How to stay healthy this winter season

Winter season is around the corner and also microorganisms such as bacteria and viruses that bring colds and flu. The drop in temperature and closed windows and doors make the best environment for viruses to thrive indoors.

People with low immunity level are vulnerable to catch the latest bug to hit town. Here are some ways you can protect your risk of catching colds and flu. Now you can easily book an online doctor appointment in Bangalore with Cureplus. 

·         Keep warm

Granny’s remedy always works – keep yourself warm to avoid colds, coughs, and flu. After a mild, pleasant autumn, one has to experience a sudden icy snap that will make us feel cold and start to shiver.

Shivering holds back the immune system and this makes us more prone to colds and flu. Also, reduced levels of sunlight and changed levels of hormones such as serotonin and melatonin have a bad impact on the immune system. We tend to give away 30 percent of our body heat through our head – so make sure to cover your head during winters.

·         Wash your hands

Although most of the infections are airborne and transmitted when someone sneezes, germs can also be transferred through physical contact and can make their way when infected hands touch vulnerable parts of the body such as mouths, noses, and eyes. Washing hands and drying them with disposable paper towels can considerably reduce the risks of falling prey of virus, especially rotavirus, which targets children and causes diarrhea and vomiting.

·         Keep a track of weather

Germs number tends to be more in dull, low cloud and misty conditions. Viruses can flourish better if the weather is having more moisture content. They can stay in the air attached to water droplets more easily. This is the time when you’re more prone to catch colds and flu.

·         Sip herbal/black tea

Drinking hot black or green tea with lemon and honey is one of the best remedies to prevent colds and flu. Drinking tea and breathing in steam triggers the cilia, the hair follicles in the nose, to wash off the germs more efficiently. Lemon helps in thinning mucus, and honey has antibacterial properties.

·         Zinc and garlic

Zinc is an essential mineral to fight colds and boost up deteriorating immune system. Foods that are a rich source of zinc include eggs, seafood, black-eyed peas, tofu, oysters, meat, and wheat germ.

Garlic relieves chest problems, and daily taking small amounts may also reduce the frequency of colds and flu.

·         Drink lots of liquid

As doctors recommended, we should drink at least eight glasses of water a day to stay healthy. Water promotes kidneys to function properly and washes off the toxins that build up in our bodies.

If you are suffering from cold and dehydrated, it will make your mucus drier and thicker and vulnerable to combat invading viruses and bacteria.

·         Take vitamins and probiotics

Taking your multivitamin daily before your meal helps to fight colds and flu in the winter when we tend to lack sufficient fresh fruit and vegetables in our diet, and also more vulnerable to infection.

Probiotics, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria are intestine-friendly bacteria, which maintains a healthy digestive system as well as improves the body’s immunity.