5 Ways To Stay Flu Free

Flu season is rapidly approaching, and now is the time to start taking action to reduce your risk of catching the flu.

The flu is a serious virus that causes serious complications in the body. Below are 5 key tips that will help you stay flu free during the coming season.

1. Always wash your hands – especially after the bathroom, before you eat, and after you cough or blow your nose.

Rub soap between your hands for a good 20 seconds (a good way to know if you have washed your hands long enough is to sing the ABC’s) and rinse your hands in warm water.

2. Cough into a tissue or cough into your elbow instead of your hands. Cover both your nose and mouth when you cough.

3. Don’t rub your eyes, nose, or mouth – this is how germs spread the fastest.

4. Avoid contact with others who are sick with the flu (because it is very contagious).

5. Get vaccinated. Contact your doctor to get a flu shot. The vaccination is usually available around September.

The symptoms for the flu are:
- runny or stuffy nose
- coughing
- sore throat
- body aches and tiredness
- fever (over 100F/38C)
- headache
- vomiting and diarrhea

Having these symptoms doesn’t automatically mean you have the flu. Other illnesses can have the same symptoms… like the common cold.

If you develop these flu-like symptoms, visit your doctor especially if you are at high risk for flu complications (people older than 65, young children, pregnant women, and people with chronic medical conditions).

Ways To Manage Stress

Too much stress can start to harm your body physically, mentally, and spiritually. Therefore, it’s important to learn how to manage stress in stressful situations.

Ways to manage stress:

1. Exercise – gives the body a positive outlook about stress. When you are exercising your body is going through stress – your muscles are tight…your blood pressure is raised…your breathing is fast. You are forcing your body and mind to adapt to stress. Exercise is one of the best ways to manage stress.

2. Imagery – can help when you are stuck in stressful situations, like being in traffic while in a hurry. Image a place where you feel the most peace. Use all five senses: feel the sand, taste the salty air, watch the waterfall cover the rocks, smell the flowers, and hear the leaves rustle from the breeze.

3. Yoga – can help to relax the mind and body. If you are not the yoga type, you can always do a little stretching.

4. Meditate – and think about what is happening in the present time instead of thinking of things you have to deal with in the future or past. Also, you could ponder thoughts such as ‘this will pass’, ‘control yourself, not others’, ‘let go’, ‘it’s not a perfect world’, etc.

5. Deep Breathing – by filling up your whole stomach (instead of chest) with air, and then letting it all out in a long sigh.

6. Massage – your hands by interlacing your fingers and using your thumbs to massage your palms. Or you could go get a massage.

7. Music – usually helps if it is relaxing or soothing, but everyone’s different.

8. Reading

9. Art, Drawing, Doodling, or Painting

10. Express Emotions – by crying, laughing, writing, or talking.

There are many other ways to manage stress. Everyone is different, so find what helps you manage stress the best.

Let stress make you stronger.

Stress – Good and Bad

Most people hate stress and wish their life to be ‘stress free.’ However, stress is not always the bad guy. If your life was stress free, you might get bored and have no motivation.

Actually, stress is a fundamental part of life.

When you are weight lifting, you are tearing down your muscles so they build up stronger. The same thing happens with stress. With a good amount of stress, your body will tear down physically and mentally and then build back stronger.

Good stress consists of: exercise, deadlines, tests, presentations, sporting events, etc.; as well as joy, excitement, thrill, fear, happiness, etc.

This good stress is referred to as eustress. The bad stress, which we normally refer to as just ‘stress’, is referred to as distress.

Distress occurs when too much stress is placed upon the body – mentally and/or physically.

How distress can harm the body:
- increase fat distribution in the midsection
- raise blood pressure
- possibly damage blood vessels
- decrease mind’s ability to think rationally, realistically, and clearly
- disrupt digestion, leading to irritable bowel syndrome
- increase headaches
- increase allergies
- …etc.

Distress can be very harmful; thus, we need to be able to recognize when eustress is turning into distress. Try to notice what stress you can handle and when the stress is becoming too much. When you feel you are falling apart physically, emotionally, and/or spiritually; then you are going through distress.

Once you start to recognize distress, you can learn ways to calm down or manage stress; so you can build your body stronger instead of damage your body.

To be continued… ‘Ways To Manage Stress’ will be posted tomorrow.

Exercise – The ‘Smart Pill’

I have been reading a book called Spark, written by John J. Ratey. This book has opened my eyes to how physical activity and education are not separate but connected.

