From Your Health Journal…..”A excellent story today from Sun Valley Online by Dr. Jody Stanislaw about avoiding the cold and flu – I strongly recommend your visiting the Sun Valley site (link provided below) to read the full article, which I found very helpful and informative. Dr. Stanislaw gives us some simple rules to follow to keep our immune system healthy and strong such as eating fruits & vegetables, whole foods, keep hydrated, get plenty of rest, and taking key supplements. She also gives great suggestions in case you feel you may be getting sick. This is a must article to read, so please visit the Sun Valley site to read more from Dr. Stanislaw.”

From the article…..

Cold and flu season is here! But you can avoid getting sick if you are smart and follow a few simple rules. When your immune system is strong and robust, you can be around sick people and not get sick. So the question is, how can you keep your immune system STRONG? Read on…

First, let’s look at what weakens the immune system and thus makes you more vulnerable to getting sick…The biggest culprits are poor diet, chronic stress, alcohol, sugar, lack of adequate sleep, and being too sedentary. Flu shots are touted as being a key step to take this time of year to keep you healthy. But reports of their effectiveness are actually quite mixed. The latest I read was a 61% effectiveness rate. I believe when people follow what I suggest below, the majority do not need a flu shot and you’ll have an even better chance of staying healthy.

So to keep your immune system robust this season, I suggest these tried and true simple tips, which will benefit you by not only boosting your immune function, but are great for your overall health and wellbeing as well:

1.) Eat a whole foods diet, including an abundance of colorful vegetables and fruit. If food is in the shape from which it grew in nature, it’s considered a whole food, thus is packed with immune boosting nutrients. If man made it, don’t eat it often.

Oatmeal with fruit, mixed vegetable salad with chicken, veggies and fish. Other whole foods include beans, lentils, fish, chicken, brown rice, fruit, nuts, all fruits and vegetables.

Sugar and processed foods not only weaken the immune system, but are devoid of key nutrients that your immune system depends on for fuel. Aim for eating whole foods 80% of the time, and include vegetables DAILY to ensure you are ingesting a high concentration of immune boosting nutrients.

2.) Stay hydrated with plenty of water….half your body weight in ounces, so a 150lb person should drink a minimum of 75oz/day. Sorry, sugary drinks or coffee don’t count.

To read the complete article…..Click here