January 26, 2016

5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter

Disclosure: Wedderspoon USA sent me Manuka honey products to try out. I received no other compensation. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

If the largest blizzard ever to hit Baltimore and dump just shy of 30 inches on the city this weekend wasn't enough of a hint, winter is really here. While I've been trying to avoid getting sick since before the Chicago Marathon through my Fall finals in December, we still have some months of cold and flu season ahead of us. It's never a good time to get sick, but especially at the start of the semester or if you are just gearing up your spring race training and don't want any setbacks.  Here are some of the ways I attempt to stay healthy and illness-free. Reminder, I'm not a medical professional these are just my tips, so always ask and listen to your doctors!


5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter

1. Drink water. 
This should be on every health tips list. Water is just awesome for your body. In the winter sometimes it's harder for me because I'm not as thirsty during the day, but it's important to keep yourself hydrated.  

2. Stay well-rested. 
Getting enough sleep is another thing that sometimes is hard for me, especially when I'm in school and working.  Sleep deprivation suppresses the immune system which means you're more likely to catch a cold.  If I start to feel like I'm catching a cold, I always try to get a good nights sleep and take it easy for a couple days. 


5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter-sleep-bed

3. Be like Pooh and eat some honey.  
In recent years I've become more interested in homeopathic and natural treatments. Honey in general has many health benefits including being an antimicrobial, but raw honey also contains many vitamins and minerals which help boost the immune system and can treat coughs and sore throats. Raw honey is cloudier, but I don't think it tastes much different.  Wedderspoon had sent me some of their raw Manuka honey products to try in the Fall after meeting them at Expo East. I was having a spoonful of their honey every morning and using their ginger honey lozenges weeks before the Chicago Marathon because I was determined not to be sick for the race this year.  I just ordered some more raw honey because I've been using it in my tea daily. 


5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter-manduka-honey

4. Load up on citrus. 
Even though there are conflicting studies regarding Vitamin C and immune system benefits, I still try to get as much as I can in the winter. I figure it at least can't hurt! I keep oranges and grapefruits around for snacks and also take Vitamin C supplements. I also make sure to drink juices with plenty of fruits and veggies in them like the Gundalow Juice Sailor Sunrise. If I feel something coming on I'll also start drinking Emergen-C daily which includes lots of Vitamin C.  

5. Wash your hands & disinfect. 
Don't touch your face either! Washing your hands sounds like a no-brainer, but it really is one of the best ways to stop the spread of illness.  From working in a hospital for a bit I know that officially you are supposed to use soap and water and wash long enough to hum the "Happy Birthday" song twice. Something else I do all year round is wipe down my phone with disinfectant wipes every other day or so. With touch smart phones now I feel like there is a ton of germs on our phones, which we are holding all the time too, so cleaning them is probably a good idea. 


5 Ways to Stay Healthy This Winter-phone



What do you do to stay healthy through the winter?

12 comments:

  1. I have a sore throat right now and those lozenges sound awesome!

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    1. Definitely try them out. I saw their products in Target and CVS by me too!

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  2. These are great reminders. I feel like I am also so much more likely to get sick if I don't get enough sleep. Coming back to all of this snow up North was definitely difficult.

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  3. Drinking water - UGH! I struggle sooo much! I drink so much ZEVIA.... And I know that counts but I don't know, I still feel guilty for not drinking enough!

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    1. I love Zevia too. Drinking water is a struggle some days!

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    1. I wipe down my iPhone every.single.day! I dk if this makes me OCD but I'm a nanny and I'm not taking any chances with those germy little hands!

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  5. My sister got me some wireless wipes as a stocking stuffer for Christmas. They just have a little bit of isopropyl alcohol but just enough to disinfect your phone and tablet and not damage them. I love using them on my phone, tablet and laptop every couple of weeks.
    As far as supplements go--if you like lemon lime nuun, I like to fill one of those 32oz nalgene bottles with water and throw in a lemon lime nuun tab and a lemon lime airbourne tab. They taste very similar so they work well together!

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    1. That's awesome and a great stocking stuffer idea! Good idea about doubling up the Nuun with Airborne-I love the lemon lime!

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  6. Great article. I like your blog. you shared very nice tips. Thanks!

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