Aerobic exercise brings many benefits to not just the body but the mind as well.

Exercise promotes a perfect learning environment in the brain. It encourages nerve cells to bind together, new neurons to grow, and older neurons to survive. These developments are the basis for logging new info into the brain and retaining old info.

For the brain, exercise…
- improves attention, motivation, and alertness
- decreases stress
- improves memory
- increases brain activity for learning and complex thinking
- increases number of brain cells
- decreases anxiety

Ratey explains by saying, “Exercise can be used as a medicine -- a ‘smart pill,’ if you will.”

Next time you have a test in school or a project at work; don’t eat junk food to help you get through this demanding time – Exercise!

“In order for man to succeed in life, God provided him with two means, education and physical activity. Not separately, one for the soul and the other for the body, but for the two together. With these two means, man can attain perfection.” - Plato

Prevention is The Key

Benjamin Franklin said, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” In old China, doctors used to get paid for keeping their patients well. If one of their patients got sick, the doctors had to treat them without getting paid. That is some health program! It’s crazy how health is viewed so differently now.

In our world today, prevention isn’t in the spot light. We get so focused on curing things that we forget about prevention. The book, “Staying Healthy with the Seasons” talks about the five building blocks to preventative medicine.

1. Nutrition- A natural balanced diet that avoids excess of any kind.

2. Exercise- It’s not just having an exercise program; it’s exercise being a part of your lifestyle. This includes strengthening, aerobic exercise, and stretching.

3. Sleep- Get a good amount of sleep each night. This is your body’s time to recharge for the next day.

4. Stress Management- Learning how to balance your life with work and play. Part of stress management is also learning how to relax. Find activities that you enjoy and make them a part of your life.

5. Attitude- Treat yourself and others around you well. Attitude determines how well the first four steps will be lived.

Preventative medicine helps the body to not reach the state of “dis-ease” or disease. The way to really prevent this state of “dis-ease” is to always be aware of how your body is feeling. If you take time to listen to your body, you will learn more about how to take care of yourself. Prevention is the key to having a healthy lifestyle. Stop and Listen.

Elson M. Haas, Staying Healthy with the Seasons. Berkeley: Celestial Arts, 2003.

Combining Eastern and Western Medicine

Myth: Western Medicine is better than Eastern Medicine or Eastern Medicine is better than Western Medicine.

When I was in Thailand studying some aspects of Eastern Medicine, they still emphasized the need for Western Medicine as well. One of my Thai teachers said to strive for a good balance of Eastern and Western Medicine in order to achieve “Total Health” (physical, spiritual, mental, emotional and social health).

Eastern Medicine deals with prevention and treatment of diseases but is more concerned with prevention. Eastern Medicine sees health as the body and the spirit working together, and when a disharmony comes between them, sickness can enter the body. When it comes to healing (treatment), the Eastern way of thinking is to let the body heal itself with the aid of the therapy or medicine. Prevention is met with a certain lifestyle not a “magic pill.” The Eastern lifestyle addresses all aspects of health – physical, spiritual, mental, emotional and social.

Western Medicine also deals with prevention and treatment of diseases but is more concerned with treatment. Western Medicine mainly sees health as physical. A person is said to be healthy if they are not sick and they are “in shape.” Western Medicine is a science that has brought a lot to the world of health in treating different diseases and other health problems.

As you can see both sides have their positives. This is why we need to combine Eastern and Western Medicine to achieve our best results in health.

Health is a Lifestyle

A healthy lifestyle doesn’t happen over night. Remember it is one step at a time. As someone who is majoring in health sciences, more specifically exercise science, I hope I can simplify what it means to be living a healthy lifestyle. There is not one way to live a healthy lifestyle. Throughout my blog, I will be interpreting different articles and information I have received from my education and experience. Choose the ones that appeal to you and your needs.

What is Health?

The first thing that comes to your mind is probably food, exercise, doctors, weight, and other things of a physical nature. Health is more than we make it out to be. Health is an all encompassing word that consists of more than just physical aspects. Health consists of physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. Every person desires to be in this state of well-being where all aspects of health are well balanced. Health is not an easy part of life to obtain; and if we do have health in our life, it is easily taken for granted. Health controls everything in one’s life and if you don’t have health then the opposite will take over… sickness. Sickness will bring down one’s quality and possibly quantity of life. This is why I suggest everyone to jump into health.