The timing of flu season can vary from year to year as well as in different parts of the country, but often begins as early as October and can continue to occur as late as May. Flu activity most commonly peaks in the United States between December and February.
The CDC estimates that since 2010, flu season annually results in:
- 9.2 million – 35.6 million illnesses
- 140,000 – 710,000 hospitalizations
- 12,000 – 56,000 deaths
The flu and flu season is not something to take lightly. Fortunately, there are a number of steps you can take to prevent the flu naturally.
Step 1: Prioritize Foods & Nutrients to Boost Immunity
Fiber, vitamins, minerals, proteins such as collagen, phytonutrients, free radical-fighting antioxidants, omega 3 fats and probiotics are all important to strengthen the immune system.
Immune-boosting vitamins include:
- Vitamin A boosts immunity, lowers your risk of infection and supports wound healing through collagen strengthening.
- Vitamin D plays a huge part in immune health and can impact at least 20% of all human genes. Try to get out in the sun too. Besides vitamin D, sunlight produces many other important biochemicals, some of which I am sure have not yet been identified.
- Vitamin C is also a key player to boost immunity. Having bioflavanoids is important along with the vitamin C, since they work together to support your immune response and to help to produce collagen.
- Vitamin K1, important for healthy blood clotting, as well as to help build immunity, along with its cousin vitamin K2, which is found in abundance in fermented vegetables.
- Effective B vitamins for boosting the immune system are; B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B7 (biotin) B9, (methylfolate is preferred over folic acid) and B12 (cobalamin).
Don’t forget about minerals! Zinc is a mineral that is also a protective antioxidant and is important for; collagen production, activating white blood cells and is essential for the enzymatic reactions needed for wound healing.
Selenium is another powerful antioxidant for immune system protection. Good sources are Brazil nuts, organic grass fed beef, organic turkey and organic chicken.
Step 2: Drink Enough Water
Just as important as any food that you eat, drinking adequate amounts of pure water is vital for flushing toxins from your system and keeping your body well hydrated.
Step 3: Get Adequate Sleep
The body and brain rejuvenate, detoxify and heal during sleep. If you are sleep deprived, your immune resistance will drop like a rock. In fact, more than a third of American adults are not getting enough sleep on a regular basis, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Not getting enough sleep can weaken your immune system.
Simple lifestyle changes such as going to bed at the same time each night, rising at the same time each morning and turning off or removing televisions, computers and cellphones from the bedroom can help you get the sleep you need.
Adding a tourmaline-infused Tourma®Blanket to your bed is another choice. Tourmaline converts body heat into far infrared light and generates negative ions. Both of those energies may help decrease inflammation levels in the body. Tourmaline particles can also increase serotonin production, as well as alpha brain waves, which can result in promoting deep and regenerating sleep.
For more information on tourmaline, check out Tourmaline Science.
Step 4: Limit Stress
Stress robs you body of many vital nutrients and lowers your immunity too. According to a “Stress in America” survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, citizens are reporting the most significant increase in stress in the report’s 10-year history. American stress levels rose from 4.8 to a 5.1, on a 10-point scale, between August 2016 and January 2017.
So, how do we cope? Physical activity, listening to music, spending time with friends and family, yoga and meditation, and prayer are among the most common methods used today. Be sure to incorporate one or more of these activities into your daily lifestyle to keep the stress monger at bay.
Step 5: Avoid Processed Food & Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Don’t get your body clogged up with junk. Avoid junk foods, processed food, sugar and high carb foods too. Excessive alcohol also isn’t a good idea for any season, especially during flu season. Subbing in even one whole food meal a day can lead to positive lifestyle changes.
Step 6: General Health Supporting Habits
The better your general health is, the stronger your immune system will probably be. A simple habit to begin is the use of tourmaline-infused products. Tourmaline is a therapeutic mineral that has been used for millennia in Eastern medicine and around the world, but western societies have only recently started embracing this natural mineral for its numerous health and wellness applications. Numerous modern-day studies have shown that the energies emitted by tourmaline, when absorbed by the body, support overall health and wellness in regards to healing, sleep patterns and detoxification.
FIR Industries is the only company in the world that has patent pending technology to bond nanometer sized mineral particles to fabrics, textiles and fibers. These products are called theTourma®Line.
Tourma®Tape is one of the cornerstone products from FIR Industries. Tourma®Tape is different from any tape on the market. The mechanics of a kinesiotape provides the therapy. The Tourma®Tape itself actually provides therapy. That therapy is provided by the energy produced by the tourmaline particles that are in the Tourma® Tape itself. Users have reported great clinical success treating many varying conditions.
Tourma®Blankets and Tourma®Mats for Pets also contain nanometer sized tourmaline particles. Tourmaline particles can increase serotonin production, as well as alpha brain waves, which can result is promoting deep and regenerating sleep.
The smaller the particle of tourmaline is, the greater the energy will be for each gram of tourmaline used. This comes directly from a study published on PubMed.gov. FIR Industries uses nanometer-sized tourmaline particles, which is the smallest particle size that can be produced today.
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