Natural Ways to Avoid a Cold and Build Your Immune System

I am always astounded by the way people today just keep on dragging themselves around no matter how sick they get. When I was a child, it was well known that a cold or flu needed rest. My parents kept me home the minute I began to seem sick and didn't let me go back to school until I was completely well. The doctor wrote excuses that lasted for weeks at a time. And people had fewer colds and flu.

Now people go out to the store and work (even in food service) coughing and hacking and blowing their noses and looking like death warmed over. We are supposed to have flu shots to protect us, but half the time they make us sicker. If you ask the doctor for a note for work, he is highly likely to give you one that says you could have returned yesterday, even if you have a fever today. With this modern way of dealing with colds and flu, people think nothing of being quite ill multiple times a year or just staying ill all through the winter. They just accept that the flu is something that is going to overtake the population in epidemic proportions and become more deadly every time it hits.

It doesn't have to be this way! I still follow the old ways when it comes to illness. The minute I have a bit of a sore throat or nasal passages or fever, I stop, make a pot of tea, and stay home in bed or at least in a comfy chair. By doing this I avoid becoming extremely ill and am usually just fine in a day or two. When I was working outside of my home, my coworkers all wanted to make me feel guilty when I went back to work and make it seem as if I were just being spoiled, but the fact is that, I was rarely actually sick and might have had a mild cold once a year. Usually, I am able to get through the whole winter without ever becoming truly ill. I may stay home two or three days feeling mildly under the weather, but I never go to work or out in public coughing, sneezing and spreading germs all over everyone. I certainly never go anywhere if I have a fever, and I deeply resent anyone who does. Of course, now that I work at home, I am never sick!

People want to say that they can't take time off to be well. They can't afford it, and so on. I say, you can't afford not to take time off to be well. Even if it means you use your paid time off or have to lose a day's pay, it pays off in the long run. If you stay at home and take care of yourself, you will not have to go to the doctor so often. I don't have health insurance, and I have not needed to go to the doctor in over 5 years! If you take care of your health now, you safeguard it for later. The more often you are ill, the more often you stress your immune system, the more you weaken yourself. Your health is a treasure to be preserved.

Here's how to do it. Always, eat well, get plenty of rest, drink plenty of pure water, and take your vitamins. At the very least, you should take a good multi-vitamin, a B-50, 1000 mg of vitamin C and 2 fish oil capsules every day. This will help keep your immune system strong to ward off colds and flu and help you fight any bug that does grab ahold of you. Get at least 20 minutes of moderate exercise like walking or bicycling daily. Do a little stretching every morning and every evening. Meditate or at least sit quietly for 15 minutes a day. The health benefits far outweigh anything else you could have done with that 15 minutes, and a few minutes a day to regain your composure and process all the information we have to deal with in a day makes a huge difference in your everyday efficiency and ability to function effectively.

If you are beginning to feel ill, stay home! Call in sick. Then relax. Don't fret. Don't worry about work. Don't worry about anything. Make the most of your time to heal and recover. Make yourself some mint tea with a couple of drops of peppermint oil in it to clear your sinuses and soothe your throat. Get back into bed with a good book. Nap as you feel like it. Keep on drinking your tea. Have chicken noodle soup and chicken broth to drink. Be sure to add plenty of garlic to it. Garlic is a natural antibiotic and helps boost your immune system.

If you do end up getting a very sore throat, make yourself a tonic. In a good sized mug, put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, a tablespoon of lemon juice, and a tablespoon of honey. Then fill the mug with boiling hot water. Sip this as hot as you can stand it. It will clear your sinuses, soothe your throat, kill germs in your throat, and help you to feel better right away. You can have this up to 4 times a day. More than that, and the acidity would be hard on your stomach. You will probably want to have a piece of toast or a banana or some other soft food to pad your stomach when you have this.

While you are fending off illness, be absolutely sure to drink your 8 glasses of water or other non-caffeinated, non-carbonated beverage every day. Get at least 8 hours of sleep for every 24. If your throat hurts, rest it. Don't talk. Take care of yourself and safeguard your health. Things will not fall apart at work without you, but if you carry your bug to work and give it to everyone else, you are sure to cause chaos!