How to Fight off a Cold – 5 Easy Daily Tips to Stop Getting Sick
Getting sick sucks. No one likes doing it and if we could all opt out, I’m sure we’d all check that box. However, there are ways to fight off a cold or even prevent yourself from catching one. These easy daily tips to stop getting sick can be game-changing.
Here are simple yet effective daily tips to stop getting sick. This includes helping to fight off any cold or even prevent one. Adding these tips to your day-to-day routine can change your health exponentially.
5 Easy Daily Tips to Stop Getting Sick
Let’s jump right into it, here are easy daily habits to stop getting sick. These are great ways to boost wellness and prevent a simple flu or cold.
1. Sleep well
Sleeping is essential. Check out this complete guide here on the benefits of sleep and why it’s so important to the body. Basically, sleep allows the body to rest, repair, and fight off disease. Without sleep, we become groggy, irritable, anxious, and depressed, and our immune system becomes compromised.
Studies show that people who do not get enough sleep are more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus or bacteria. These same sleep-deprived people are likely to stay sick for longer than healthy people. While we sleep, the immune system is revved up, so researchers suggest that sleep can strengthen the immune system’s ability and memory. This means that if you get sick and sleep adequately, the next time you’re exposed to that virus, your body will be more effective at fighting it off.
2. Eat More Ginger and Garlic
These are two ways to make your meals more delicious and nutritious while boosting your immune system. Garlic and ginger are great ways to help you fight off disease and infection.
This is because garlic contains allicin, which is an incredibly strong and potent antibacterial that is released when the garlic cloves are crushed or chewed on. This helps to strengthen the immune system and gives it a boost, increasing the response of white blood cells. White blood cells are the disease-fighting cells that are part of the immune system. Garlic also contains antifungal and antiseptic properties.
Ginger works similarly, enhancing the immune system response. This is because of its antiviral and antibacterial properties that can help fight off infection and illness. Plus it has gingerol, which is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory component.
3. Salt Water Gargles
Another simple habit that you can adopt to fight off illness or infection is a saltwater gargle. Saltwater helps to create an osmosis effect that draws fluid from the mouth and throat. This is very effective in fighting infection.
Gargling salt water, as shown by research, can help reduce the occurrence of upper respiratory infections. It could also help break up mucus, remove bacteria, and reduce allergens.
For people who are sick gargle salt water, it has been found to reduce inflammation and decrease the severity of symptoms. All you need to do to make a saltwater solution is to add a half teaspoon of sea salt to a cup of warm water. Do not swallow, simply gargle. It’s important to keep in mind that salt water gargling is not highly recommended for individuals who suffer from chronic high blood pressure.
4. Manage Stress
Stress is a silent thief of Health in the body. This is because stress affects both physical and mental health greatly. It releases cortisol into the bloodstream which tends to increase inflammation. Chronic inflammation is then linked to many debilitating illnesses, including a vulnerable immune system that causes you to get sick often. Stress itself can also lead to poor quality of sleep which is an added reduction in immune system health and may further increase your chances of getting sick.
One of the easiest ways to prevent illness is to manage your stress. This can be done with something as simple as mindfulness, breathing exercises, or meditation. Check out one of the simplest meditations that you can do right here, with a soundtrack that can help guide you through the mental activity.
5. Add Fermented Foods to Mealtime
A way to prevent yourself from getting sick in the first place is to add fermented foods to your diet. Fermented foods boost microbiota health. Our immune system is primarily located in our gut microbiome. An unhealthy gut microbiome leads to autoimmune diseases, a body that attacks its healthy tissues.
On the other hand, a healthy gut microbiome leads to an increased immune system response that helps to speed up recovery, fight off bacteria and viruses, and boost overall health.
Fermented food is food that has undergone a process through which yeast ferments the vegetables or dairy products. Some examples of fermented food include kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles. Examples that have dairy include kefir, Greek yogurt, and cheese. The benefit of fermented food is that it contains beneficial bacteria, also known as probiotics, that support gut health, contain antioxidants, and boost your body’s ability to process some nutrients such as vitamins and minerals.
The Takeaway
No one likes getting sick. By using these easy daily habits to stop getting sick, you can learn how to help your body fight off infections, viruses, and colds. These tips can even help you recover faster if you use them correctly. Remember, one of the most important things you can do is sleep well, eat fermented foods, add garlic and diet to your diet, and reduce stress. That, along with sea salt gargles, and you have a recipe for health and recovery.
Remember, health always comes from within. Start by eating nutritious food, moving your body, exercising when you can, and caring for your mental health. These small daily changes and habits that you start to cultivate become the foundation for a life full of wellness. Don’t forget about the health of your microbiome, too! Gut microbiota affects everything in your body, from the skin to muscles to the immune system and mental health. Get all the resources you need about microbiota health for free here!
