An Ounce of Prevention is worth a Pound of Cure
The flu appears to be running rampant in our community this winter. To protect yourself and your loved ones, it is important to think preventatively about your health before you get sick. Our culture loves to focus on treating the symptoms, but it is far more beneficial to use food and lifestyle to avoid getting sick in the first place.
The most important strategy is to pay attention to your surrounds and adjust your diet accordingly. Listen to your body and pay attention to both your family and work environment. If your co-workers start getting sick or any of your family members come home with a cold, that is the best time for you to increase garlic, ginger, and/or oregano in your diet.
Simply cooking with garlic, ginger, cinnamon, and oregano and taking a little bit of elderberry tincture, tea, or syrup before showing symptoms of getting sick can help you avoid getting sick. Look up homemade asian stir-fry recipes that use fresh ginger, garlic, and other spices. Avoid store bought sauces, since they often have hidden sugar. Sugar will weaken your immune system. Other good staples are soup made with garlic and oregano. Or curries that use both ginger and garlic in their recipes.
Consider taking some extra vitamin C. Foods that are high in vitamin C are oranges, red bell peppers, kale, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, strawberries, grapefruit, guava, kiwi, and green pepper. Oranges, red bell peppers, and kale actually have the highest in this list.
One of my favorite soups for any cold or flu is this: Chicken Soup To Ward Off A Cold. Sometimes I’ll make it for dinner when the people around me start getting sick as a preventative measure. Sidenote: this soup uses garlic and oregano but in amounts that are supportive to your system and will not overly tax your body. Save the oregano tincture (the highly concentrated form of oregano) for those times that you have a heat pattern cold.
Other tactics to keep your immune system strong include:
- Dress properly for the weather. Make sure to layer up when it is cold out.
- Get adequate sleep.
- Reduce or eliminate sugar consumption.
- Try to get consistent, regular exercise. Exercise, aside from the numerous other benefits, helps to keep your immune system strong when you maintain a consistent fitness level.
And you can check out my other articles on cold and flu prevention here:
The Wet Sock Treatment To Stop A Cold In Its Tracks
Cupping Therapy for Colds, Flus, and Lung Health
Ancient Wisdom On How To Avoid Catching Colds and Flus
Stick Out Your Tongue 