Living Healthy: How to Beat Colds and the Flu
With cold and flu season quickly approaching, now is the time to talk about prevention. Here are the most healthy choices you can make to prevent being affected by the cold and flu bug:
Wash, Wash, Wash
No new news here, but colds and flu are caused by viruses, which can easily pass from person to person, or from surface to person. Even those that have a healthy lifestyle are susceptible to catching, carrying and passing on the viruses that cause colds and flu.
Doctors, who are on the front line of exposure to cold and flu bugs make the following healthy choices to remain flu and cold free:
- Wash their hands 40-50 times per day, a minimum of 20 seconds each.
- Use a paper towel to turn off faucets after their done washing
- Keep their hands away from their mouth and nose, avoiding finger foods like sandwiches
Chicken Soup for Colds and Flu
Grandma’s good old-fashioned “penicillin” is another great soother of stuffed noses. The vapor clears nasal passages and relieves the throbbing in the sinuses. Recently researchers have discovered what grandmothers have suspected all along — that the ingredients in chicken soup (including the chicken stock, carrot, onion, and celery) might actually have a medicinal effect on the body’s immune system and ease the inflammation caused by cold viruses.
Over-the-counter Medications
While cold and flu remedies may ease the symptoms of the cold and flu, they don’t prevent the virus from taking its toll. Besides being expensive, some of them may actually be a bad health choice. For example, acetaminophen (aka: Tylenol among many others) have been proven to harm your liver with extended use.
Breaking News: Live Healthy by Germ-Proofing Your Body
There is a new idea on the block that has been proven to actually prevent infection by cold and flu viruses. It’s all about giving your body the ammunition to fight and destroy them BEFORE you are infected by jacking up your immune system. It’s an amazing new product called Body Guard. It protects you like a suit of armor from nasty bugs and bacteria.
