacteria to adhere to our nasal passages, mouth and throat.

If viruses can’t adhere to our body, they are unable to initiate their inflammatory process.

If there is no inflammatory process initiated, there will be no body aches, headaches, congestion, cough etc.

2. Cover Your Nose

Cover your nose with a scarf to warm inhaled air.

The rhinovirus replicates more easily in cold environments of the nasal passage as compared to our lungs.

This is partly why most people start with nasal congestion and end up with a lung infection, if they don’t take care of themselves.

In general, a lower core body temperature impairs our immune response to the Rhinovirus. That’s why getting in a sauna and getting regular exercise is paramount for anti-viral immunity.

3. Breathe through your nose instead of your mouth

Nasal passages act as a filter and humidifier for air as it makes its way to the throat and lungs.

Our nasal passages are loaded with immune cells ready to initiate a response at the first sight of a pathogen.

Use mouth tape while you sleep or during the day if you tend to breathe through your mouth. 

4. Keep Hands Away From Face

The top 3 places for bacteria and viruses to enter our body are through our eyes, nose, and mouth.

Not only do we want to wash our hands before we touch our face, but it’s also why we don’t want to breathe directly in our baby’s face or touch their face without first washing our hands.

5. Minimize Concentrated Sugars

Concentrated sugars suppress our immune system. This is also a reason people with high blood sugar or diabetes get sick more often – constant immune suppression.

They put our white blood cells into a temporary coma.

If your sweet tooth is out of control, consider having your sugar of choice right after you finish your workout.

After exercise, insulin sensitivity is higher, so sugar is pulled out of your bloodstream quicker.

The concentrated sugar will have less of a suppressive effect on your immune system.

6. Quit Alcohol and Tobacco

Alcohol and tobacco promote inflammatory activity, suppress immunity, and overwhelm detoxification mechanisms.

7. Decrease Allergenic Activity

Decrease allergenic foods and support environmental allergies with fish oil, along with purified water to help hydrate mucous membranes.

atch out for allergy medications, because they can dry membranes and suppress the immune system.

8. Sleep

Quality is more important than quantity. Make sure you’re sleeping in a dark, cool room and breathing through your nose.

If you wake up with a sore throat or dry mouth, you’re probably breathing through your mouth.

Try mouth tape

9. Exercise

Chronic exercise is key for illness prevention, quick recovery and decreasing the inflammatory viral load.

Whenever the inflammatory load is decreased, the power and potential of the viral organism is decreased.

Acute exercise isn’t a good idea when sick to overcome sickness. It’s not shown to hurt but it hasn’t shown to help either.

If you are not able to exercise to the point of sweating and getting your heart rate up, sauna therapy is a good option to help prevent and shorten the duration of the illness.

10. Gratitude

When you’re depressed you have an increased risk of cold and flu. Exercise and sauna therapy support a positive mental state as does gratitude therapy.

Easier said than done, but 100% attainable and doable.

11. Decrease Stress and Increase Life Margin

Take time to unwind by:

  • Exercising
  • Reading
  • Meditating
  • Smiling at other humans

Stress dries out our mucous membranes by putting us in sympathetic overdrive and decreases many of the anti-inflammatory cytokines that allow us to overcome viruses with ease.

We are never going to eliminate stress. We can however, choose our response to life stress.

12. Use Baby Wipes Instead of Antibacterial Gel

Viruses don’t die via antibiotics, nor do they die via antibacterial sprays, gels or wipes.

Scrub your hands to lift viruses from your skin and dislodge them.

Studies show it doesn’t matter what kind of soap is used and in most cases, the amount of time spent washing your hands. The key is vigorous friction

The general rule of thumb is to sing Happy Birthday 2x.

Wipe down hard surfaces and handles after people leave your home.

Alcohol-based topicals dry out skin, creating microcracks in hands that virus’ adhere to.

The Flu virus is weak outside of a human host, so it is difficult for it to be transferred through hard surfaces. The main mode of transmission is going to be tight quarters with another infected human.

13. Extra Support

Want some extra ammunition to fight off the cold and flu while traveling or for when the cold and flu season comes around?

At the first signs of a cold, take the antioxidant formula, First Defense to boost your body’s immune response. And if you want to go all in, try ImmuneV, an herbal support formula that contains Andrographis, Licorice Root, and Indigowoad for a fast acting immune response.

Or stop a cold or flu in its track with these DIY immune boosting recipes. The wet sock treatment and the Acute Immunity Mixer may seem intense but they work – give them a try!


What do you do to prevent the cold or flu?

I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

4 thoughts on “How to Prevent the Common Cold and Flu

  1. Debbie

    At first sign of immune imbalance, I double my doses of Vitamin C and Wellness formula and add my own elderberry syrup blend. If that doesn’t knock it, I add NAC and an immune boosting essential oil (diluted!!). If that doesn’t take care of it, I add in First Defense, which has yet to not take care of those viruses that don’t respond to my regimen.

    Extra sleep always helps, and downtime stress relievers such as reading, walking, & handwork.

    Reply
  2. Heather

    What I’ve been doing is: magnesium baths once per week. Massages once per month. When I do an overnight postpartum shift, I take 1 tbs of elderberry syrup every hour and whole food b’s 3 times per 8hour shift. Spacing out the elderberry syrup makes a huge difference. Making infusions with raspberry leaf and cinnamon chips or lemon and ginger. Juicing oranges, apples, Meyers lemons/ or limes, and ginger then adding a blue/green algae. Vitamin d/k and aa C from Revitalize wellness around 9 grams per day. Great Lakes collagen and coconut sugar in my coffee- soon to add raw milk! A commitment to not eating out during this flu and vaccination season. Hot liquids/scarf/hat! That’s my plan this year!

    Reply

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