How to Avoid and Recover from Colds and Sniffles this Winter

by Nevenka, Clinical Nutritionist

As the wet and cold weather and winter are now here, they bring with them the potential to catch and spread colds, flu, germs, viruses and infections.

Here are 5 ways to protect yourself from catching any winter bugs.  If you already have a cold or flu, the tips below will assist you to recover faster:

1.    Avoid picking up and spreading germs

An effective way to avoid picking up and spreading germs is to wash your hands with soap and warm water, and avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.  Drink plenty of clean water to flush out toxins and to hydrate your body – remember your body can be prone to dehydration during winter winds and cooler temperatures.  For added protection, keep away from environments where there are large groups of people coughing and sneezing.

Beware of environments like supermarkets, public transport and large group gatherings, where people are sneezing and spreading germs. To protect yourself from picking up germs and viruses, wear a disposable mask and carry a pocket size hand sanitiser with you.

2.     Nourish your body

Nourish your body with healthy nutritious meals.  Eat plenty of:

• green leafy vegetables: broccoli, bock choy, kale, spinach, etc.  Avoid overcooking these. To contain nutrients, it is best to stir fry, steam or blend in vegetable juices.
• seasonal fruits: mandarins, lemons, kiwi fruit, pomegranate, etc
• hearty winter soups: minestrone, mixed bean, pumpkin, chicken vegetable soup, etc.
• garlic, onion and ginger in your cooking.  Avoid processed food.

3.    Supplement your immune system 

Your immune system may need extra help in winter to keep the “bugs” away.  Therefore, it is important to supplement with food based natural supplements (avoid synthetic ones).  The best winter supplements are vitamin C, E, D, Omega-3, echinacea, zinc and thermogenic spices (such as turmeric, cloves, garlic, horseradish, ginger).  It is also important to support your digestive health with regular prebiotics and probiotics.  Take olive leaf extract to avoid viral infections.  Avoid sugars because they add stress to the liver, digestive and immune system.

4.    Warm up your body

To further support your immune system, drink organic hot teas, such as green tea with lemon, echinacea, peppermint, spicy chai, lemongrass.  Avoid alcohol, soft drinks, too much caffeine, and other stimulants.  Herbal organic teas keep the body warm, help to protect the body from early colds and flus, and add extra fluids to the body in the cold weather. You can drink warm alkaline water for extra warmth.  Infrared Bed Thermal Therapy is an excellent addition to deeply penetrate and support restoring and raising your core body temperature, metabolism and circulation for better health and healing.

5.      Balance mental and physical activity

To maintain a healthy weight and avoid winter weight gain, keep up your physical activity during winter.  Walking has a duel benefit – it helps with your physical activity while boosting the oxygen in your body and brain.  While it is important to have physical activity, equally important is to have a good night’s sleep (a minimum of 7-8 hours).

An overactive mind will keep you awake and will interrupt your sleep.  Balance your emotions (eg. anxiety, anger, frustration, fear, hurt, rejection, etc) and address the past (eg. relationship break-ups, rejections, losses, ill feelings, etc) as these will likely keep you up at night or disturb a continuous night’s sleep.

Enjoy applying the above tips to prevent ill health, recover faster and stay well this winter.

Your Special Winter Warmer Offer! 

Your Winter Warmer Package includes:

• a one hour nutritional assessment and health and recovery plan tailored to your specific needs to help you to strengthen your immunity to winter “bugs” and fast track your recovery to good health
• Infrabed Thermal Therapy to deeply penetrate and support restoring and raising your core body temperature, metabolism and circulation for better health and healing.

Your Winter Warmer Package is valued at $160 and yours to enjoy for only $85.  To receive this limited time offer, book your Winter Warmer Package before 15th June 2018 and you can have your package at any time in June or July 2018.

To book your Winter Warmer Package, please call Nevenka on 0423 337 597 or email her at bodymind@tpg.com.au today!

Your consultations are available by appointment at St Kilda East.

© Nevenka and Qt, 2000 – 2018.  All Rights Reserved.  This offer excludes all other offers and Qt vouchers.  The information presented here is of a general nature and is not intended to be a complete and comprehensive statement of the issues raised.  Each person is different so please seek professional health advice for your individual situation.  Accordingly, no person should rely solely on the information in this article.