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We are in the middle of cold and flu season, but that doesn't mean you have to get sick! There are simple steps you can take to supercharge your immune system and avoid sickness. I've been flu-free for years, so here are few of my QUICK TIPS how to avoid winter colds and flu.

A few years back, when I was still living a very unhealthy life, I was sick all the time. I would constantly have some inflammations, UTIs, and other infections. Every single winter, I was ill. Nose running, fever, aches, and pains. During the cold and flu season, I used to visit doctors all the time. And my doctor just pumped me with antibiotics. I was swallowing endless amounts of pills and vitamin supplements just to keep my body functioning. It was awful.

After a while, antibiotics stopped working, and as a result of taking so many medications, I started to have a serious gut and digestive problems. It led me to a point where I couldn't take antibiotics anymore because they just make me sicker.

Luckily, at that point, I started to take my health more seriously. I started eating WHOLESOME food and making overall healthier lifestyle choices. Eventually, I healed my gut, strengthened my immune system, and I got my body in optimal healthy shape.

So, when it comes to colds and flu, your first line of defense is to get that immune system in shape. Meaning you must make healthier eating choices, move more, and sleep. Following general good-health guidelines is the best step you can take toward keeping your immune system strong and healthy.

I think you'll agree with me that it's so much easier to prevent illness than spend time visiting doctors and going through endless rounds of antibiotics. So here are few of my QUICK TIPS on How To Avoid Winter Colds And Flu naturally:

1. USE ANTI-INFLAMMATORY SPICES DAILY

The immune system and inflammation go hand in hand, and causing an inflammatory response is one major way the immune system responds to a threat and starts to fight off bacteria or tissue damage. That’s why anti-inflammatory spices like ginger, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon, and garlic are staples in my kitchen, and I use them daily all year round. But during winter I kinda increase my usage. I incorporate these super spices into each of my meal - a double dose. I use them in everything from soups, to salads, to drinks.

These spices are like inexpensive secret weapons that just about everyone can take advantage of. Have Orange Mango Turmeric Smoothie Bowl for breakfast or Carrot Ginger Soup for dinner. Both are delicious and powered up with SUPERSPICES!

2. LOAD UP PLATES WITH COLORFUL FRUITS AND VEGGIES

Healthy immune system warriors need good regular nourishment so make sure you load your plates with lots of colorful fruits and veggies. And while all fruit and veggies are healthy, some deserve special mention for their ability to quell inflammation in our body. Like citrus fruits. Or dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens and Swiss chard. They all contain powerful antioxidants, flavonoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C – all of which help protect against colds and flu. Also, BLUEBERRIES rate very high in antioxidant capacity compared to other fruits and vegetables.

How does Blueberry Smoothie Bowl sounds? Yummy, right! And for an extra immunity punch, you can add anti-inflammatory spices to your fruits and vegetables to increase their antioxidant capacity. Like this cinnamon-packed Spicy Broccoli Soup.

3. DRINK HERBAL TEAS

Herbal teas are a great way to prevent illness. Not only do you get the medicinal benefits, but they are also great for soothing, warming, and relaxing. During cold winter days, I have lots and lots of tea. Nothing warms me better than a cup of tea, that's an honest truth. I love to have a cup of chamomile tea with fresh ginger root and a bit of honey in the evening. Also, green tea, matcha tea, black tea and other beautiful flu-fighting teas are on my menu daily.

If you're into lattes (like me) - great. How about frothy warming Matcha Green Tea Latte?

4. EAT FERMENTED FOODS

Optimizing your gut flora is important for a well-functioning immune system, which protects our body from colds and flu. In fact, the majority of inflammatory diseases start in your gut, as the result of an imbalanced gut flora.

Fermented foods, such as kefir, kimchi, miso, pickles, sauerkraut, olives, and other fermented vegetables, help with reseeding your gut with good bacteria. Fermented foods can also help your body get rid of harmful toxins. Try this kefir loaded Yogurt Lemon Smoothie or Mixed Berry Kefir Smoothie.

