Acclimating our immune systems

As a child, I got sick quite often because I frankly did not take care of myself. I have horrible allergies and refused to take preventative measures or take my medicine, I did not break a sweat until I got into college and my eating habits were disgusting to say the least.

Well, I wised up and started taking care of myself. I use a saline nasal rinse daily to clear my nasal passages along with Nasacort AQ, exercise regularly, try to maintain a balanced diet and take my vitamins. But even that is NO MATCH for an enclosed building full of 1000 students and staff members because now I'm sick :( I've have a viral infection for the past 5 days that's got my chest congested, I'm having a hard time breathing, I'm coughing up rainbow colored mucus, my body aches.... ya know, all that good stuff :D

But I've come to the conclusion that we as new teachers have to build up our immune system to be able to withstand all of the fun germs we'll come in contact with, or at least the most common ones! This is especially because we've increase our exposure to the kids from 2 days a week to 5 days a week in the dead middle of winter. You'll notice that veteran teachers don't get sick as often. Either that or those who couldn't build up their immune system are in some intensive care wing...

So I'd like to pass on some advice I found on WebMD to boost our immune systems. This is a summary of the article "10 Immune System Busters & Boosters"

Immune system busters:

1. Lack of exercise

2. Being overweight

3. Eating foods high in sugar and fat

4. Experiencing constant stress

5. Being socially isolated

Immune system boosters:

1. Regular exercise

2. Get more antioxidants into your diet (especially vitamins C and E. The best forms though are from a balanced diet.)

3. Adequate sleep

4. Practice relaxation techniques

5. Laugh (a-HAHAHAHAHAHA!)

Happy health everyone!