Kicking the Concord Crud

By now, if you haven’t caught the “Concord Crud”, you’re one of the few.  It’s hard to maintain your health when you’re in class with that one person who has a cold and refuses to cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze, or if they do cover their mouth, they rub their snot covered hands all over the desks.  Not only that, maintaining a healthy diet that boosts your immune system is difficult to do when you have a limited option of healthy foods, unless your ideal meal includes chicken sandwiches and burgers in the cafeteria.  Nonetheless, here are some things to keep in mind while trying to avoid the crud as we tough out these last few weeks of classes until we venture back to the homeland to be knocked into a food coma.

It may go without saying that exercise plays an essential role in maintaining your health.  According to an article on how to boost your immune system from Harvard Health Publications, exercise “improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases. Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system. It may contribute even more directly by promoting good circulation, which allows the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently.”  If you don’t already have a regular work-out routine, starting one now this close to the end of the semester can be difficult.  Even if you don’t regularly go to the gym, find ways to work-out in your dorm room.  Do some sit-ups, jumping jacks, push-ups, or some yoga to get the morning juices flowing before class.  Do the same before you go to bed, a little bit of exercise may even help you sleep better.

Speaking of sleep, it’s something we all love, but never seem to have enough time for.  However, sleep is crucial when it comes to maintaining your health.  According to mercola.com, a website authored and run by Dr. Mercola, an osteopathic physician, if you stay up late at night, depriving yourself of sleep, you send conflicting signals to your body.  As a result, your body gets confused and doesn't know whether it should be producing chemicals to help you sleep, or gear up for the beginning of a new day.  Basically, try and establish a sleep routine that works with your schedule.  If you don’t have class until 11:00 a.m., you can afford to stay up until 2:00 a.m.  However, if you’re unlucky enough to have an 8:00 a.m. or 9:00 a.m. class, you should probably aim to be in bed by at least midnight.  However, those six to eight hours are only going to count if you get sound sleep.  A helpful way to get a better night of rest is to avoid any electronics an hour before you go to sleep.  In this day and age it’s unlikely that we’re not falling asleep with our phone in bed with us.  Try and do your nightly exercises right before you go to bed, or pick up a good book to read or catch up on some of that reading you’ve been putting off for class.

According to webmd.com, echinacea is a flowering plant that grows in the U.S. and Canada, and it's been used as medicine for centuries.  According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, several laboratory studies suggest that echinacea contains active substances that boost immune function, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, and have hormonal, antiviral, and antioxidant effects.  It’s arguable whether or not you should take echinacea regularly as a preventative or not.  While some doctors say you should only take it when you feel the symptoms of a cold setting in, others say there are no known side effects as to whether taking the supplement produces any negative effects if taken regularly.  Recommended dosages include taking two to three capsules a day when you feel the symptoms of a cold setting on, then continuing to take the supplement 48 hours after you no longer have any symptoms.  Echinacea comes in capsules that you can either take like a pill or split open and brew into a tea.  They also have echinacea tea that you can buy at most grocery stores.  

Being a student makes it hard to eat healthy.  On campus, there are a limited number of healthy options unless you have the money to eat at Subway every day, or unless you don’t mind having salad for lunch and dinner 7 days a week.  However, it’s important that you’re getting all of the necessary nutrients you need.  Some ways to make it easier are finding foods or drinks that contain a lot of the nutrients you need.  For example, fruit smoothies or protein shakes are a great way to get in a lot of nutrients without having to eat a full meal.  Bolthouse Farms and Naked drinks have almost a full serving of fruits and vegetables in them.  There are lots of recipes on Pinterest that have smoothies that include a full daily serving of fruits and veggies.  Other foods that help boost your immune system are garlic and orange juice.  Instead of using salt on your food or when cooking, you can substitute it for garlic salt.  When you go to take that Dr. Pepper out of your fridge to take with you to class in the morning, fill up an empty bottle with some orange juice instead.  Another way to tweak your diet is to choose whole wheat or multi-grain breads instead of white bread.  So the next time you go to order your sub on Italian herbs and cheese bread, give it a second thought and consider going with wheat instead.

Maintaining a healthy diet, getting enough exercise, and getting enough sleep are all crucial to protecting your immune system during the cold season.  There are plenty of foods you can choose and substitute for foods that you choose now.  Instead of buying whole fruit that goes to waste quickly, think about opting out for a Bolthouse Farms or Naked juice instead.  Substitute your daily soda with a healthier option, even if it’s a caffeinated tea, if that’s what you need to get through the day.  Try to fit some exercises in when you wake up in the morning to get your juices flowing and do some at night to help you sleep better.  Put away the electronics if possible for a more sound sleep.  You don’t need to completely change your diet or your daily routines, but little by little, try and fit in a few more exercises and few more healthy foods to boost your immune system, not just during the holiday season, but all year round.