How to avoid getting sick?

[abbyjo]

I take every precaution, but I find myself getting sick all of the time.  Please sound off on what you do to stay healthy!

1. Wash hands regularly - the most important!
2. Avoid sick people
3. Stay hydrated
4. Get plenty of sleep
5. Eat healthy foods
6. Get the flu shot

What else works for you?

[Nicole730]

Do not touch your face!  I did this one year and I didn't even get a cold all winter.  It was really difficult though and I was working a public setting (library) at the time.

I figure it's practically impossible at this point for me not to get sick, I might not touch my face, but my 2 year old loves to! 

[Bokonon]

I regularly take vitamins C and D and omega-3, get safe sun exposure, and avoid the flu shot.  I would anyway, but this year, everyone I know who reported having a test-confirmed case of influenza had had the flu shot (approximately 10 people, children and adults, all over the U.S.).

[1love4ever]

Dont use any antibacterial products, including antibiotics, avoid vaccines (which have been shown to actually weaken the immune system), eat fermented foods, eat fresh, whole foods, avoid sugar and limit grain consumption, take fermented cod liver oil (which contains vitamin D which is very important to avoiding sickness), get lots of sun!  You should subscribe to the mercola.com newsletter, he has lots of good tips for staying well/avoiding sickness.  I also take echinacea and elderberry syrup if I feel a cold coming on.

[abbyjo]

Very interesting - I must say, I never thought of sunlight as being helpful to the immune system.  Aren't you worried about the negative effects (i.e. skin cancer, wrinkles, etc...)?

[Bokonon]

Originally Posted by abbyjo 

Very interesting - I must say, I never thought of sunlight as being helpful to the immune system.  Aren't you worried about the negative effects (i.e. skin cancer, wrinkles, etc...)?

Safe sun exposure does not worry me, and the benefits of natural vitamin D (like fighting cancer to begin with) are important.

[willfulmama]

When I start feeling run down, I love a warm cup of strongly brewed ginger tea and a meal with lots and lots of garlic. Usually, that's enough to knock out most bugs!

[1love4ever]

abbyjo, you should check out mercola.com.  Here is an article I just read that has a little bit about this issue, there are other better ones on his site tho  http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/06/04/astaxanthin-as-sunscreen.aspx?e_cid=20120604_DNL_art_1

But no the only time I worry is if we get a sun BURN, a little redness means nothing to me, and as long as we are not burned, we will spend hours outside.  Its a pretty mainstream idea that any and all sun exposure is bad and that is not true at all.

Anyway, I forgot to mention- not taking any prescription meds, eating raw garlic regularly, and eating LOTS of raw garlic (we mince it and mix it in a home made avocado dip to get it all down, or take a pill-sized clove, poke lots of holes in it and swallow like a pill) if we are starting to get sick.  We take goldenseal if we think there is a bacterial infection, and we eat lots of coconut (oil, puree, and pieces) on a regular basis, the lauric acid in it is thought to strengthen the immune system, and it has antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties.

We also believe in a traditional foods diet

[sbgrace]

I'd add:

Have healthy vitamin D levels (tested 25 (OH) D at 50 or above). Supplement with D3 to maintain or achieve healthy levels. Most people will not make enough vitamin D through sun exposure so don't rely on it for healthy D without testing to make sure you are at good levels! A healthy adult can take up to 10,000 IU of D3 per day without toxicity concerns.

Quality probiotics proven to survive digestion. We do Florastore and Epicore here both with boost immune system along with regular probiotics/probiotic foods.

Zinc--I like optizinc.