Cold and flu season is here, so you may be searching for a few preventative measures to reduce the likelihood of getting sick. There’s nothing you can do to eliminate the odds of illness, but you can be proactive. Below are 8 tips to boost your immunity and minimize your exposure to germs, viruses, and bacteria.
#1 General Hygiene
Be more mindful of general hygiene during cold and flu season, or when those around you are sick. Top tips are below, and you can access a full tips list from the CDC.
- Wash Your Hands: Handwashing saves lives! Wash your hands more frequently in the winter, and always after using the restroom and before preparing or eating a meal. Carry a disinfectant hand sanitizer with you to use on the go. For example, after using high-contact touch points such as public doorknobs. Get your entire family into the habit of washing their hands as soon as they come home.
- Don’t Touch Your Face: Even if you have an itch, try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with your hands. This can transfer germs and bacteria, increasing the likelihood of getting sick. If you must, wash or sanitize your hands first.
- Stay Home: When you’re sick, take a sick day. If you’re up for it, work from home. Also, keep your kids home from school when they aren’t feeling well. This will help keep colleagues, friends, family, and classmates healthy too. Even if you’re at home, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. Stay home for about 24 hours after you’re feeling better as you may still be contagious, especially after having the flu.
- Don’t Let Cleaning Fall by the Wayside: Whether it’s your entire home, desk at work, phone at work, smartphone, or keyboards—kick sanitizing up a notch. If it’s faster and easier, invest in area-specific or item-specific sanitizers, such as Lysol, disinfecting electronics wipes, household wipes, and UV smartphone chargers. Also, consider using an air purifier. When time is tight, hire a cleaning company.
#2 Personalize Your Healthcare
If you haven’t yet, schedule your annual physical. This is an excellent time to inquire if you’re up to date with all vaccinations. Be sure to ask what annual vaccines your physician recommends, such as a flu shot and COVID booster. You can get seasonal vaccines from many pharmacies in and around Phoenix.
Also, inquire about other ways you can personalize your health to support your immune system and whole-body health.
#3 Vitamin Injections and Vitamin Supplements
Another way to boost your immunity and personalize your healthcare is with tailored supplementation. Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa offers a range of premium supplements and immune-boosting vitamin injections.
Are Vitamin Injections Better?
The nutrients in injections deliver a high concentration of vitamins directly to your bloodstream. This means they activate your body’s immune response without delay. We offer vitamin injections year-round, but many of our patients only get vitamin shots during the winter months, or after being exposed to someone who is sick.
Our vitamin shots include:
- A homeopathic injection to boost white blood cells by up to 33%.
- Vitamin C to boost your blood antioxidant levels by up to 30%.
- Glutathione, a master antioxidant present in every cell in the body.
We often suggest both vitamin C and glutathione. In addition to supporting your immune response, these injections provide synergetic whole-body benefits.
#4 Eat For Immunity
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains are packed full of antioxidants. This is one of the many reasons to prioritize a diet low in processed foods, as they have little to no antioxidant or nutritional value. In fact, synthetic ingredients may weaken your immunity.
How Can Diet Boost Your Immunity?
Diet can boost your immunity by providing the nutrients and cellular energy to expel toxins and perform at peak levels.
- A diverse range of amino acids (protein) is required to maintain optimal white blood cell (t-cell) function.
- A diverse range of fiber is required to feed and fuel gut bacteria, which stimulates and supports immune function.
- Aim to eat at least 20 different fruits and vegetables per week to provide your body with a diverse range of prebiotics, probiotics, and antioxidants.
- Drink approximately half of your body weight in water per day to promote the release of toxins. For flavor and added antioxidants, some of this can include unsweetened herbal tea.
Healthline suggests the food below for immunity, but nutrient diversity is key.
- Almonds
- Broccoli
- Citrus fruits
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Green tea
- Kiwi
- Papaya
- Poultry
- Red bell peppers
- Shellfish
- Spinach
- Sunflower seeds
- Turmeric
- Yogurt
#5 Stress Management
Acute stress can boost your immunity. This is a natural function of the body’s fight-or-flight response. However, chronic stress can suppress your immune system. When your stress hormone (cortisol) remains high for a prolonged period, it disrupts your body’s internal balance.
Stress can increase internal inflammation and reduce the natural killer cells in your body. Natural killer cells are required to fight cold, flu, viruses, and other illnesses. This leaves your body less prepared to fight off exposure and heal when you’re sick.
What to Do When Stress Is High
If you have a high-stress job or are in a stressful season of life, consider taking an adaptogen supplement. Adaptogens are plant-based supplements, such as Ashwagandha, that help your body adapt to and regulate stress.
Optimal benefits of Ashwagandha are likely to be experienced at around 90 days.
#6 Exercise
Optimal immunity is one of many reasons to get your heart pumping for 30 to 60 minutes at least a few days a week. Exercise increases circulation throughout your body. As your blood circulates, so do your germ and bacteria-fighting cells.
On days when you don’t have time for a full workout, take a 10-minute brisk walk, stretch, or engage in other activities that boost circulation—and release tension from your body. This includes a warm bath, steam, sauna, full-body red light therapy, and massage therapy. Increased circulation also helps to expel toxins from your body. Just be sure to adequately hydrate before and after your workouts, or any sweat-inducing activity, such as steaming.
Don’t overdo it though, as working out too much, working out at too high of an intensity, and not giving your body enough time to recover and repair can weaken your immunity.
#7 Get Your Rest
Just like exercise, sleep provides a range of whole-body benefits. In fact, sleep is one of the top ways to boost your immunity. The average adult requires between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night. You may require more, or less—but always more when you’re feeling under the weather.
For optimal sleep, aim to go to bed and wake up within the same 30-minute window each morning and evening.
Why Is Sleep Important for Immunity?
Sleep is when your body heals and repairs. More specifically, your body releases immunity-regulating cytokine proteins at a much higher level at night than during the day. Studies find that you’re 4 times more likely to catch a cold if you have less than 6 hours of sleep per night. Get up to 7 hours per night to drastically reduce your risk of getting sick, especially when you’ve been exposed to the cold or flu.
What to Do if You Toss and Turn at Night?
If you head to bed but don’t get the amount of sleep required to boost your immunity because you toss and turn at night, try the tips below. If your insomnia persists, reach out to a healthcare practitioner to determine the cause of your insomnia, or to explore coping mechanisms.
- Go to bed at the same time each night.
- Listen to a sleep story or guided meditation.
- Listen to ASMR, sounds of nature, and other sound therapy.
- Do some gentle stretches and deep breathing before bed.
- Eliminate electronics use in the bedroom other than reading.
- Gratitude journal at night or reflect on the best parts of your day.
- Eliminate caffeine at least 8 hours before you go to bed.
#8 Listen to Your Body
Last but not least, listen to your body. Take at least a few minutes every day to check in with yourself. It’s easy to get so caught up in the hustle of daily life that we ignore the signs that we aren’t feeling our best. Or we chalk them up to signs of stress.
Listening to your body is as simple as taking 10 slow and deep belly breaths while scanning how you feel from head to toe. If you don’t feel quite like yourself, don’t wait until things spiral to reach out to a healthcare practitioner.
Walk-In For Your Immune-Boosting Injections!
Your first visit to Valley Medical Weight Loss and Med Spa is always a comprehensive consultation. After that, if all you need is an immune-boosting vitamin injection, we aim to get you in and out in less than 20 minutes—no appointment necessary!
For your convenience, we have locations in Phoenix, Tempe, and Glendale.
Schedule your consultation now!
DISCLAIMER *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
