With winter many people worry about catching a cold or flu. It seems the media can’t stop reminding us that it is flu season, and everywhere we go we are bombarded by advertisements for flu vaccines, flu remedies, cough and cold treatments. I guess everyone is just trying to do their job, market their wares – they probably need their paycheck and like to eat and live indoors just like the rest of us.
I wrote this card for my 13-year-old daughter so she could stay healthy and boost her immune system this winter! I wish everyone would do these simple things so that they too can enjoy health and not live in fear of the flu!
However, with the intense focus on flu and sickness it’s no surprise that people are getting sick! I prefer to focus on health and how to stay healthy. 
- I like to keep my supplement-taking to a minimum.
- I like to empower my children to take responsibility for their health.
- It must be easy to remember, so I needed it on a card on the refrigerator!
- I prefer to use natural substances and foods to heal.
Here is my brief recipe:
- DAILY:
- Water is our best detox help. I’m trying to help my family form the habit of drinking a large glass of clean water first thing in the morning. We drink spring water only.
- Vitamin D. It is well-known and documented that the reason people are more prone to illness in winter is because they have reduced levels of this important factor. In the winter we need to take D3 supplements.
- Probiotics are always beneficial to boost our gut flora since 85% of our immune system is in our gut!
- Omega 3 boost with fish oil (or chia seeds, hemp, etc.)
- Vitamin C in ascorbic acid form (non genetically modified) or sodium ascorbate
- AT THE FIRST SIGN OF ANY COLD/FLU SYMPTOMS:
- Colloidal Silver – a natural antibiotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal. Very safe and effective.
- Olive Leaf Extract – has an enormous ORAC score, full of antioxidants that will help boost all the important cells in your body to do their work of fighting infection.
- Frequent Vitamin C
- Extra D3 and Omega 3.
- Thieves essential oil on feet, behind ears and throat.
Another very important aspect of health is we need to eliminate all sugar especially when we have any symptoms. If we reduce or eliminate sugar ALL the time, that is a great boost to health, but when we eat sugar while our body is trying to fend off foreign bad guys, it’s like we are feeding the enemy army. Avoiding milk and dairy products will also be a good idea. These concepts might seem difficult to some people in the beginning, but as you begin to increase your awareness of improving your health, you will see the benefit!
I’m not saying these are the only things important to boost your immune system, I’ve written and shared a great video about all the facets of the immune system and know that it is important to pay attention to many areas of life, but this is just a short winter prescription.
What are the essentials you use to keep your family healthy during the winter?
1) Chia seeds are great. Have used them on salads and in homemade energy bars
2) I have a chocolate flavored hemp and regular hemp powder but they are both nasty to me. I’ve tried in smoothies and it just doesn’t work. Along with that, can’t do greens in my smoothies. Maybe it’s the texture. So I’ll take any new recipes for smoothies or anything in order to use my hemp powder and have it taste good!!
I find chia seeds need to soak in liquid like kefir to plum up.
Hemp hearts are quite pleasant to eat. I sprinkle them on top of peanut butter (not the healthiest food, I know, but I get fresh natural ground peanuts only). The powders probably don’t taste so good, but I would add to smoothies. Apples, bananas and berries usually make a great base for smoothies. I keep frozen bananas ready to add to a smoothie. Here is one of my eclectic combinations. I have a hard time limiting my ingredients! https://journeyboost.com/2014/02/04/morning-smoothie/
Becky
Hey Becky,
I is a Chia Seeds Freak 😉
Breakfast, mid-morning and mid-afternoon 🙂
An interesting thing that I have become aware of recently is the ratio of Omega-3 to Omega-6.
Seems like so many things are very high in Omega-6 which I understand causes an inflammatory response. Even my go to healthy FutureLife breakfast is Higher in Omega-6 than Omega-3, way higher. So now I take Omega-3 supplements and visit the nutritiondata site often.
Phill
Have you also discovered hemp seeds? They have Omega 3 and 6. I’m not sure of the ratio – it wasn’t on the package that I have. I read on one package of hemp that it is the food source closest to mother’s milk than any other! Full of good stuff and sustaining so that you aren’t hungry for a long time. I add it, along with all my other super foods, to my morning smoothie. You can also just eat a spoonful for some quick energy!
Hi Becky, I bought some chia seeds the other day to add to a gluten free cracker I was going to try. What else can you do with them? I didn’t grow up with them and so I would love any ideas for how to use them. Maybe a topic for a later post?
I’m sending my kids outside right now to help with the Vit. D. Of course I am still sitting here at the computer…..
Enjoyed your post.
I put chia seeds in my smoothies. You can put them in your water bottle with your water and they create a gel like consistency. It’s interesting to drink, but it’s supposed to keep you hydrated longer. I also put them in my raw chocolate yesterday. They’re also an add in to my yogurt for breakfast!
I regularly make Chia Breakfast salad which combines chia, kefir and so many other good things! You can use the search bar on the top right to find a couple of different versions of my chia breakfast.