With August coming to a close, and back to school only a few weeks away, it may be time to start considering some cold & flu preventative action!! We all know how quickly germs go around as soon as school starts up but, there are some things you can do now to help make sure that your household stays flu-free this year!
Start taking action before school begins!
A house full of strong immune systems will help keep everyone free of those back to school sicknesses that seem to spread like wild-fires through schools and homes.
Probiotics.
Getting our immune systems strong often means ensuring that we have lots of healthy bacteria in our gut to help us fend off the bad germs we come in contact with. Taking a probiotic supplement can help ensure that the main line of defence in our bodies is ready to protect us.
Our favourite probiotic is Dr. Ohhira’s because they are a whole food, live probiotic made with 12 different bacteria strains, and contain over 82 fermented whole food ingredients that act as pre-biotics to keep the probiotics alive! They’re shelf stable and safe for all ages!
A daily dose of Vitamin D.
Making sure to get enough vitamin D this summer can ensure that your body will be ready for the fall. Getting outside to enjoy some sunshine as much as possible is a great way to soak in Vitamin D. There are also Vitamin D supplements available to help you make sure that you’re getting enough of this important vitamin, even if you can’t get in the sunshine as much as you’d like to!
Our favourite source of vitamin D is the sunshine, but if you can’t seem to get enough of it this summer a really great supplement to consider is Nutristart Quick D Drops! These drops are taken sublingually and are very quickly absorbed into the system! They are quick and easy to take and dose and they’re safe for kids.
Some extra Vitamin C.
Making sure to take a little extra vitamin C to keep the immune system working well is a good idea this time of year! Vitamin C can be obtained through many foods such as citrus fruits, berries, & green leafy vegetables or can be taken as a supplement.
Our favourite for all ages is Mega Foods C Complex. This amazing whole food supplement is sourced from organic oranges! Our bodies recognize and absorb whole food vitamins very easily so this one is very bioavailable. The tablets are a bit on the larger side, but can be crushed up and dissolved into something for kids to take!
Immune boosters.
Plant medicine has been used for centuries to help keep our bodies thriving. There are many different herbs and medicinal mushrooms that can strengthen our immune system to keep us safe from whatever is going around.
We have many favourite immune boosters at Health Essentials, but our go-to is generally the Host Defence My Community Extract. Host Defence ingredients are of the highest quality, formulated and grown by Mycologist, Paul Stamets in the U.S. This particular blend is made from 17 different mushrooms, all with unique properties, that help to keep our immune systems healthy.
For the little ones, we love the Suro Kids Organic Elderberry Syrup. It’s made in Canada with extremely clean ingredients, and is incredibly versatile! With added honey for sweetness, it’s easy to take this amazing superfood syrup… you can steep it as a hot or cold tea, or simply take a teaspoon of it like cough syrup!
A Healthy Diet.
Although the summer lifestyle can pose many diet challenges… eating a nutritious diet can do wonders for keeping our bodies strong for September. We are what we eat, and the health of our bodies is often determined by the quality of our diet. Nourishing foods like grass-fed meats & dairy, fermented foods and lots veggies are great to add into the diet at all times of the year. Healthy foods are especially important when supporting healthy immune function!
We realize you may still be in summer mode (as you should be – it’s not over yet!!). One of our favourite on-the-go, additions you can include in your diet for some added nutrition are our grassfed meat sticks. Our favourite is the Caveman Stick, which has added 25% organ meats for extra nutrient density!
Improve the Air Quality in your Home.
A great way to ensure that any airborne viral & infection causing germs (which tend to be the most prevalent this time of year) are not floating around your immediate air space is to purify the air! Air purification can be done in a few different ways.
The old school method of boiling water with some vinegar or essential oils in it can be great for disinfecting the air. This method is fantastic if you’re home and aware of the water level in the pot, lol. This method may not be entirely convenient for the majority of people who aren’t lucky enough to just be relaxing this time of year!
Good news is that there are now many diffusers available, which as their name suggests, diffuse water and essential oils throughout your home. Our favourite diffuser is the Eco Spa Deluxe Diffuser and Ionizer as it has a super classy design, it covers a large space, and it has an auto-shut off so it’s safe to leave on, even while you’re gone! Our favourite essential oil blend to get rid of those nasty germs is Thieves Oil, which is a blend of many different essential oil scents that has been used for centuries to fend off harmful bacteria and viruses in the air.
Back to school season can be stressful enough, with everyone exiting vacation mode and getting back into the swing of things. We hope the above tools helped you get an idea of ways you can keep fighting a cold or flu off the list of things you need to do this September!
