Just because everyone else in the house or at work has the crud doesn’t mean that you have to join them in their misery. To be honest, staying well when everyone around you is sick is a totally doable if you know what to do.
Over the Christmas holidays, my house seemed to be ground zero…
One daughter came home with a cough and sore throat, the other daughter complained of fatigue and sore throat, my nephew actually had strep and my hubby…my poor hubby was the sickest he has ever been in his adult life.
And I…well I managed to stay healthy using this simple strategy. 
Staying well in the face of illness doesn’t take monumental effort but it does take determined focus and intention.
Start using this strategy now so that when everyone around you is dropping like flies with wicked colds and nasty flu, you can stay healthy.
This is exactly what I did to stay well…and I slept with one very sick, feverish, chill shaking, gnarly coughing machine.
Stay healthy strategy…
- Make sure you get 7-8 hours of sleep. When you sleep your body is repairing itself. That’s why when you are sick, all you want to do is sleep. Sleep is THE most productive thing you can do to get well.
- Stress happens. We all have stress! It’s how we process it and perceive that makes the difference. Remember, nothing lasts forever, the boss will get over it, the kids will get better, the cold and virus will go away. Give yourself at least 5 minutes a day of focusing on your breath or move your body in a meditative way to increase your stress resiliency.
If you do feel something coming on…go into rest mode. This means if it isn’t necessary to life support for yourself or your family, don’t do it. You have a sacred obligation to take care of yourself.
- Stay hydrated. I know I say this all the time, but your cells need water to do their job well.
If you do feel something coming on…start right now to flush your body with hydration. This will also boost your mental power so that you can make better health decisions. It will help your body to process out virus and bacteria that may not have sunk their claws into you…yet.
I add a drop of Lemon, Lime and Grapefruit essential oil to my water when I know that my immune system is challenged.
- Start eating more citrus fruits and drinking fresh juices to up your vitamin C levels. I recommend Just Cranberry from R.W. Knudsen. Here’s a recipe.
- Be sure that your vitamin D levels remain optimal. A study done in 2010 shows that Vitamin D is an effective strategy against influenza. According to Dr. Mercola, optimal levels are therapeutic at 50-70 ng/ml year-round.
- Get cultured. Stop eating sugar and start eating fermented foods with live cultures. These live cultures are full of beneficial bacteria that will fight harmful bacteria. Stack your team and populate your gut with them. My go to’s are, Inner Eco Original Coconut Water Kefir
and Farmhouse Culture.
Studies have shown that cultured and fermented foods reduce fever, coughing, runny nose and antibiotic use in children. Just think what it will do for you.
Eating your probiotics is favorable to supplementing because bacteria in fermented and cultured foods will colonize your the lining of your digestive tract with more diverse strains of beneficial bacteria. BONUS – makes for great skin!
Basics that you know but probably over look when stressed and caring for others…
- Wash your hands more often. Stop using that antibacterial soap because it’s killing the good bacteria on your skin as well. I use an Essential Oil Based Foaming Hand Wash in my home and in my yoga studio.
- Take high quality animal based Omega-3 Fats. Good for the brain and for your immunity. I’ve been using a particular omega for a while now and noticed a sharp decline in illness, migraine and hot flash.
- Use natural immune support. Oregano, melaleuca and thyme are just a few that will support your immunity against those tiny microscopic villains of illness. When everyone around me is sick, when they get essential oil application, I get essential oil application. Always.
Check out this video to see how awesome your body is at chasing down and eliminating those nasty villains.
Staying healthy and well is not rocket science, complex or expensive, but getting well can be time consuming, financially draining and difficult.
Tell me…
What 1 strategy from this article do you want to start doing to help you stay well? Already do these things…share your tip below.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/01/06/flu-attack.aspx#_edn6
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Leyer+G+Pediatrics
