Flu Season!

Flu season hits the hardest between fall and winter, so it’s important to make sure you’re taking care of you’re body in the process of balancing your work load. I personally like to use natural remedies to take care of my body along with the medicine needed to help my body stay at it’s best, plant power! So, here are some tips to help your immune system!

1. You Guessed It!

The first thing to always do is hydrate, hydrate, and hydrate. Doing so helps your body function at it’s best to loosen built up mucus and defend itself. You should try to drink an ounce of water for each pound you weigh to ensure you’re as hydrated as you should be. Drinking distilled water helps flush the body of toxins, it’s important to be aware of what water you are putting in your body since it is such a crucial part of our being!

2. Elderberry Syrup

Next up is to drink Elderberry syrup. Elderberry is used in teas, gummies, lozenges, and more. Taking two tablespoons of this vitamin packed syrup can help boost your immune system, promote bone strength, decrease inflammation, decrease stress, and improves respiratory health. No, the taste is not like the cough syrup you are probably used to taking! The syrup has a thick consistency and flows down the hatch just fine!

3. Honey

Another remedy is to use honey! Honey in some tea will comfort you in your sickly alone time while helping soothe and coat your throat, helping with that sore throat. Honey also reduces irritated mucus build up.

4. Zinc

Most colds are caused by a virus called rhinovirus. Zinc helps prevent the rhinovirus from multiplying in the throat and nasal passages, preventing build up in the mucous membranes. Available in oral or gel form, Zinc can help shorten the period of time you have a cold. I suggest taking the oral form and on the first day you notice flu like symptoms.

5. Ginger

Ginger is anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory helping with more than just flu symptoms as well. It gives you an energy boost, improves gut health, relieves nausea, and improves digestion. Ginger looks intimidating at first, but just section the powerful veggie into pieces then slice of the coating and voila. I often incorporate ginger into my smoothies, this would be the best route along with a ginger shot. Ginger shots usually consist of ginger, lemon, and cayenne. Pick as you wish!

6. Probiotics

Probiotics = gut health. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast that are in fact good for you! Sounds gross, but is an essential part to add or keep in your diet. Gut health is an important part of your body to take care of, it all starts here! Some probiotics to start with are yogurt, kombucha, and sauerkraut. Yogurt is made from milk and fermented with the good for you bacteria that improves bone health as well as decreasing blood pressure. Kombucha is a fermented tea with live cultures and bacteria to help your gut! Sauerkraut is shredded lettuce fermented by lactic acid bacteria, packed with antioxidants and vitamins.

Now that we have some tips to improve our immune systems, lets start now! Along with these, don’t forget to stay consistent with taking Vitamin C and make sure to get your flu shot if you haven’t done so already! A website I grabbed some probiotic food ideas from is from Healthline.

P.s. Keep a bottle of germ x on you. We’re on a college campus after all!