Are you one of the many adults that suffers from 2-3 colds per year? Did you know that children can catch even more colds – up to 12 a year?
Here are three quick and easy germ-busting tips on how to keep you and your family healthy during the rest of the cold and flu season:
1. Wash Your Hands
Plain old hand washing with warm water and soap is still one of the most effective ways to stop germs from spreading.
If you don’t wash your hands often, then as you touch people, objects, and surfaces throughout the day, you will accumulate germs on your hands. Those germs can easily end up in your eyes, nose, or mouth. Although it is impossible to keep your hands completely germ-free, by washing them well and frequently, you can limit your exposure to bacteria and viruses that end up making you sick!
Make sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails for at least 20 seconds, then rinse your hands well and dry them. It is important to wash your hands:
- Before, during, and after preparing food and eating food
- After using the bathroom or changing a diaper
- Before and after visiting anyone who is sick
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching garbage
2. Get Enough Sleep
Research shows that lack of sleep can suppress healthy immune system functioning AND also affect how fast you recover if you do get sick. Your body needs sleep to fight infectious diseases – when you sleep your body releases and creates certain disease fighting substances that help you stay healthy. If you aren’t getting enough zzzz’s, the production of these infection-fighting antibodies and cells is reduced leaving you at risk to get sick.
Experts recommend that adults get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night for optimal physical and mental health. However, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30 percent of adults sleep 6 or less hours a night.
No wonder so many people are getting sick! Take your health in your hands and make sure to get a good night’s rest!
3. Eat Immune-Boosting Nutrition
Nutrition is key when it comes to staying healthy and has a significant impact on your immune system’s ability to fight bacteria, viruses, infections and microorganisms. In order for your immune system to function optimally it is critically important to eat a well-balanced diet rich in micronutrients including: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, zinc, selenium, and protein to name a few.
Some really great flu-busting foods include: dark orange, yellow, red, and green fruits and vegetables, garlic, almonds, strawberries, and sweet potatoes. 
BONUS HACK: Medicinal Mushrooms!
Our herbal tinctures are one of the BEST ways to assist your immune system during cold & flu season and can easily be added to your daily diet. Used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), medicinal mushrooms have a proven track record when it comes to the immune system.
Our tinctures are triple extractions containing both water-soluble fractions, as well as the alcohol-soluble fraction of medicinal mushrooms like Reishi, Chaga, and Turkey Tail. This means they contain the broadest spectrum of healing nutrients available in any single medicinal mushroom product!
Simply add 2-4 (or more) dropperfuls each day to smoothies, elixirs, or water to boost your immune system and help fend off colds and flu.