5. TAKE YOUR PROBIOTIC SUPPLEMENT

Taking in fermented foods is the optimal way to sustain your digestive health. But in these modern times, the community of our beneficial bacteria in our gut are under constant attack from the environment. Our poor diet, daily stress, over-medicating... all of these things disrupt the healthy balance of our gut flora. We can combat this by eating probiotics foods, but sometimes that just isn’t enough.

Taking a probiotic supplement  as a part of our daily routine is the way to ensure a sufficient amount of good bacteria that will keep our gut and our immune system in good shape. Learn how to choose good probiotic supplement. 

6. HYDRATE YOUR BODY

Keeping your body well hydrated helps your immune system function efficiently, so make sure you drink a lot of fluids. Pure water is the best, so keep your water bottle filled up and at hand all the time. If you’re using reusable bottles, just make sure you wash it with hot soapy water every day because reusable bottles can breed bacteria.

7. GET THE HUMIDIFIER

The humidifier is one amazing device and the best investment if you’re aiming to reduce your sensitivity to infection. It helps prevent you from getting sick in the first place and relieves cold and flu symptoms if you already caught a virus. It also keeps your face, lips, and hair from completely drying out during the winter.

8. GET ENOUGH OF SLEEP

You may have noticed you’re more likely to catch a cold or other infection when you’re not getting enough sleep. Lack of sleep leads to higher levels of a stress hormone - cortisol, that fires up inflammation in our body. Getting plenty of rest strengthens our immune system and protect us from nasty diseases.

Usually, 7 to 9 hours for an adult is enough. I try to sleep at least 8 hours a day. Sleeping is a key for good mood and health.

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While adding all these amazing superfoods in your diet, having plenty of sleep, and drinking water, it's also important to avoid those nasty pro-inflammatory processed foods like refined sugars, trans fats, and unhealthy cooking oils. Replacing processed foods with whole foods will affect not only your immunity system but overall body health.

The key to avoiding getting colds and flu every winter is keeping your body at optimal health all year round. That means having your immunity boosted up all the time. Avoiding getting sick starts with your diet. Food is an incredibly powerful tool.

Have you tried any of these strategies? If so, how have they worked? What are your favorite tips for preventing colds and flus? Let me know in comments below. 

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If you want to rid your body of inflammation you need to start thinking about what you're putting into your body. But to truly win your battle against inflammation, you’ll need to change other aspects of your lifestyle as well. Here are 5 tips How To Reduce Inflammation In The Body.

I wasn't always taking good care of my body. A few years back, my unhealthy lifestyle almost cost me my health. I was morbidly obese for years, eating junk, stressing too much and moved too little. I neglected my health to the point that I almost ruined it completely. Only when some serious conditions started to pop up - I started experiencing constant pains all over my body, in my abdomen, head, joints, my back, my skin was in awful condition too - that's when my alarm sounded on. It was A WAKE-UP CALL for me. I got worried and I decided to change my life completely.

I found out that the cause of all this pains and aches, this awful condition is something called chronic inflammation and that our daily choices are at the root of that condition. As I moved from all these unhealthy life and turned to more balanced one, filled with HEALTHY real foods, I started to feel better. The aches and pains started to weaken. Chronic inflammation decreased and my body began to heal.

If you're somewhere on that path and want to learn more about this horrible condition, then it's good you're here reading this. In this post, I will cover some basics about chronic inflammation and how to reduce its impact on your health.

What is inflammation?

Inflammation is actually a good thing. It's the natural protective response of our immune system to something harmful like injury, bacteria or viruses. For example, if you cut your finger, your immune system will respond by sending white blood cells to repair the wound. These cells then trigger an acute, or temporary inflammatory response to aid the healing process. The process works similarly if you have an infection like the flu or pneumonia. So in these case, inflammation is essential - without it, injuries wouldn't heal and simple infections could be deadly.

But when inflammation sticks in our body for too long, it starts damaging our body and becomes potentially dangerous for our overall health. That is chronic inflammation, and in one word it's BAD. Chronic inflammation has been linked to almost every major disease - - like heart diseases, stroke, arthritis diabetes, autoimmune diseases, allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, even some cancers.

