Tips for Natural Cold and Flu Prevention
Cold and flu season is quickly approaching, and this is the time of year that most people are exposed to bacteria and viruses through sharing public spaces and traveling during the holidays. As naturopathic doctors, our goal is to support your body’s innate defense mechanisms by encouraging immune function versus suppressing your symptoms with over-the-counter medications. We do this using prevention, at-home therapies, supplementation, and immune treatments at Living Wellness Medical Center.
Check out our FREE Natural Immune Support Guide for a comprehensive list of ways you can fight off the flu this Fall!
Prevention is Key
The most important aspect of health is prevention. Our primary focus at Living Wellness Medical Center is to prevent illness and disease. We support the body’s immunity by focusing on lifestyle factors such as dietary modifications, stress management, sleep, and exercise.
- It’s essential to avoid or have limited amounts of sugar, alcohol, and dairy products for overall wellness and longevity. It is especially vital to avoid these foods when you start to feel ill. Studies have shown that sugar and dairy products are pro-inflammatory and disrupt metabolic, hormonal, and immunologic processes that affect our health. Focus on increasing nutrient-dense foods like leafy green vegetables, antioxidant-rich berries, or foods with antimicrobial properties, such as garlic, ginger, and onion.
- When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight pathogens is reduced. This is why we are often more likely to become sick during or after periods of high stress. Examples of unhealthy stress include emotional and mental stress (constant worrying, obsessive thoughts, negative self-talk, depression, and anxiety) and physical stress, such as inadequate recovery from physical exercise. If you struggle with daily stressors, it may be time to talk to your doctor about how to address and manage your stress better.
- The National Sleep Foundation recommends at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep to maintain healthy immunity. Sleep is vital to wellness because it is the time our body restores and rejuvenates itself. Without adequate sleep, our body cannot make immune cells and signaling pathways to keep us healthy.
- Regular exercise is essential to healthy living and protects against a variety of chronic health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, and dementia. Exercise is beneficial for immunity because it encourages the healthy circulation of immune cells and lymph. However, it is just as vital that you are mindful of your body during times of illness. Excessive, strenuous exercise or inadequate recovery can inhibit immunity by causing added stress to your body. Daily movement is vital, but it’s more important that you move at your own pace.
If you feel a cold or flu coming on, our FREE Natural Immune Support Guide has at-home therapies to help your immune system heal as quickly as possible! Download it below.
Natural Immune Treatments at Living Wellness Medical Center
At Living Wellness Medical Center, we offer immune treatments that can help keep you healthy and fight off colds and the flu. Some of the immune treatments and their benefits are the following:
Nutritional IV Therapy
When nutrients are delivered intravenously, digestion is bypassed, and 100% absorption of those nutrients is achieved. Many illnesses and conditions are associated with digestive problems, food sensitivities, and intestinal inflammation. IVs bypass the digestive system, which sometimes blocks the absorption of nutrients. The intravenous method targets nutrients directly to where they are needed: the cells. Introducing nutrients in this way immediately opens circulation to all parts of your body so that the cells are flooded with life-giving nutrients and antioxidants in a way you can’t get with oral supplements or even exercise.
B Vitamin Injections
B vitamin injections are effective treatment tools to enhance energy, metabolism, focus, and immunity. Vitamins administered intramuscularly bypass liver metabolism. Bypassing the liver allows the vitamins to be absorbed by the blood and have an instant, active effect. Like nutrient IVs, vitamin injections don’t contain binders, fillers, or additives commonly used in vitamin supplements. With IVs and injections, you get pure, therapeutic dosages of the good stuff!
Engystol Immune Shot
Engystol is an all-natural homeopathic remedy given as an injection once a month as a preventative for flu season. It has scientifically proven anti-viral properties and is effective in treating and preventing viruses such as influenza, herpes simplex 1, rhinovirus, and RSV (human respiratory syncytial virus).
Engystol relieves cold and flu symptoms, including runny nose, sore throat, muscle aches, and mild fever. It reduces the duration of viral infections and has been scientifically and clinically proven effective. Engystol has no known side effects, contraindications, or interactions. It boosts your white cell blood count by as much as 41%.
Ozone Therapy
The oxidative property of ozone makes it a potent therapeutic agent in the body. Ozone promotes increased production of one of our antioxidants, glutathione. We call glutathione the “master antioxidant” of the body. Glutathione is not only our most potent antioxidant, but it also serves to recycle and restore other antioxidants in our bodies, such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and alpha-lipoic acid. We administer ozone either through an IV or an intramuscular injection. Read more about ozone and its many health benefits here.
Other Tips for Combatting Cold and Flu Season
- Start early! Addressing symptoms as soon as they present is the most effective and quickest way to get well, decreasing severity and recovery time.
- Wash your hands frequently.
- Keep your hands away from your mouth and nose. Viruses don’t infect the skin, but they do infect mucosal membranes.
- Avoid individuals that you know are unwell.
- Clean communal surfaces regularly. Think doorknobs, refrigerator handles, light switches, and phone chargers.
- Avoid sharing eating utensils or drinking from the same cup.
- Stay hydrated.
When Should I Contact My Doctor?
- If your symptoms persist or continue to worsen;
- If you have a fever, night sweats, body aches or unexplained weight loss;
- If you notice yellow or green phlegm from the nose or when you cough;
- If you have difficulty breathing or chest pain;
- If you experience pain with swallowing; and
- If your cough persists for 2-3 weeks.
To help you fight off flu season, we’ve prepared a FREE Natural Immune Support Guide, which includes our at-home therapies to help your immune system heal as quickly as possible!
Call 480-588-6856 to schedule a free meet and greet with a naturopathic doctor.