I hate being sick. Having a bunch of kids in the house means I’m exposed to pretty much everything that’s going around. I do what I can to make sure my body is able to fight off as much as it can on it’s own, especially since I refuse to take antibiotics (I would of course take them if there was no other way, but I have yet to come across something I couldn’t either fight on my own or with the help of Mother Nature).

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Giving your immune system what it needs is worth the effort (and it’s not that hard). You will not only get sick less often, but you’ll feel better all the time even when you’re healthy. There are a few easy things you can do everyday that will help keep you from catching the office stomach flu next time it stops by.

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables. They’re loaded with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and fiber- all things that will help you. Click on my links for my top 5 fruits and veggies.
2. Get a regular, consistent amount of sleep. You body needs that time to heal and restore your immune system (which is working nonstop for you). Not getting enough rest means your immune system can’t fully recharge itself. Aim for at least 7 hours a night.
3. Get regular exercise. Working out strengthens your cardiovascular system, which in turn improves blood circulation (and all the good things that your blood carries around your body). Not only that but the lymphatic system- one important component of your immune system- requires physical movement in order for it to transport immune cells throughout your body.
4. Eat organic whenever possible (as close to 100% as possible). And I’m talking about produce, but also meat. Chemicals and pesticides in conventional food make your immune system work overtime to try to remove them from your body. Get rid of as many as possible, and suddenly your immune system isn’t working as hard.
5. Eat your Protein. Your body needs proper amounts of protein for building cells, so if it doesn’t have enough of what it needs, you immune system will come up short.
6. Reduce your stress level. We all operate under certain levels of stress, and sometimes there’s not a lot you can do about it. But, if you can schedule yourself one activity each week, whether it’s a massage or something as simple as a nap, it will help your body to function more efficiently, including your immune system.
7. Stay hydrated. We all know we’re supposed to be drinking 8 glasses of water a day. It’s easy to come up short though. The better hydrated your body, the better it can perform all the myriad of functions it had to do throughout the day.
8. Avoid antibiotics if you can. I have a family member who will go out and get antibiotics at the first sign of a cold. She doesn’t care if it’s bacterial or viral (antibiotics won’t work on viral infections). She figures she just wants to be better and so she’ll take them “just in case” it’s bacterial. The more you use antibiotics, the less you immune system has to work and do it’s job. Not only do you get sick more often, but you end up needing antibiotics more often to fight things off. Since I vowed to give them up, I’ve managed to stay free of them for 7 years and my body has learned to fight off sinus infections that I never thought I could get rid of on my own.
9. Probiotics and prebiotics. I’ve said this before, but taking care of your digestive system is key to a healthy immune system. All that good bacteria down there must be present and abundant to do it’s job. The problem is many of us do not eat the kinds of food that nurture good bacteria. Taking pre and probiotics will boost the bacteria in your lower digestive track and keeping things running smoothly.
10. Supplements. Get your daily antioxidants (A, C, E, and ALA), a vitamin B supplement, an Omega 3 supplement, and consider adding garlic as well. Note: if you’re going to take garlic make sure you buy the odor-free ones or you won’t just keep keeps viruses at bay.

I really don’t get sick often, especially when you consider that at least one of the four kids seems to be sick at any given time during the school year. The 10 things I detailed here are all things I try to do for all-around health and I’ve seen and experienced what they have done for my immune system as well.

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I’ve talked a lot about the importance of fruit and veggies in your daily life and even why we should try to  get organic whenever possible. That said, it’s easy to go the store and buy it, but it’s a whole different story to get yourself to eat it before it goes bad.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “I always go and buy a bunch of produce with the best intentions, but by the time I think about eating it, it’s already gone bad”. So, how do you motivate yourself more easily to eat your fruits and veggies? Preparation!

How many times can you recall going to the frig for a snack, seeing the strawberries or cantaloupe but deciding while it sounded good you weren’t in the mood to have to cut and slice it? If you think about your most common snacks, I bet they’re all super-easy to come by and required no preparation… like a handful of nuts or chips, right? I am the same way. Convenience will always trump choice.

