Tips for Staying Healthy this Winter

Benjamin Franklin is known to have said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Being proactive in maintaining health will pay dividends as we move into the challenging winter months.

Continue reading to discover ways you can help your immune system perform at a peak level. 

1. Maintain a Healthy Diet

It can be easy to slip into a diet made up of "comfort food" during the cold winter months. This is problematic because eating unhealthy food can impact your immune system's ability to defend itself. 

Research indicates that excessive sugar can negatively impact the immune system's response to pathogens and bacteria (1,2). 

Rather than reach for the comfort foods, make it a priority to eat a balanced diet. Clean protein along with organic fruits and veggies will help to keep your immune system fighting strong during the winter months!

Harvard indicates that micronutrient deficiencies can alter immune function (3). To safeguard against this, you could consider filling the gaps with a high quality multi-nutrient supplement like Essentially-U. 

2. Get Moving!

Regular exercise is one of the pillars of healthy living.

When it comes to immune health, researchers suggest more frequent, shorter sessions rather than fewer, longer sessions (4).

It doesn't take much. Evidence suggests that a 30 minute walk a few times a week can go a long way in supporting a strong immune system (5).

If you are new to exercise, check out our helpful article on the Best Exercises for Beginners.

3. Supplement With Important Vitamins and Minerals

As discussed, there is no supplement that can undo a poor diet. However, filling the gaps with essential vitamins and minerals can go a long way in supporting a healthy immune system (6). 

It is clear that there is a strong link between Vitamin D levels and immune health (7, 8). Testing vitamin D blood levels is a helpful way in determining whether or not you are at an optimal level.

For further information, you can check out our previous article with tips on how to get more Vitamin D.

There may be times where your immune system could use additional support. Using traditional herbs like echinacea (9, 10) elderberry (11, 12) and andrographis (13) could provide the additional boost your body needs to stay healthy. 

Our best-selling immune product, U-Mune, combines these well researched ingredients into one, convenient formula. 

4. Get Adequate Sleep 

According to Dr. Eric J. Olson, MD from the Mayo Clinic, sleep can have a major impact on your immune system. He suggests that an optimal amount of sleep for an adult is 7-8 hours each night (14).

If you are looking for ways to improve the quality of your sleep, be sure to check out our post that includes a sleep scientist's 10 best sleep tips.

Using a sleep diary can help you track your sleep and assist in establishing better sleep habits. 

If you struggle with occasional sleeplessness, Utzy has developed some phenomenal natural sleep aids. Our award winning formulas have helped many people get better sleep at night. 

5. Practice Good Hygiene

We know, this one seems pretty self explanatory, but it must be said - wash your hands!

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that hand washing is one of the most important things we can do to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others (15).

While hand sanitizer is better than nothing, they indicate that old fashion soap and water can be more effective than hand sanitizer in removing certain kinds of germs (16). They recommend washing your hands with soap and water whenever possible.

Wrap Up

One of the best things you can do to avoid getting sick is avoiding others who may already be sick.

In the situations that this is unavoidable, these tips will go a long way in supporting your immune system to work the way it is designed to.