How to avoid flu
People may feel defenceless in the face of flu epidemics, and we are told that it could take months from the outbreak of an epidemic for scientists to come up with an effective vaccination, by which time, the virus will probably have mutated.
However, take heart! When studied, it becomes clear that epidemics only affect immune compromised populations.
In this country, Flu tends to strike at the end of winter, when our immune systems are at their weakest, and the one nutrient, more than any other, which is being associated with compromised immunity is vitamin D.
Vitamin D is manufactured by our skin in response to sunlight, and during our darkest months, there just isn't enough!
A healthy immune system, is one which isn't deficient in any of the essential nutrients, and the best way to ensure yours falls into that category is to do the following:
O Get plenty of exercise outside, at midday while the sun is high, to help boost your vitamin D levels. You can store vitamin D for six weeks or so.
O Consider supplementing vitamin D during the darkest months when there isn't enough sunshine for our skin to manufacture it.
O Make sure your diet is rich in anti-oxidants from fruit and vegetables and Omega-3 essential fats and Vitamin D rich foods such as oily fish (sardines, mackerel and wild salmon).
O Consider supplementing a good quality multi-vitamin/mineral to protect yourself against deficiencies in other essential nutrients.
These are just a few general points. In some cases, supplementation of additional magnesium, zinc, fish oils or vitamin C could be very beneficial.
Of course, there are some wonderful herbs for the immune system and the great thing about herbal medicine, is that, if you are unlucky enough to catch flu, there is a wide range of herbs to address symptoms very specifically.
O herbs for the immune system: Elderflower, echinacea, small leaved willow herb.
O Herbs for chest congestion/infection: Thyme, garlic, licorice.
O Herbs for runny noses: Ribwort, elecampane, elderflower
O Herbs for sore throats: Thyme, Sage, licorice
O Herbs for fever: yarrow, elderflower
. . . . . . . . to mention just a few!