We’ve officially entered cold and flu season; where 1 billion colds will be “caught”. Don’t get caught with a cold or the flu this year. Follow these 7 steps and you’ll stay healthy this season!

1. Eat Real Food

Real food is food that’s as natural as possible, with the least amount of processing. Real food consists of fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds; anything that hasn’t been loaded with pesticides, hormones, or other unnatural chemicals. If you can grow it yourself, it’s real food. Eating a variety of food provides your body with the nutrition it needs to remain healthy and function properly.

2. Exercise

Exercise is important to our overall health and wellness because it boosts the immune system. Just 30 minutes a day, 3 to 4 days a week, is all it takes.

3. Rest Up

Getting the right amount of sleep is also crucial to a healthy immune system. When you’re under the weather, your body needs sleep to heal itself. While we can’t catch up on missed hours of sleep, it’s important to get the proper amount of sleep on a regular basis. You can do this by going to bed at the same time and getting up at the same time every day. Lack of sleep is associated with a plethora of health issues including a compromised immune system and the inability to lose weight.

4. Get Chiropractic Adjustments

Chiropractic adjustments can boost your immune system by 200%! Because the nervous and immune systems work together, any misalignments are stressful to the body and compromise your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.

5. Get Plenty of Vitamin D

Although the days are shorter and colder, it’s important to soak up the rays when possible. Of course, be sure to still wear sunscreen! Vitamin D also boosts your immune system, keeping illness at bay. If you’re worried about sun exposure, you can opt to take a vitamin D supplement instead.

6. Take a Multivitamin

Taking a vitamin every day is a great way to protect your health, but make sure you’re taking the right kind of vitamin. Some multivitamins are synthetic, which means they’re man-made. Look for a whole-food multivitamin because they’re as close to real vitamins and minerals as you can get.

7. Stay Hydrated

Keeping yourself hydrated is always important to your health. Be sure you’re drinking half of your body weight in ounces of water per day. For example, if you’re 150 pounds, you should be drinking 75 ounces of water each day. That’s less than 5 bottles of water a day.

Holistic Remedies

Vitamin C: 1,000 mg 3-4x daily to help your immune system and boost white blood cells.

Echinacea: 1,000 mg 2-3x daily helps you fight infections. This herb works best if you take it at the first sign of illness.

Elderberry: 10mL daily to help de-activate the flu virus and boost immunity.

Oregano Oil: 500 mg 2x daily to help fight off viruses.

Zinc: 50-100 mg daily to help support your immune function. As with Echinacea, it works best if taken at the first sign of illness.

Olive Leaf extract helps boost the immune system and had anti-viral properties.

Essential oils, such as peppermint and frankincense also help fight colds and flu. Apply these oils to the neck and bottoms of the feet to help support the immune system. Clove oil is another essential oil that protects the body against infection and can speed recovery from the flu.

Don’t get caught with your immune system down this year. It’s important to follow these steps every day, in every season, to keep your health in order. Here’s to an illness-free cold and flu season!

To your health,
Dr. Roger Sahoury