The importance of hand-washing and healthy eating
Why me? you think, as you feel yet another sore throat coming on. You get a flu shot and take multivitamins so why should you keep getting sick?
Despite your best efforts...
You might think you're doing everything right in your quest to avoid getting sick, but every aspect of your lifestyle can affect your immune system (that is, your body's system of organs and cells that fight against infections, bacteria and disease). If you seem to catch every bug that comes around, you might want to take a close look at your everyday habits.
To help ensure your habits are healthy ones, Dr. Theodore B. Hoekman, professor of medical informatics at Memorial University of Newfoundland, shares tips for keeping nasty cold bugs from holding you down this season.
1. Lather, rinse, repeat
You already know that frequent hand-washing is a good health standard (as is singing Happy Birthday in your head before you rinse off the soapy lather). Now's the time to amp it up -- the more germs floating around, the more diligent you should be about hand-washing. "The best avoidance strategy for colds and flu viruses is aggressive hand-washing after every public encounter where there is a risk of contaminated surfaces which you may touch," says Hoekman.
2. Eat well
"In general, having a well-balanced diet is helpful in maintaining strong immunity," says Hoekman. Following Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating is a great start to getting the right nutrients to keep your body's defences strong. Eating lower amounts of whole-grain carbohydrates is a good idea, but Hoekman warns against pushing this idea too far (i.e.: last year's no-carb craze), which can negatively affect your health. Be sure to get omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish, dark leafy greens and some nuts and seeds) and omega-6 fatty acids (found in eggs, poultry and whole-grain breads), which are essential to healthy eating. (For more information, read Nutrition for a healthy immune system.)
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