As you know if you follow my blog or social media, I brought in 2018 with a slight cold, and was sick for the first few days of the year. I asked you guys over on Instastories a couple weeks ago if you’d like to see my top tips for how to beat a cold since flu season is upon us and you guys were totally into it! These are the exact things that I use and recommend every time I find myself feeling under the weather.
1. Drink tons of apple juice
Most of the time you will really only see me drinking water, coffee or champagne/wine; however, when I am sick my immediate go-to drink is apple juice. This goes back to my childhood days when I would stay home from school sick, and my mom would basically force feed me apple juice, ha! She swears by it and honestly it’s stuck with me ever since. Apple juice is full of vitamin C (since apples are a great source of vitamin C), which the body uses to fight off illnesses and boost the immune system. I like to drink one or two glasses over ice everyday that I’m sick, or if I’m even feeling a cold coming on, a glass usually does the trick. Pro-tip: check the nutrition label on the bottle before buying it and try to find one with the least sugar content and minimal ingredients. You want pure apple juice, not with all the additives that some companies add into fruit juices.
Don’t like apple juice? You can also get a bunch of vitamin C from Emergen-C packets! They come in a few different flavors and it’s just a little powdered drink mix that you add to your water to get a TON of vitamin C into your diet.
2. Eat fresh fruits and veggies
When I am sick, I swear that my body just needs all the nutrients that I don’t always fit into my daily diet. To give myself a boost, I try to add in some fresh fruits and vegetables; they’re easier to digest since they’re natural foods plus they have tons of good vitamins and nutrients that your poor body is craving. During my most recent cold, I decided to pick up a mixed fruit salad from the grocery store and a fruit smoothie to drink in the morning for breakfast. This C-Boost Smoothie by Bolthouse Farms was SO GOOD and packed with vitamin C (are you seeing a trend here? Ha!) which I loved. I got it in the big size so that I had one glass per day for about four days. Smoothies are also great to soothe a sore throat so I highly recommend them. I’m thinking that I might start trying to buy these more regularly anyways, so that I’m constantly getting more vitamins on a regular basis to prevent future colds.
3. Rest!
This one is obvious but not always the easiest to do. If you’re like me, you always feel the need to go, go, go! But when you’re sick, your body really just needs to rest. That means staying home, in bed or on the sofa, and getting lots of sleep. Using as little energy as possible is so important because your body is already using a ton of energy to fighting off the infection/cold; so if you’re out running around and going about business as usual, you’re actually taking energy away from the fight against your cold and making your body use it elsewhere. Proper rest and relaxation will definitely shorten the lifespan of your cold, so while it may feel weird taking a break from your routine and unplugging for a few days, it’ll totally be worth it!
4. Don’t forget to stay clean!
Another quick tip that I find always makes me feel a bit better when I’m sick, is to bathe and brush my teeth as normal. When you’re home sick in bed, it’s easy to “forget” or just not feel like doing the usual things like showering and brushing your teeth but these can really help you feel better! First of all, lots of bacteria and germs live in your mouth so regularly brushing helps to get rid of some of those, plus fresh breath never hurt anybody, ha! Showering or taking a hot bath are great because it not only cleans your body and can make you feel fresh and more human, but the steam is also great for your nose. It helps to loosen up everything going on in there (without going into too much detail lol) and opens up your airways to help you breathe easier.
So those are my top four tips to beat a cold this flu season. What are some of your go-to cold-fighters? I absolutely hate being sick so I’d love to know some of your tips and tricks. Comment below or head on over to Instagram or Facebook so we can all see!
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