I think a lot of people have a “winter arsenal” of ways to stay healthy with all the bugs and things going around! If you have a family, or even if it’s just you, staying healthy through the winter is a big deal, and something that everyone wants, right?! We’ve got a few things that we’ve found to help us so much, and when you have a family of 4 kids (where things can easily get passed around), it’s a big deal if something works!
1. Sleep.
This is often underestimated, but when our kids (and we) get our sleep, our bodies are so much stronger to fight off the germs going around. I’m a night owl, so this is something I need to make myself do – just go to bed, for the love!
2. Dressing for the Weather.
This might seem obvious, but if my kids are getting a runny nose, I ALWAYS make them wear socks and slippers in the house. They prefer to go barefoot everywhere, but somehow keeping an extra layer on their feet (and rubbing with essential oils) and over their chests can make a big difference too. I also run a diffuser or vaporizer at night with a few drops of essential oil, and that helps both prevent the sickness and help with the very dry air that we have in our house.
3. Supplements.
You better believe that although we try to eat a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, and we LOVE juicing fresh oranges for that best-ever orange juice and the straight-up Vitamin C, we are strong believers in a couple of supplements that help tremendously with keeping our immune systems healthy.
Vitamin D,
Vitamin C,
Probiotics, and
multi-vitamins for adults and for kids are our standard go-to’s on a daily basis from my favorite product line, and we also add things like
Echinecea and
Silver and
additional Vitamin D drops.
These are some the best immune boosters we’ve found, and things that have fought off colds and coughs like nobody’s business… I know that it’s expected that families with little kids are just perpetually sick all winter, but that hasn’t been the case for us. While Zoe had a weekend bug last fall, and the other kids had a small bout with a mild flu the beginning of this winter (that lasted less than 24 hours for three of the kids), and then two of the kids caught a 12-hour stomach bug later that month (at a sleepover at their aunt Claudia’s house, can you even imagine?! How awful for her!), we’ve had a very good season overall, and have hardly even had a sniffle since the beginning of January. Knock on wood!!! :)
I know we don’t live in a perfect world and perfection isn’t even the goal – even my favorite supplements aren’t magic!! But when we are proactive in our health, it really is just plain old fun to see how we can build our immune systems and help our bodies be strong and healthy as they were intended to!
A recent article in Clean Eating Magazine titled “5 Supplements To Start Taking Now” lists these as 5 supplements you must take: a multivitamin, antioxidant, fish oil, Vitamin D, and a probiotic.
I get all of these in just 3 supplements from my favorite product line, and they give me results I’m so pleased with! Plus, they are so easy to take. A big win for a busy family.
-I love a multivitamin, XFactor, complete with Vitamin D, an aloe blend to help with absorption, AND New Zealand Black currant (a powerful antioxidant).
– We take a probiotic WITH an antifungal, enzymes, 5 strands of bacteria and GOOD yeast to replace the bad, as well as vitamins to heal my gut and balance my ph level.
– MegaX, a complete omega supplement, meaning it contains Omegas 3-6-9-5-7. It is PLANT BASED, ALA and SDA rich, and since it is plant based there are no fishy burps! Big deal for me, because I simply CANNOT take anything that tastes bad, even if I know it’s good for me.
So there you have it. Some of our favorite tools that your body needs, and that we keep in our winter arsenal. ;) I’d love to hear some of your favorite things that have helped you and your family!
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I also find that wearing socks and slippers indoors in the wintertime makes a big difference. I take Plexus probio and bio cleanse and Xfactor when I’m traveling and I no longer get sick. It’s amazing. I travel for work quite a bit and used to get really under the weather either the last day of the trip or right when I get home because of all the demands on my energy. I’d also get constipated (TMI, I know) but I don’t have those issues anymore. So thankful to have discovered ways to take care of my body!
This is our healthiest winter yet…and it’s been such a blessing! Plexus…our favorite supplements, homemade yogurt, kombuchi, vitamin d, oils, proper rest and hydration…love to help keep our immunities as strong as possible.
My kids rarely get sick. This winter we hardly even had need of tissues for the sniffles. My daughter had a fever for about 24 hours with no other symptoms and that was the extent of our ills this winter. I really don’t know why but I’m grateful. And a bit fearful that some winter we are going to get hit hard, and I won’t know how to cope. I still make plans for prevention every fall. 1) We sleep lots in this house. I seriously haven’t found anyone who sleeps as much as my youngest. At 5, he still takes two hour naps occasionally and has 10 or 11 hour nights. 2) We add lemons to our water. 3) We wash hands a lot. 4) We take probiotics, C, & D when we remember.
Going to have to keep checking comments so I can add to my arsenal of preventions.
love your arsenal- good common sense there! in addition to most of those, sauerkraut & fermented carrots, kombucha, homemade yogurt, staying hydrated, & echinacea/goldenseal at the very first sign of illness as well as zands lozenges w/ zinc (elderberries is our fav, but the lemon mint is yummy & powerful, too) are our go-to health soldiers! =)