Fight the Flu This Season The Natural Way

The human body has incredible self healing abilities. A flu vaccination is meant to boost your immunity towards a particular virus, but not always without side effects. But what if you could boost your immunity naturally and without side effects? These tips can provide help to everyone, even those who already have decided on a flu vaccination. 

Exercise your way to a healthy immune system. Whether you enjoy a brisk walk on the beach or your favorite sport, aerobic exercise helps your blood is moving quickly through your body so your white blood cells can attack invading viruses and bacteria quicker. In addition, it will boost your white blood cell count and deliver more oxygen to your cells. The key is moderation, 3-5 days a week 20-60 minutes. Over exercising can do the opposite to your immunity.

Get enough sleep. 6-8 hours off deep sleep helps rejuvinate your cells and your body. Your brain secretes growth human one hour after you sleep. This helps rebuild and replenish damaged tissues in your body from stress, injury, or toxins. Sleep deprivation severely hinder your bodies ability to heal itself.

Lay off the sweets. Eating too much sugar can not only decrease your immunity, but it's the perfect food for bacteria, yeast, and even cancer to feed on. It also inhibits grown hormone is eating an hour before bed. Try reaching for an apple with peanut butter which is packed with vitamin c or a small amount of 60-70% organic cocoa dark chocolate. This has less sugar and provides antioxidants. 

Catch a rainbow each day. What I mean is, choose vegetables and fruits of all different colors. Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables each day can be one of best thing you can do for yourself. This provides less calories and high vitamin and mineral content. Your energy will boost and your immune system will skyrocket. 2-3 servings of fruit and vegetables a day will keep the doctor away! Just be mindful of how big a serving typically is. 

Add Organic Yogurt or Brewer's Yeast to your meals. These both have a powerful immune booster call Acidophilus (Acid-aw-phil-us). These friendly bacteria are probiotics that live in your intestinal tract, which is 90% if your immune system. If your not a fan of either of these, Dr. Kosciusko provides a capsule or powder form in her office with 10x more live cultures to make it easier for people to get this in their diets. You may also find this at your local organic food store, The Green Grocer. Beluga Frozen Yogurt right in downtown Newport has healthy yogurt options with live probiotics, just more exciting with a flavor twist!

Cook with organic Garlic and Onions. Both of these veggies have powerful antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Adding some chopped garlic cloves and onion to your stir fry or stew can help fight off those nasty viruses.

Get adjusted. Recent studies are finding that chiropractic care is a way to improve immunity. One study, from the National College of Chiropractic in Lombard, Illinois, found that disease-fighting white blood cell counts were higher just 15 minutes after chiropractic manipulation was applied to the back. 

Take a multivitamin with extra vitamin c. Vitamins are great because they supply us with the nutrients we may be lacking in our daily diet. Some of us may be deficient just from the medications or previous gastrointestinal health issues. Bacteria and viruses can cause damage to human cells. Vitamin C helps protect your cells, heals, and is a powerful antioxidant. The best part is that it's a "water soluble vitamin" so it's hard to overdose. Your body naturally excretes the excess vitamin when voiding. 

Wash your hands! Going overboard with the anti-bacterial gel may hinder your ability to fight off bacteria & viruses in the long run. Instead, use regular soap (doesn't have to be anti-bacterial) and wash your hands thoroughly for 15 seconds. When rinsing them, be sure to have a paper towel handy so you don't contaminate your hands on the papertowel wrack or the sink handles after washing. Turn the sink off and open the door with the papertowel you used to dry.

Contact Dr. Kosciusko for more information or an appointment at (401) 683-6430, www.newhorizonchiro.com, or email at drmistyk@newhorizonchiro.com

Have a happy healthy fall season!