Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub. avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth unless you have thorough washed your hands try to avoid close contact with sick people. cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. avoid alcohol stay hydrated eat healthy foods especially those loaded with Vitamin C get good sleep drink black or green tea with unfiltered honey (antimicrobial) and lemon (thins mucous) eat protein rich foods wipe shared phones/desks/gym equipment breath out if people cough or sneeze around you take zinc lozenges with Vitamin C Anabolic Zinc Lozenges are the best – use registration code JC287 (they stop microbial growth in your throat and when absorbed in the GI tract boost your immunity) carry and use your own pen (don’t share) use a Neti pot or a saline spray once a day avoid rubbing your eyes unless you have washed your hands well
Eat these foods in general:
- Red Bell Peppers
vitamin C not only helps fight off illness, but can decrease the severity and duration of symptoms. red bell peppers contain twice as much immune-enhancing vitamin C as oranges - Carrots
beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A i which helps increase T-cells and boost immunity - Almonds
This popular nut is a good source of vitamin E, which is a disease-fighting antioxidant. - Sweet Potatoes
Like carrots, sweet potatoes are an orange-colored food that contains beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A and help fights respiratory infections. - Chicken Soup
chicken soup does a body good because of the healthy veggies in the broth (like carrots) and because it has mild anti-inflammatory properties, which may help decrease mucus production and throat swelling. It also temporarily raises your body temperature, which can help you fight infection - Garlic
The sulfur compounds in garlic have been shown to kill viruses and may help prevent sickness. while garlic is a very potent compound, you will have to take a supplement in addition to eating garlic-enriched foods to get a dose high enough to affect your health. - Ginger
gingerol, found in fresh ginger, can help fight off infection. - Salmon
salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 which has been shown to boost immunity - Mushrooms
mushrooms contain selenium, which help white blood cells clear up sickness, as well as beta-glucan, an antimicrobial type of sugar that fights infections. - Dark Chocolate
high doses of cocoa in dark chocolate support the growth of T-cells and increase the immune system’s ability to defend against infection laying off sugar and alcohol can be just as important as loading up on healthy foods
Get your Vitamin D levels checked – Vitamin D may be a potent antiviral (we can order this inexpensive blood work through quest or labcorp)
If you or a family member has the flu and are not using Tamiflu or Relenza, our office has a 500 year old formula called
Xiao Chia Hu (registration code JC287 if ordering online). At the office, we call it XCH. It is a wonderful way to shorten the life of your flu symptoms and help minimize your flu symptoms. We carry it as a tea (which is stronger) or as a tablet.
