Every winter, I hear horror stories about flu shots. Everyone I know who gets them gets sick immediately after. That's part of the treatment, right? You have to get the cold in order to fight it, right?
Bullshit.
Here's an idea. Try being healthy. Support your body with necessary nutrients, so you won't come down with anything at all.
I used to be a big smoker and a drunk. Not only did smoking and drinking influence the current crap state of my digestive system, it gave me colds all the time. Each winter, I came down with at least two bronchial infections.
I got fat and farty and decided to take control of my health. The more toxins I cut from my diet, the less snotty gross colds infiltrated my body. So here you go. This is the FartyGirl guide to not getting sick this winter.
1. Don't smoke.
No really, DON'T SMOKE. No cigarettes, cloves, or ganga. If you smoke, you're asking for it.
2. Don't drink.
Whiskey? Vodka and OJ? Burbon and cider? It doesn't work. Believe me, I've tried. When sick, you need to flush the sickness out of your system. Drinking alcohol dehydrates you; it only makes you more susceptible to flus and colds.
3. Get a good night's sleep.
Not sleeping well, especially mixed with drinking and smoking, used to be a recipe for a cold for me.
4. Drink black or green tea. No coffee.
I love coffee. It's one of the few vices that I still allow myself. This rule I save for when I'm actually sick.
5. Take Echinacea.
Ech is good for post-holiday parties. When you've spent all night smoking, drinking, and not sleeping, have Echinacea tea as a nightcap before bed. Add raw honey and ground ginger; they are also good immune system boosters.
6. Drink water, not OJ.
Water flushes out your system. OJ creates mucus. It also weighs you down with sugar, which isn't good for colds. Oh and by water, I don't mean Vitamin Water. Real filtered or spring H2O.
7. Suck on cough drops.
When mucusy, I pull out my Fisherman's Friend drops. They are so strong, they punch my face out. Forget stupid Altoids. I haven't felt so mentholated since the time in high school when I snorted mint snuff while tripping on acid.
8. Drink coconut water
I can't go on enough about coconut water. A small serving contains so many nutrients and vitamins. The electrolytes keep you from getting dehydrated. It's got kind of a weird taste. I like to mix it with soy milk or orange juice or pineapple juice.
9. Drink Gypsy Cold Care
This is my favorite winter tea. I love it so much that I horde it, save it for if I get really sick. It's full of healthy herbs.
10. Herbs
Make your own tea with elderberry, goldenseal, licorice, ginseng, and dandelion root. Cook with rosemary, garlic, and oregano.
Notice that I said nothing about hand sanitizer. I said nothing about washing vigorously. That's my one flaw. I'm bad about washing my hands. Partly it's because I believe that we do need to keep in contact with germs. Our body does need to learn how to fight them off. For me, it makes more sense to strengthen my body, so it has the best chance.
Of course, now that I've written this blog, I'm sure to come down with something immediately.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
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5 comments:
I had never gotten the flu shot before this year, but it was highly recommended because I'm preggers. The whole "getting sick right after the flu shot" is a myth, or just an unfortunate coincidence. I don't know how it was made in the past, but there is no virus present at all in the vaccine. Now that's not to say that there aren't other things in the vaccine that you shouldn't be putting into your body, but with a newborn on the way I decided to take the chance...
Hmmm... I didn't know that there was no virus in the vaccine... I just always heard from my grandmother, and other people who get the shot, that it always made them sick. I'm glad it didn't make you sick, though!
I don't think flu shots are evil; I just wanted to offer an alternative, or some other good techniques for warding off the flu and colds.
I don't remember ever getting influenza. When I get sick, it's just fever and dizzyness, it never reaches my belly or bum... thank goodness.
I have never gotten the shot, no matter that almost everyone I know does get it, swears by it, and then gets sick anyway! These same people gorge themselves on Echinacea, therefore I'm skeptical about it. Maybe I will read more into it, now that I'm on vacation and have the time.
I have been trying to like coconut water - I actually have some in my fridge from a couple of days ago that I just can't stomach. I never thought to mix it with soy milk, but I will do just that!
I wash my hands a lot, but it's just an obsession with the sensation of clean. I may switch to a non-bacterial brand, because I too think that we shouldn't shy from bacteria. It's the grease, slime, and gunk I hate.
Finally, I have been nibbling on raw honey and it's SO wonderful. I put a small bit of it in my nightly tea; I recently fell in love with Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry... not the most quality tea, but tastes great. :)
Hope you are doing well. (^_^)
Most versions of the flu vaccine contain a dead virus so people don't usually get sick. Well, at least that's what fact sheet I got with mine said! (got the pneumonia shot, too, b/c of the ol' lungs...)
But I hear you on putting good stuff into your body to give it a fighting chance! I love that I know every ingredient of every bite I put in my mouth, and am generally doing better with nothing but whole foods and lots of clear liquids.
Are you still eating GF?
Most of the things you wrote here I do(or try). Gotta work on the herbs part which I'm sorta lazy about, but I think the amounts of cumin, garlic and ginger we Indians use to cook tend to suffice.
I disagree with you on two points, though:
1. Overdosing on menthol is a majorly crap idea. Menthol, in the end, has an -ol at the end of it. It's an alcohol, albeit very mild. Inhale steam with a couple of drops of eucalyptus oil, or gargle with salt water instead. Stay off the cough drops, they're often sugary and end up doing weird things to the stomach.
2. I don't think OJ is that bad. Obviously drinking OJ instead of water is a crap idea, but a couple of oranges in the day also provides a good dose of Vitamin C - needed to fight colds.
Other than that, though, GREAT tips. I think I could add a bit to those, but what you say makes perfect sense. Just wish I had a gas mask to keep the vehicular smoke out of my system, lol.
This winter, even I've been comparatively free from my usual phlegmy madness. I'm a little mentally low now, though, so the germs might catch up with me in the next few days. Fingers crossed!
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