Cold, Flu Season and Your Immune System
Cold and flu season can be a miserable time for many people. Nobody likes to get a cold or a dose of influenza, and if you happen to suffer from certain underlying conditions, you may have an even less enjoyable time. By ensuring that you get adequate nutrition, you may be able to support your immune system and make it easier to fight off seasonal infections.
When is the flu season?
Flu season tends to begin late in the year, as the weather turns cold and wet. There are many reasons why colds and flu are more prevalent during the fall and winter months. Cold weather itself can cause your immune system to become less effective in protecting you. Homes and businesses are often less well ventilated as doors and windows are closed to seal in the heat. Instead of enjoying the outdoors, people tend to spend their leisure time crowded together at home or in indoor venues. The air indoors is often drier due to heating, leading to dryness and irritation of the mucous membranes and a greater risk of infection. The result is a perfect recipe for coughs, colds, and influenza.
Some people only get a mild cold or two, while others become very sick several times over the winter. Those with existing conditions like asthma or chronic bronchitis can find flu season incredibly difficult. While colds are usually minor, they can lead to more serious secondary infections due to their respiratory tract effect. While many people are dismissive, doctors view the winter months with trepidation every year.
How to improve immunity to colds and flu
Luckily, you don’t have to resign yourself to the annual misery of colds, coughs, and uncomfortable symptoms. Rather than taking flu season lying down, you can use a daily immune system booster such as Vitamin C Shield to help fight off those pesky viruses and germs.
One way to give your immune system a positive boost is to take better care of your gut health. The gut microbiome is heavily implicated in immune health. You can improve the condition of your gut microbiome with healthy foods and especially with probiotics and prebiotics. Probiotic supplements contain friendly bacteria that improve your gut’s environment, making you better able to fend off many unwanted conditions. Probiotic supplements provide those friendly bacteria with the nutrients and physical environment that they need to thrive while making life more difficult for harmful bacteria. Body Kitchen has developed a complete probiotic formula – Digestive Balance – that also contains prebiotics. While probiotics take the healthy-bacteria role in our bodies, prebiotics act as a fertilizer or food for the probiotics so your body can restore its gut health.
Along with probiotics, a supplement that can help here is Body Kitchen’s Immune Shield. This is an advanced combination of immune-supporting herbs, vitamins, minerals, and a patented yeast strain created to support immune health. Immune Shield also contains beta-glucan, a type of fiber with strong prebiotic properties that helps increase macrophage cell activity.
Another remedy that people have been using for centuries to treat and prevent seasonal ailments is elderberry extract (Sambucus Nigra). In parts of Europe, particularly the chilly Nordic countries, elderberry preparations are a staple in every larder and medicine cupboard. Extracts, syrups, teas, jams — elderberry is used in a wide range of different forms and concentrations. Body Kitchen’s Nordic-Elder Shield harnesses the infection-fighting power of elderberry in a convenient capsule form and without any of the simple sugars that you get from most elderberry products out there.
Body Kitchen is an industry leader in traceability, quality, and ingredient-innovation. All products are made in the USA and backed by clinical trials. There is no flu-season for BK!
- For daily immune-system response and maintenance: Vitamin C Shield
- For more advanced immune-system support: Immune Shield + Digestive Balance
- For fast, powerful, optimal immune-system response: Nordic Elder Shield