In 2015, I read an article that said the Tri-Cities, our home town, was the “sickest in the nation” that flu season. In light of current events with Coronavirus I thought now was a great time to re-fresh this post. What do you do to stay healthy in the midst of flu/viral epidemic?
Watch What Goes In
It’s all about immunity. We all know it’s important to maintain a healthy immune system. Immunity boosters like the Elderberry Syrup Mix (shown above) are a staple on the farm. But did you know that what you eat can directly attack your immune system? Some studies have tested the effect of a high sugar diet (carbohydrates, breads, pasta, candy, etc.) and shown that your immune system can remain compromised for up to 6 hours after eating just one high sugar food item. Foods that help maintain your immunity without causing the 6 hour compromise include: vegetables, grass fed meat, fats, oils, eggs, bone broths, and most cultured foods.
Get Outside
Vitamin D is chronically low in the American diet. Most recommendations start at 5000 IU (make sure you eat a fat source when you take vitamin D as it is fat soluble and needs the fat to absorb into your cells). However, just 10 minutes in the sun allows your body to make 10,000 IU! Vitamin D has been shown in a world wide study to help prevent acute respiratory symptoms associated with the flu and other respiratory viruses. If you can’t get outside check your local store for Vitamin D capsules.
Zinc and Vitamin C
We all know the benefits of Vitamin C to the immune system. But did you know Zinc is another major player in immunity? According to this study intake of Zinc can significantly boost the immune system. Bottom line: load up on Zinc and Vitamin C… Products like Zicam and Emmergen-C and Airborne contain these essential immunity building blocks.
WASH YOUR HANDS!
After we’ve taken care to support (not kill) our immune systems, then comes environmental factors. The CDC says frequent hand washing is a proven method for helping prevent illness. In the hospital, this is the #1 recommendation for keeping yourself well if you have to visit sick loved ones–wash your hands!
On the farm of course we believe in using good soaps too, like this one or this one for those who prefer liquid soap. It’s important NOT to dry out your hands with all the hand washing and our goat milk soaps are extra moisturizing to keep you soft and clean at the same time!
Essential Oils
We also use a special blend of essential oils sometimes known as “thieves oil.” This oil is a mix of several heavy hitters when it comes to fighting illness. Use it diluted and applied to key parts of the body like the bottoms of feet, wrists, and neck. It also works well in the diffuser to help the air in your home, or you can even wear diffuser jewelry. You can buy our specific blend by checking out “London Thief” Essential Oil and the brand new London Thief Lotion Bar. as an extra barrier with some special moisturizing effects.
A few more tips:
Dirty hands don’t belong on your Face! – this tip is something I have noticed with all of my kids. Snot, sneezing, coughing, scratching all involve their hands, and not 60 seconds after they contaminate their hands, I find their little hands going straight for their face. If it is cold and flu season (or any time really), make it a habit not to touch your face since you can transfer a lot of bacteria that way.
Coughing & Sneezing: if you have watched Mythbusters, they found that you can actually prevent the spread of a sneeze better (and keep your hands clean) if you will sneeze and cough into your elbow rather than directly into your hand.
Drink Clean Water or Tea: Hydration is absolutely essential to all bodily functions. If you don’t have enough water to flush toxins, debris, and mucus you will get sick faster and stay sick longer. Ditch the coffee, sodas, and sugary drinks and instead drink filtered water or distilled water or mix in your favorite caffeine free herbal tea blend for some more good immunity boosters!
While none of these is a sure bet, we feel it helps stack the deck in our favor. So far so good…
Please note that none of these statements have been evaluated by the FDA. This does not constitute medical advice and no product mentioned here is intended to treat, cure or prevent any illness.
Thank you for sharing.