So, to eliminate making less-healthy food choices when I want to snack, I make sure that my fruits and veggies are ready to go and right in front of my face if I open the frig. This works for my kids too, for all those parents out there trying to get their kids interested in fruits and veggies. I can ignore a cantaloupe sitting on the counter uncut for days, but if it’s in the frig and ready to eat, I almost always choose it over something else!

Any kind of fruit that needs prep work- pineapple, melon, strawberries, oranges, etc.- can be cut the minute you get home from the grocery store and put into storage containers. Even fruit that doesn’t need anything but washing can be washed and stored right away and then it’s ready to go at any time (think blueberries and grapes). Likewise, to get more veggies, make a “mini veggie tray” in a storage container with carrots, celery, cauliflower and broccoli. Add your other favorites too. Again, it’s the easiest thing in the world to pull it out at snack time; you get a serving of good stuff, and it’s guilt-free too.

If you make this a habit, then you’ll find that instead of feeling like you’re always prepping food, you instead do it one day each week, or a couple days a week depending on how fast you go through your produce. Give it a try, you’ll find out almost right away how easy it is to get more fruits and veggies into your daily routine.

For information on buying organic on a budget, check out my post here.

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I definitely didn’t think about it when I was in my twenties, but I certainly do now. Part of that is seeing my body and realizing that I am aging, but slowing aging is something that is important to me for health reasons- not just aesthetics. I look at my life in the future and I want to make sure that I’m as health and active as I can possibly be right up until the end. I once met a lady name Alice, who at 80 was skydiving in the winter in Arizona (I made a jump with her!), and kayaking in the summer in Colorado! Amazing. She has always been an inspiration to me.

Some of the key things I have found to be important include the following:

• Taking care of my “shell”. Since the skin is truly my barrier to the world, it seems appropriate that a certain amount of energy be dedicated to taking care of it. And hopefully, maybe some of that will translate into better looking skin later as well. My skin care regime is pretty simple. I make sure to give myself good all-over moisture at least once a day, usually when I get out of the shower, and I make sure I buy something good quality. Sunscreen is something I bring with me always, but I don’t use it right away, and here’s why. As for my face, it does get a daily coat of sunscreen, along with anti-oxidant vitamins everyday in a serum, and a good cleanser that is neither abrasive or riddled with chemicals. I also exfoliate my face and body on a regular basis to remove old skin and keep it fresh.

• Supplements! I have experimented with so many supplements that I  could open up a store out of my closet. Unfortunately, I am not that good at remembering to take everything all the time, but here are the ones I do remember because of their importance.
  • Probiotic- your immune system resides in your digestive track, so a daily probiotic will help keep your immune function running like a champ
  • Antioxidants A, C, and E- helps rid the body of free radicals which age your body.
  • Alpha-Lipoic-Acid (ALA)- another powerful antioxidant.
  • Omega 3′s- acts as an anti-inflammatory, improves brain function and cardiovascular health
  • Vitamin B supplement- B vitamins can help reduce stress and even keep your memory in tip-top shape, among other things. B12 in particular can help lower Homosysteine, which is a damaging amino acid that triples the amount of telomere (cap of your DNA) length lost during cell division (thinking aging cells).
  • Proper amount of vitamin D (either from the sun or from a supplement if necessary).
• Exercise for muscle maintenance. Every decade, we lose approximately 3 pounds of muscle! Exercise improves immune system function, lowers blood pressure, improves circulation, improves your balance and coordination, and keeps you feeling strong and healthy. My tip here is find something to do that you love, so you’ll stay with it for the long haul!
• Eating Right. The old saying “you are what you eat” holds especially true here. Making proper choices in your daily intake of food is an important part of slowing aging. I have written number articles on diet and nutrition, so explore A Splendid Life to find out more. A great place to start is my Quest for Health Series, but I think most of us already know the big ones: eat lots of fruits and vegetables, reduce or remove processed foods from your diet, and regulate your intake of things like sugar, dairy and gluten (remove them entirely if you can).

There are probably many different ways that people have found to slow aging. These are just my tricks, but I would love to hear some other ideas! Aging is inevitable, but we can at least fight the good fight, and hopefully end up like Alice in the end!

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