It's the time of year where everyone is either trying to avoid getting sick, or getting over a cold or flu. I've been feeling like I'm on the brink of a cold mayself(yes, Holistic Nutritionists get sick sometimes too!). So I wanted to pass along a list of all the things NOT to do, because I think sometimes we do things out of habit(maybe they were ideas passed along from our grandparents) or we do things because we heard from our cousin's mom's best friend that it's a proven remedy. Here are some ways that you can practice listening to your body's cues instead(because our bodies always know what's up!), and maybe some ways you can save some money by not purchasing unnecessary supplements.
1. DON'T EAT IF YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE IT: your body will tell you if it needs nutrients by giving you a hunger cue. Just because it's traditionally your breakfast time, or dinner time, it doesn't mean you have to eat at that time. Sometimes your body might be needing a break from digesting to fight off the virus or bacteria. Sip on some herbal tea or hot water and lemon instead until you feel hungry.
2. EAT FOOD IF YOU FEEL HUNGRY: this is the opposite of the one above, but kind of along the same lines. A lot of times we follow folklore that tells us to "starve a cold" or to only drink liquids and no solid foods, but if your body is saying it's hungry, then it usually means it needs nutrients in order to fight what's going on in your body. For example, I've been craving all the fats the last 2 days, so I've been having foods like salmon or avocado, whereas my grandma or my mom would tell me to stick to a diet of soup and ginger tea(which can both be great during a cold too!). Try listening to what YOUR body is telling you it needs.
3. ORANGE JUICE IS NOT A CURE-ALL: Now, I'm not saying you should never ever drink orange juice, but I feel like sometimes we rush out to buy it because we think it's the IT thing we need when we're catching a cold. But it actually contains a lot of sugar(especially store bought orange juice) and that can feed the bacteria that's brewing in your system, which is the opposite of what we want. HOWEVER, if you are genuinely craving orange juice(I usually do when I'm feeling sick), I would recommend finding a cold-pressed juicery where you live and grabbing one of their fresh juices. Today I had one from my favourite local juicery made with orange, apple, turmeric and lemon.
4. DON'T RUN OUT AND GET A MULTI-VITAMIN: multi-vitamins are a super low-dose of a bunch of different vitamins, but instead, when we're coming down with a cold, we actually need a high dose of only one or two of those vitamins. I would recommend talking to your nutritional practitioner, and getting your body's proper dosage of vitamin C, Vitamin D3 and a good quality probiotic(good bacteria to help crowd out the bad bacteria that's brewing in the gut before a cold).
5. DO NOT JUST "PUSH THROUGH": If you work full time or part time, you likely have a certain number of sick days per year, and most workplaces want you to take those days when you're fully sick and can't even lift your head off the pillow. But usually, colds and flus don't just come out of the blue: we feel a little tickle in our throat, or we start to feel really tired or low energy. That's when a lot of us think we need to "push through". In fact, that's the time that our bodies are asking us to slow down and to rest. Maybe if we take that one day off to rest, our bodies have a chance to fight it off, instead of waiting until we are really sick, when we might have to take 2 or 3 days off. Try honouring your body's need for rest before you get sick.