Three ways to boost your immune system for optimal health.
Three ways to boost your immune system for optimal health.
So yesterday it was all balmy summer times and today it’s snowing all over the place. Yes, winter has well and truly arrived friends and with it, comes the wintery thing we all dread most. No, not having only a dog to snuggle up to on those long winter nights (although not ideal), we’re talking about the flu.
It’s happening already and as it seems to be every year, the one we’re dealing with this year is a bad one. Cool.
Because we don’t see any reason for you not to be living your very best life all year round, we’ve compiled a little list of ways you can attempt to beat the flu before it beats you.
Mum says take your vitamins
Seems Mum was right (who knew) when she continually ranted about taking vitamins; how they boost your immune system, improve your overall health and all the other life-changing things vitamins do. We tuned out a lot. The point is, these days there are vitamins for absolutely anything you can think of. Need to boost the strength in your little toe? There’s a vitamin for that. Probably. Interestingly there are also probiotics that will help to heal your gut bacteria, thus boosting your immune system, there is Vitamin C to also help boost your immune system and there is even Olive Leaf extract for general wellbeing. All of the vitamins for all of the things
Get fit or die trying
Don’t die trying, but catchy right. Obviously the fitter you are, the healthier you are and we can also tie eating healthy into this little paragraph because, less typing. The healthier you are, the stronger your immune system and the more likely you are to be able to ward off the illnesses that want to take you DOWN. You don’t have to go all crazy with it, just a 30 minute walk a few times a week, maybe some stretching of those tired, worn out muscles and if you’re feeling extra energetic (which you will be), some bodyweight exercises (squats and the like) will up the flu-warding-off goodness even further. Trust us (and actual Doctors), the exercising is the goods.
Stress less
Sounds simple enough but we’re quite aware that it isn’t. If you’re stressed, it will negatively affect your immune system and you know what that means. FLU TIME. Combatting stress is a complicated process and the reasons for it being in your life can be a million fold. We get it. But, there are ways to reduce your stress and these ways include things like getting more sleep, putting your phone away a few hours before bedtime and not looking at it again, taking time to breathe, clear your mind to stop it racing for a hot minute and of course, giving yourself a break. Life is hectic; don’t waste it worrying about things you can’t control and surprise, no flu for you.
There you have it, three simple(ish) things you can do to keep the flu at bay this winter.
Of course, if flu symptoms do start to rear their ugly heads (they definitely have ugly heads), you can pop into your local Chempro Chemist to stock up on things like lozenges, all of the aforementioned vitamins, sinus clearing goodies, decongestants, anything you could possibly need really.
Happy winter Gold Coasters, it’ll be sweet, sweet summer again before you know it.
STORY SPONSORED BY CHEMPRO CHEMISTS
Words by Kirra Smith
Quite obviously, contracting the flu is not ideal. Sure, you get to lie in bed watching Netflix for hours but you also feel rubbish for days on end, all you manage to eat is soup, which means no UberEATS, and you look fairly average too.
Not to mention, the flu is quite easy to pass on so you won’t be popular at work if you go around sneezing on everybody.
The best solution we’ve found to combat all of the above is getting in early and treating yourself to a flu shot and, as of right now, you can do exactly that at selected Chempro Chemists. It’s all about prevention, so it certainly pays to get in early this month. Get a flu shot before the flu gets you.
It’s the quick, easy and affordable way to keep the flu at bay (a poem, how good) and you don’t need a script so there’s really no reason not to.
Of course, there are a myriad of ways to beat the big guy should you feel any symptoms coming on and, in the interest of your health, and the health of Gold Coasters everywhere, here’s a little list of them.
Eye drops
There are more varieties of eye drops than you can poke a stick at. Got sore eyes? Covered. Dry eyes? No worries. Red eyes? There’s an eye drop for that. Clear that sick, tired look from your eyeballs quick smart with any or all of the above, it’ll perk you right up.
Nasal spray
Can personally vouch for the effectiveness of this one.Just a few quick squirts up the nose and you’re good to go. Strange sensation sure but you know what else is a strange sensation? Not being able to breathe through your nose.Sosquirting it is.
