Cold and Flu Prevention This Fall

As the weather turns colder and the leaves start to fall coughs and sniffles, red noses and watery eyes start to make their appearance, threatening to develop into fully-fledged colds or even influenza.

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To keep your family healthy this fall, there are a few simple things you can do.

• Avoid sudden temperature changes. Going from a stiflingly heated interior environment into a brisk, damp outside environment stresses your body out, making it more susceptible to opportunistic bacteria and viruses. Don't overheat your home and make sure you and your family rug up when you go outside.
• Wash your hands regularly. Hygiene is an important tool in the fight against disease, including inconvenient little trifles like cold and 'flu. Wash your hands before and after preparing food, after using the bathroom, when you return home, after petting animals, after changing diapers, after gardening, before eating, before and after caring for someone who is sick or wounded, after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, after touching anything that is frequently touched by other people, after handling garbage and, of course, whenever they look dirty.
• Make sure your vitamin D levels are adequate. Vitamin D is essential for a healthy immune system and as the days get shorter, the temperature colder and we spend more time indoors, we synthesize less vitamin D from the sun, relying solely on the small amount we obtain from foods such as eggs, milk and meat. A supplement may help to prevent vitamin D deficiency over fall and winter.
• Include fresh garlic and spices in your meals. Garlic contains many antimicrobial compounds as well as compounds which benefit health in other ways such as reducing cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar, reducing blood pressure and platelet aggregation or clumping of blood cells, reducing cancer risk and providing antioxidant benefits. Many common spices are incredibly potent antimicrobial agents as well as being very strong antioxidants. Star anise, for instance, contains shikimic acid which Roche synthesize into the 'flu drug Tamiflu. Cinnamon and cloves also contain compounds which are highly antimicrobial and again have the added bonus of being very strong antioxidants.
• Use an oral spray containing antimicrobial agents. You can hit two birds with one stone by making your own breath freshening spray based on olive leaf extract with a few essential oils for flavour, freshness and further antimicrobial effects. Peppermint, lemon, lemon myrtle, sage, cinnamon and orange essential oils are all safe to ingest in small amounts and contain antimicrobial activity. Olive leaf extract has been found to have strong antimicrobial activity, anti-oxidant properties and even helps to balance blood sugar levels.

Sources:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21501041
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20106659