SIX (6) WAYS TO AVOID CATCHING A COLD/FLU.

Well its about that time of the year when the season starts getting really wet and humid.

For some species, it’s a very welcome season, the leaves of trees grow greener and our beaches and other water bodies gets fuller making the water falls more interesting to watch. It’s a time of abundance for the tropics as live is burst into abundance.

However, an early morning rain may be a painful experience for the corporate/ professional going to work or trying to get to a meeting or a business man/woman trying to improve on sales. In all of these the season promises to be a long one according to weather experts and thanks to global warming we are having more rains than it used to be in the past.

Rains, wetness and a higher humidity just like any other change in season brings its own set of diseases and infections most common in this category is cold and flu. They are so common that it is usually envisaged and can be noticed from the beginning of the season.

Most times we tend to treat colds/ flu only after we have them but then as a proponent of living a healthy live by avoiding infections and diseases that can be avoided. I have decided to share Six tips on how to avoid catching a cold this season.

 

1.    Boost your Vitamin C Level; Ever heard of the adage prevention is better than cure? Just as we gradually enter into the raining season we can increase the level of vitamin c intake by enjoying an increased amount of vitamin C rich fruits like Pineapple, Orange, Pawpaw, and/or adding Lime/Lemon to hot tea. A daily dose of this is good for the body. Boosting the body’s vitamin c level would help combat cold infections and with this simple adjustment you may avoid catching any form of cold throughout the season.

 

2.     Wash Hands and reduce sharing objects; we cannot over emphasise the need for washing hands this season. Because cold is contagious, sharing objects with someone who has a cold increases your chances of getting the infection. So share only if you have to and wash your hands often.

 

3.    Take a rest; ironically because of the dullness of this season a lot of us feel the need to stay up and do more to ward off boredom. As interesting this may be our body needs plenty of rest to ward off stress in order to cope with fighting diseases and infections. Stress has a way of making the body susceptible to attacks by lowering the body’s immunity this we should try to avoid by relaxing during the day or even exercising.

 

 

4.    Eat Immune system developing foods; dish yourself a bowl full of veggies this season to help you improve on body building and infections fighting. A hardboiled egg is also a good source of protein and has less cholesterol than when you fry the same amount of eggs. Zinc has been researched and tested to work as a preventive element for cold in children. Let your children enjoy a meal full of chicken, lean meat, cashew nuts, pork, mushrooms, pumpkins (ugwu) because these are zinc rich foods and are preventive against cold.

 

5.    Don’t get drunk; this is certainly not the season to get high / drunk. Alcohol reduces the rate at which our body absorbs nutrient. This would in turn affect the immune system. In order to keep your immune system active you need to get it the nutrients it needs and an environment conducive enough for it to absorb this nutrient. So party but reduce your alcohol intake.

 

6.    Soups; and to my favourite part, have a bowl of soups. It comes handy when you get in soaked from the rain. A bowl of chicken soup, pepper soup of different kinds (cat fish, cow tail or cow leg) can make all the difference between catching a nasty cold or enjoying a dish and having a sound healthy sleep afterwards.

At this point I must say thank you to Google images for all my pictures. eheheh.

Finally, I know Some of you my ardent fans are able to vouch for your time proven method of avoiding a cold when its most rampant. What are they? Share it. I'd very much like to hear from you.