Tis the Season
by Liema Hayes
As you all know, we are in the flu season. According to an article in the USA Today, the season generally starts in October and peaks in February before winding down with Spring. The CDC recommends that everyone six months and older get a flu vaccine by the end of October. If you would like a Holistic approach to preventing the flu, strengthen your immune system. In this article, I am going to give you information on how to take a holistic approach to preventing the flu.
What is the flu? It is a contagious respiratory illness that infects the nose, throat, and sometimes, the lungs. It can cause mild illness and sometimes death. The first sign of the flu is sudden fever, aches, weakness, and sore throat. Doctors recommend that you get a flu shot before the flu season starts. The flu shot doesn’t guarantee that you will not get the flu, but It prepares your body to be able to fight back against the viruses. Two types of medicines were created to fight the flu, which are Rimantadine and Oseltamivir. Any medicine that you take will have side effects. According to the CDC, these medicines are effective against the same viruses found in 1918. The CDC researchers and their colleagues successfully reconstructed the virus that caused the 1918-19 flu pandemic, which killed 50 million people worldwide. This kind of information shows how an expert group of researchers worked hard to create medicine that will fight against the viruses.
Here is a holistic way to prevent or fight the flu. The immune system needs to be healthy and strong. Here are ways to strengthen your immune systems. Drink plenty of water. Drink half your body weight. If you weigh 150 pounds, you would drink 75 ounces of water a day. Water flushes your body of toxins and viruses that may try to attack your body. Exercise at less three times a week for about thirty minutes. Exercise strengthens your body and your immune system and helps to release toxins from your body. Get the proper amount of rest. When your body doesn’t rest, it will cause stress. Stress opens your immune system up to viruses which are hard to fight off. Eating nutritious foods like fruits that are in season, vegetables, nuts, beans and a small amount of meats will strengthen your immune system. If you feel like you can’t get the right amount of food, I recommend that you take supplements to help supplement your diet. Giving your body the proper amount of nutrients that it needs will help you to prevent or fight the viruses.
I have given you two options to help you with preventing and fighting against the flu. As we come to the flu season, I want to give you information that will help you, so you can help others. I could have given you more information, but it would have been a book. Take this information and apply it to your life. The flu is here to stay, but we don’t have to be one of the ones who open ourselves up to this deadly virus. Staying healthy and well is the key to living a strong and long life.
Edited by Vanessa Hunter