tissues for a Winter illness

5 Tips to Protect Yourself From Illness This Winter

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From common colds to stomach bugs, we all know that illness can spread during the Winter months.

With cooler temperatures and weakened resistance to illness, it’s important to find a few ways to protect yourself in the Winter season. It’s always better to prevent a cold, rather than try to cure it once you feel ill.

In this blog post, I’ve put together 5 tips to protect yourself from illness this Winter. I hope these ideas can help you and your family stay happy and healthy throughout the long, cold Winter season.

I am not a doctor or medical professional. These are just a few ideas to stay healthy, based on my experience or common sense.

1. Stay warm!

It’s easier said than done in the Winter months, but staying warm is so important! Make sure to pile on the layers when you head outside, especially if you’re going out at night, in the rain, or if you might be outside for a prolonged period of time.

Try adding a scarf to your Winter outfit, to protect your neck and throat from the cold, or throw on some gloves to keep your hands warm and toasty.

cup of tea and biscuits

You could also invest in a few teas or other hot drinks. Green tea is great for you, or you could drink a soothing peppermint tea if you’re feeling a bit under the weather.

There are also special hot drinks with ingredients such as echinacea. This ingredient helps to protect against infection in the body, or you can take it to reduce symptoms if you catch a cold.

2. Use hand sanitiser and masks

If you’re worried about catching a cold this Winter, use hand sanitiser and masks to protect yourself. Just like during the pandemic, masks and sanitiser can help to keep away the germs, especially if you’re particularly worried about respiratory illnesses.

disposable masks

You don’t have to wear a mask all the time, but you could choose to wear it in busy areas or around lots of people.

If you’re going on a train or you’re heading to a concert, you could pack a couple of masks and hand sanitiser just in case.

3. Take supplements

One of the best ways to protect yourself from illness in Winter is to take supplements. Everyone needs different vitamins and minerals, but common ones include vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin B6 and B12, iron, vitamin E and zinc.

Vitamins and minerals are essential to make sure your body functions optimally, and many of us may be deficient without realising.

You could do some research into the best vitamins for you, or simply take a multivitamin to build up your body and keep yourself healthy this Winter.

4. Think about your diet and lifestyle

Although supplements can help you get essential vitamins and minerals, it’s also important to think about your diet and how it can work to your advantage this Winter.

You might want to eat an extra helping of foods with vitamin C, for example. This vitamin can help your body fight infection and build up your immune system.

fruit salad- healthy food to prevent illness this Winter

Choose foods that fill your body with the right stuff, including hearty, warming meals and food packed full of vitamins. This will give your body the best possible chance to fight any potential illnesses or infections.

It’s also important to think about your lifestyle. If you work constantly and don’t get enough sleep, you won’t be able to fight off illness as quickly as someone who makes sure they always get a good sleep.

5. Build up your gut

Your gut is central to your immune system. Healthy gut bacteria helps your mind and body function at its best, making sure your immune system is always strong and healthy.

Build up your gut by eating foods that include lots of probiotics, such as yogurt or cabbage. You can also take probiotics as a supplement to boost your gut microbiome and help your body fight off any potential infections.

It is also a good idea to reduce sugar, as this can reduce the amount of good bacteria in the gut and cause inflammation.

Keeping your gut healthy and strong can help to prevent all types of infections and illness, such as a stomach bug or just a common cold.

Do you have any tips to protect yourself against illness this Winter? Let me know in the comments!

Take care everyone x

2 Comments

  • Caroline

    Love these tips Ali! I had covid just over a month ago, and now I am determined to not get a winter cold. Vitamins and hand sanitiser are my essentials x

    • Ali Duke

      I have had an awful cough. I try to protect myself as much as I can, but working in a shop, I deal with a lot of people and that doesn’t help me.

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