With flu shots being so hard to come by this year, what can you do to stay healthy and prevent the flu? Here's some research information along with additional thoughts that may help.
- Be active: Two University of Illinois researchers just presented findings at the American Physiological Society meeting indicating that exercise may help us avoid the flu. They found that mice that ran on a treadmill after receiving flu viruses survived at a higher rate than mice that were sedentary. Three times as many young exercising mice survived compared with their couch-potato peers, as did twice as many older ones. The mice only exercised twenty minutes per day, but that was enough to strengthen their immune systems. The same researchers are now testing whether flu vaccine is more effective in seniors who exercise, and initial data is bearing out their conjecture.
- Eat right: Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, which are full of vitamins and minerals and will keep you healthier.
- Get enough rest: Seven to eight hours sleep per night will help to keep your immune system healthy and ward off the impact of germs. (It will also help you avoid heart disease since getting too little sleep puts you at risk for that, too.)
- Manage your stress: Stress shuts down the immune system, making it harder to fight off germs.
- Wash your hands: Your mother always told you to do that before eating, and that's especially good advice doing cold and flu season. That's especially true if you're at higher risk (over 65, pregnant, have young children in day care, or have a chronic illness.) For those times when you can't wash, such as when you're strapped in on an airplane, consider carrying hand wipes or hand sanitizer (Purell, etc.)
One anecdotal thought comes from my own experience, but there is no research to back it up. Over many years of flying multiple times per week, I noticed that I got sick with colds or sinus infections within 24 hours of flights on which I didn't have a glass of wine on the flight or later that evening. When I recognized that, I started making sure that I had just a single glass of wine during, or within a few hours of, the flight. As a result, I flew at least 3 years without any colds, flu, or sinus infections. (Knock on wood!) Is there a correlation? I don't know, but it was an interesting coincidence. I'm not encouraging you to start drinking, but if you do so already, it is an interesting data point.
Please share your thoughts and post your experiences in our discussion forum.
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