Proven Ways To Not Get Sick: Avoid The Common Cold
The information contained in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice. All content, text, graphics, images and information contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your medical professional. Consult your own physician for any concerns that you may be having.
Stay warm
Being exposed to the cold doesn’t technically get you sick, but what it does do is cause our bodies to draw blood away from our extremities to maintain heat for our vital organs, making it harder to transport white blood cells around our body.
And because the air’s humidity is general very low when it’s cold, it also means our mucus membranes which act as a protective barrier in our noses and respiratory tract dry up, making it easier for viruses to attack us.
Less stress
Stress releases stress hormones like cortisol that reduces the activity of our immune system, meaning we become more susceptible to picking up germs and getting sick from them.
Interestingly enough, some studies have actually shown that meditating, getting massages or having sex can boost the immune system, likely by reducing stress.
More healthy foods:
Maintaining a healthy diet is important to prevent you from getting sick but also to treat yourself when sick. Making sure we get adequate nutrients from food helps to boost a range of our immune chemicals like interferon, which is an important molecule for fighting off both viruses and bacteria. So maybe add some fruits and veggies to your daily diet.
More honey
Not only is honey an anti-inflammatory, boosting our levels of chemicals called cytokines to fight off viruses, it also stimulates our own cells to heal themselves up faster (say in a sore throat). But it also has antimicrobial properties too.
In fact, medical grade honey is actually used to heal wounds when antibiotics are failing.
More water
Hydration is important everyday, but especially to avoid getting sick as being dehydrated negatively affects your immune system.
And when we’re sick we tend to use more water than normal, so stay hydrated!
More exercise
Like I mentioned in my sleep episode, exercise is great for everything, and in this case it removes the stress hormones and has a lot of chemical changes on the body that help the immune system. Mild to moderate exercise even when you’re sick will help you recover faster and stronger. Just avoid going for high intensity, recording breaking stunts when you’re actually sick.
The only time you should be cautious or avoid exercising whilst sick is when you have a high fever.
No alcohol
Despite feeling warm and nice when you drink it, alcohol actually dampens down the immune system by reducing our body temperature, whereas we normally need to elevate our temperature to fight off infection.
If you think you’re getting sick, or are sick, do not drink.
More sleep:
Not getting enough sleep (averaging less than 6 hours regularly) reduces the activity of NK cells by up to 50%. These are your front-line fighter cells designed to prevent you from getting sick from everyday bugs we come into contact with. You need them!
A once off having a lack of sleep is fine, but if its continuous you need to change that or risk your immune system weakening, amongst other problems.
It’s also important to make sure you rest when you do get sick too.
Less supplements
Most supplements on the market have never been proven that they prevent you from getting sick, outside of marketing hype.
However, there are a small handful of supplements that have actually shown in real-time studies to have benefit:
Garlic stimulates the production of white blood cells known as gamma-delta T cells and natural killer cells to help reduce the severity and duration of colds.
Echinacea in a meta-analysis which looked at 14 studies decreased the likelihood of developing a cold by up to 58% and reduced the length of colds by an average of 1.5 days!
Zinc has a huge role in some many of the processes in our body. And, if we don’t get enough of it its shown to; reduce our levels of lymphocytes (white blood cells), increase the duration of infections, increased susceptibility to infection and a lower rate of recovery.
Other bits of advice:
Flu shots:
They exposure you to different strains of the flu each year you get a new one, steadily building up your immunity over time.
And no, you can’t get the flu from the flu shot, but you may develop a slight temperature as your body prepares itself to fight what it’ll later find out to be an inactive virus.
Cough and sneeze into your elbow! Coughing into your elbow helps to reduce the spread of germs into the air, but also prevents the secondary contact with surfaces.
Disinfect common surfaces. Think of all the places you put it down and what could be growing on it, then you hold it in your hand and put it up to your face.