Simple Ways Minnesotans Can Fight The Illnesses Going Around

We’re coming off of the holiday season and the side effect of that, other than the depletion of funds from our bank accounts, is that the flu and other illnesses are on the rise.  

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If you’re lucky enough to not have had to deal with any of the “ick” that is going around, how do you give yourself the best chance to not get it.  

For some, the first step is the flu vaccine. I’ll let you decide how you feel about those. 

But there are a few other things you can do to help yourself so that you don’t get sick, or if you do, you reduce the effect it has on your body. 

I found a 2022 article from the Mayo Clinic talking about the steps we can take. Many of us know the get plenty of rest, exercise and eat a balanced diet mantra that health care officials have used for years.  

The sleep part of that is pretty obvious, the more rest you get, the stronger your body is to fight things off. The exercise part of this comes into play because you’re releasing stress which can bog your body down and work against you by breaking down your immune system. 

When it comes to your diet, the foods you eat can contain ingredients that work as a weapon for you in fighting germs. 

Beta Carotene: Foods like carrots, sweet potatoes, mangos, spinach, broccoli, and tomatoes can help strengthen your immune system to be prepared to fight off illness or at least reduce the duration you have to deal with it. 

Vitamin C: We all know that berries, fruits, and melons contain Vitamin C, but tomatoes, bell peppers and broccoli also contain the Vitamin C that you need. 

Vitamin D: Milk and 100% juices have Vitamin D in it, but fatty fish and eggs are also good sources of this Vitamin as well. 

Zinc: Beef and Seafood dishes contain Zinc, and our bodies are more likely to absorb what we need from these dishes.  

Probiotics: This is a good bacteria found in yogurt and fermented foods that helps in our fight to stay healthy.  

Protein: There are a variety of foods that contain the protein we need to help keep us strong. Foods like chicken, beef, eggs, seafood, beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, milk and yogurt.  

Don’t forget to wash your hands and sanitize public areas where germs congregate along with putting the above listed items into your body to give yourself the best chance to avoid what so many people have picked up already this year.