Hot drinks
No, not coffee sadly. Hot drinks of the honey, ginger and lemon variety guaranteed to soothe a sore throat and eliminate that sandpaper feeling the flu seems to conjure up in your mouth. They’ll also just generally make you feel warm and comforted, which is helpful.
Lozenges
The bane of a kid’s life but also one very effective thing to soothe said scratchy sore throat. There are lots of fun flavours these days including lime and lemon, orange and strawberry so your inner child need not be concerned.
So there you have it, a few simple little ways to both avoid the flu nobody wants and to also soothe it should you need to do so.
All of the things above are available now at Chempro Chemists and the team there are more than willing to help out with any questions you might have.
We highly recommend the flu shot though, one little jab and you’re good to go for the season.
Go forth and get healthy.
Words by Kirra Smith.
STORY SPONSORED BY CHEMPRO CHEMISTS
It’s pretty much a sure bet that if you haven’t had the (completely awful) flu this season, you know someone who has, or does right now.
Those in the know are saying it’s the worst one we’ve seen in five years and that certainly seems to be the case with our Gold Coast pals, many of whom have spent weeks in bed with it.
In honour of spring, and because surely its time for the flu to leave now, we’ve listed the top five ways to avoid the nasty bug. You’re welcome.
1. Wash your hands at every opportunity, especially before eating. This absolutely necessary process take 8.7 seconds of your life but it’s often something that’s forgotten in the haste of, you know, doing other stuff. Quite obviously the more you wash your hands, the less germs there are and the less likelihood of illness. Be one of those people and buy yourself a hand sanitizer to carry about too.
2. Encourage people (we want to say kids but some adults also need to be told) to sneeze into their elbows if there are no tissues (or hankies, right Dad!) around. You don’t even realise how many things you touch throughout a day that others also have to touch. This is how germs spread guys, sneeze securely.
3. If you are sick, for the love of God, stay home. If you can’t get to the Doctor call our good mates Dial A Home Doctor and they’ll come to you – best. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an office with no windows and an air conditioner that’s happy to disperse illness to anyone who can breathe (that’s everyone). Arrange to work from home if possible and if it’s not, stay home anyway, work can wait. Tell ‘em we said so.
4. If everyone around you is sick, or even if they aren’t, load up your meals with veggies, garlic, ginger, turmeric, all of the immune boosting things. You should do this regardless of the season and potential bugs in the air because a healthy immune system is the key to a healthy life and that’s a fact yo.
So there you have it, together we can eradicate this terrible flu and get outside and enjoy the spring sunshine we all very much deserve.
POST SPONSORED BY Dial A Home Doctor.
Words by Kirra Smith.
Raising awareness about mental health issues is a cause close to everyone’s heart in one way or another and at the moment, we all need to be vigilant about taking care of our own and keeping an eye on that of those around us.
Because we’re all about sharing/stealing good advice when we come across it, here are a couple of tips from local not-for-profit LIVIN if you’re feeling like your mental health could use a little TLC.
Get enough sleep
It’s super important to develop a regular sleeping schedule to help you feel energized, focused and motivated. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day and if you can’t sleep, practice controlled breathing (focusing on inhaling and exhaling to help you relax).
Exercise
Sounds very uncool but is actually very good for not only your physical health (obviously) but your mental health too. Even just a short stint (15 minutes) will give you a rush of feel good energy and can help to relieve stress and pent up frustration.
Eat healthily
It’s no surprise fruit and veggies are good for you but did you know they can help your sleeping patterns, energy levels and general wellbeing? True story. Obviously fast food, that is easy to get when you don’t feel like doing anything, has very low levels of nutrition, which means low energy, and generally feeling worse than you otherwise would.
Enjoy yourself
Having fun for the win! Here’s an excuse to find things that bring you joy, watch hilarious show online and have a good laugh whenever you can. Talking to people who uplift your mood is clearly a positive thing to do, not to mention, if you need a chat about how you’re feeling, your friends are the perfect people to do that with. At the moment we”re in such uncertain times, it’s highly likely everyone could do with a chat and since we aren’t really meant to go near each other, may as well pick up that phone.
If you, or someone you know, needs immediate assistance please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Words by Kirra Smith
