The flu season has officially arrived and with the media trying to scare the bezeezy out of us with the swine flu, it’s going to be good to protect our bodies and build up our immune systems to their maximum potential.

I used to get sick a lot and it was mostly because I had a weakened immune system.  Unfortunately I didn’t know what I’m about to tell you and if I did I would have spent many fewer days laying around with a cold than I should have.

1. Get Some Sleep – Sleep can strengthen and recover our bodies more than anything else.  And we all feel it when we aren’t getting enough sleep.  A scientist said that sleeping is the bodies greatest antioxidant and there are so many processes going on when we’re sleeping that it’s amazing.  I would recommend getting the 8 hours of sleep that’s always been suggested but also go to bed by 10:30. Going to bed at 1am and getting up at 9am isn’t nearly as good as going to sleep at 10:30 and waking up at 6:30am because of our bodies natural circadium rhythms.

2.  Lay Off the Sugar – Sugar and other artificial sweeteners wreak havoc on our bodies and you can bet they weaken our immune systems.  A study found that people who ate sugar had a weakened immune system for 8-12 hours after consuming it and the groups that didn’t eat sugar killed 14 times as much bacteria.  So go with natural fruits, stevia and raw honey if you’re craving those sweets.

3.  Drink Your Water – Dehydration means bad news to our bodies and puts our whole system in a weakened state.  Even when our bodies get 1 or 2% dehydrated our bodies will feel the effects.  Drinking a good amount of water is also a great means of natural detoxification and will help rid the body of all the bad stuff.  Try using the pee test, if your pee is clear than you’re clear, if it looks like apple juice then keep on drinking!

4.  De-Stress Your Life – Stress can be a royal pain in the “you know what” because sometimes we just can’t avoid it.  When we are stressed our bodies release hormones such as Cortisol which help to keep us going strong so we can persevere through whatever we are trying to accomplish.  Unfortunately a lot of us are always moving and are WAY to stressed out, hormones are constantly flowing and adrenal fatigue can set in.  Try relaxing every know and again and let your body recover from our stressful lives.

5.  Keep Moving – We always need to keep moving and to have some exercise in our lives for lymph system.  The lymph system is like a superhighway for our white blood cells which we all know fight off the foreign invaders.  This can be done by exercising, bouncing on a trampoline and even by doing some great deep breathing exercises.

6.  Eat Colorful Fruits & Vegetables – Eating more of these guys will help build up your immune system to ensure it’s a virus killing machine.  Stay away from the white stuff and go for varieties in color.  My Grandpa always told me to “eat the fruit of the season, it’s mother nature’s way of taking care of us.”  Try to get 10 servings a day and keep mixing it up so you don’t get too bored!

7.  Get Your Antioxidants & Phytochemicals - Start strengthening your body natures way by getting in your antioxidants such as pomegranate, blueberry and acai juice.  Also get some bacteria fighting phytochemicals from consuming more garlic, ginger, mushrooms and drinking green tea.