Chronic inflammation is triggered by many factors, but most of them are really within our control and can be avoided or replaced. Common causes of chronic inflammations are for example:

• poor food choices - like eating processed foods, too many factory farmed animal products, refined sugar and sugary drinks, trans fats and certain unhealthy saturated fats, excess use of alcohol
• unhealthy gut system
• food allergies
• chronic infections - like bacteria, viruses, yeast, parasites
• stress and exhaustion
• inactive lifestyle

When does chronic inflammation starts to be seriously dangerous? Well over time, if it's not treated, this chronic inflammation that's been going on in your body wears out your immune system which then may lead to developing various health issues and chronic diseases.

How To Reduce Inflammation In The Body

Chronic inflammation may sound scary - well it kinda is when you think about all these diseases, but don't be discouraged to actually do something about it. Because you surely CAN do something about it. With just a few simple lifestyle changes you can reduce inflammation in your body and regain your health.

Here are some simple choices that will make a big difference. This will help in keeping inflammation down or under control, so you can start living pain-free.

1. EAT HEALTHY FOODS

If you want to get rid your body of inflammation you need to start thinking about what you're putting into your body. Some foods make inflammation worse - like fried foods, refined sugar, white bread, pastry, and other foods that contain refined carbohydrates, soda, and sugary drinks, margarine and highly processed cooking oils. But there are also plenty of tasty anti-inflammatory foods that can make things better and help the body heal itself.

You should fill your plates with fatty fish loaded with anti-inflammatory omega 3 fatty acids, vegetables like broccoli, kale and cauliflower and other green leafy veggies, whole grains like brown rice, quinoa and bulgur, nuts, berries, and legumes - to lower levels of inflammation. These foods will fill your body with the vitamins, minerals, cancer-fighting antioxidants, and fibers that our body needs to recover. Also, spices like ginger and turmeric posses powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Include them in your daily meals too.

When you plan your meals and make a shopping list, remind yourself that fresh is always the best option. Fresh and seasonal fruits and veggies - organic if possible - have nutrients at their highest. And keep these healthier choices in mind when dining out, too.

You may want to read this:

• How to Start Meal Planning in 3 Simple Steps
• 5 Simple Diet Tweaks That Will Improve Your Health
• Seasonal Produce Guide: Eat healthy throughout all season

2. KEEP YOUR GUT HEALTHY

Healthy immunity starts with the healthy gut. In other words, if your gut is in bad shape, your immune system is in some serious trouble. So you should put your maximum effort to heal your gut and keep it in nice balance if you want to hold your inflammation under control.

Our gut is affected with bad diet and lack of good bacteria. A great way to start healing your gut is by taking daily probiotic or probiotic-rich food - like kefir, fermented foods, kombucha, yogurt, miso.

Check out some of these probiotic-rich recipes:

• Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt Parfait
• Orange Mango Turmeric Smoothie Bowl
• Grapefruit Ginger Smoothie

3. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

Unfortunately, we are surrounded by toxins. In some cases, they can't even be avoided. Pesticides, heavy metals, air pollution, toxic chemicals in beauty products and home cleaning products, mold, etc. Exposure to these toxins have a huge impact on chronic inflammation. Keeping our body well hydrated is one of the key strategies to make sure the body is able to effectively detox itself from toxins.

Also, your cells require adequate hydration to function properly. In general, the more hydrated you are, the less inflammation will be present in your body. So keep your glasses full and your body well hydrated. Remember - water is the best!

4. TAKE TIME TO REST AND RELAX

It's not just the bad diet and toxins that affect our health and cause inflammation. Emotional health and stress play a big role in inflammation too. When we are stressed out our body produces the hormone cortisol which is like inflammation BFF. So lowering your anxiety and avoiding stuff that stresses you out is a great way to reduce inflammation. Try yoga, meditation, long walks, short walks - any walks. Do less technology and socialize more with people you love.

Also, don't forget to rest. Most doctors recommend 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep deprivation ruins your immune system and fires up inflammation.

You may want to read this:

• 5 Ways To Keep Your Mind and Body Healthy
• Ways To Live Healthy With A Busy Schedule

5. LOSE WEIGHT AND MOVE MORE

The human body is designed for motion. This applies to just about every organ in our body - the bowels, urinary tract, circulation, muscles. Keeping our body in motion is what keeps the body healthy. When we become stagnant, totally couch-bound, then problems arise and we often get tons of inflammation.