Seven ways to avoid the flu

WASHING hands and staying away from sneezing co-workers are common ways to beat winter lurgies. After consulting a range of experts, BW Magazine has found the best ways to keep healthy and beat the flu.

• NSW sees record number of flu cases in first six months of year

AS the days get shorter, colder and darker it can be hard to hold on to your summer disposition and good health can slip by the wayside.

After consulting a range of experts, BW Magazine found beating the winter blues and staying healthy centres on similar themes — exercise, diet, gut health and lots of rest.

You can avoid the winter flu by keeping warm, eating warm foods and keeping your home healthy.

Here are our top tips to help you get through the winter months.

EAT CLEAN

It’s too easy to choose rich, high carb foods instead of fresh fruit and vegetables in winter which means missing out on essential vitamins, says nutritional medicine practitioner Fiona Tuck.

“We risk vitamin D deficiency because of the lack of sunshine and UVB rays,” she says.

“But small amounts can be found in mushrooms, dairy and fish with bones such as tinned salmon and sardines.”

Vitamin C helps boost immunity and can be found in citrus fruits, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

Garlic is also recommended — it contains properties which may assist the immune system to fight colds and flu.

Feeling blue? It may be more to do with your digestive system than the weather.

GET SOME SHUT-EYE

Tired seems to be everyone’s default setting these days and it has a detrimental effect on our bodies.

Carla Oates created her new Sleep beauty powder, with a mix of fruits, herbs and spices, to aid getting a restful night’s slumber.

“Sleep is just as important to our health as eating well and regular exercise,” she says.

“I think we really undervalue its importance.”

“Good sleep is vital for healthy skin, immunity and overall wellbeing, as it is the time when the body heals and finetunes itself, so you wake up rejuvenated.

“Too much screen time, high stress levels and alcohol before bed can inhibit sleep, so ignore your phone for half an hour before bed, have a warm bath or shower to help you relax, and sip on teas and tonics rather than booze before bed.”

Good sleep is vital for healthy skin, immunity and overall wellbeing.

GO WITH YOUR GUT

Feeling blue? It may be more to do with your digestive system than the weather, says nutritionist and Digestive Health Clinics founder Anna Paredes.

“The governing brain in our head is considered to be the first brain, the gut is known as the second brain and both work together simultaneously,” Paredes says.

“The gut contains 100 million neurons and is responsible for producing 90 per cent of the body’s supply of serotonin, the hormone that lifts mood and is synthetically placed in antidepressants.”

Paredes advises avoiding complex carbohydrates — such as wheat pasta, white rice and white bread — which can slow the digestive system.

Stretching boosts immunity.

HOME HEALTH

It’s natural to want to shut the door and turn up the heat when it gets cold, but that’s not necessarily the smartest move.

Australasian Society of Building Biologists president Narelle McDonald says ventilation is key to a healthy home — especially in winter.

“From an energy perspective you want to have the house closed but by doing that we affect the air quality, and indoor air quality has a direct impact on health,” she says.

“We do need fresh air. We spend 90 per cent of time indoors these days, so we need light and ventilation and to create homes that are about health and wellness.”

Allergens and mould can increase if stagnant air can’t escape, which is why fresh air is essential.

Vitamin C helps boost immunity and can be found in citrus fruits, cauliflower and brussels sprouts.

TURN UP THE HEAT. AND COLD

Follow the lead of those living in Nordic climes and expose your body to extreme temperatures.

Wellness clinic Vrai Health believes contrast therapy is the key to boosting immunity.

Its Hot Cold Oxygen therapy, a combination of sauna, cryotherapy and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, causes what founder Phil Goodwin terms “efficient energy alteration”.

“Hot and cold therapy is what is called contrast therapy and is something the Nordic people have been doing for centuries.

“The idea of taking your body from hot to cold supercharges your whole system and immediately strengthens your immune system.”

STRETCH IT OUT

Originally the domain of athletes, fascia stretch therapy is becoming mainstream.

David Beckham’s former personal trainer and fascia stretch expert Tegan Haining says it helps maintain the body’s flexibility and is an alternative to yoga.

“It is a unique way of stretching the body using traction to release the soft tissue or fascia locked up deep inside our joint capsules,” she says.

The benefits include better quality sleep, reduced aches and pains, and increased circulation, which boosts immunity.

“Fascia stretching also helps improve the blood flow throughout the body,” Haining says.

Staying warm and eating warm food is the key. Picture: Dylan Coker

ANCIENT WISDOM

In Ayurveda — a traditional Indian holistic health system — everything is assigned doshas, according to Dr Rama Prasad of the Sydney Ayurveda Centre.

Kapha, pitta and vata are used to categorise food, people and seasons.

Winter is vata dominant, so you need to balance it with kapha and pitta elements.

Dr Prasad recommends nourishing foods that are moist, oily and warm instead of cold, raw meals.

“Cold foods are no good. Stay warm. Warm food, warm lunch, warm drinks and make sure your home is well ventilated so it doesn’t have inferior air,” he says.

“If the gut is dry it can get constipated, so eat healthy oils and fats, such as coconut and sesame oils and ghee, help.”

Originally published as Seven ways to avoid the flu