Boost your Immune System Naturally
Speaking of Canadian winters, with both honeybees and people staying inside their hives, avoiding colds and the flu is a top priority for us to stay healthy!
Here are my two favorite natural ways to keep my immune system strong going into the winter:
1. Get High-Quality Sleep
Sleep is when our body has an opportunity to repair itself. Not getting enough sleep can increase the wear and tear on our immune system and make it harder for our body to fight any potential invaders.
If you're not a great sleeper, you can ease into a better sleep routine starting tonight just by doing two simple things.
First, leave your cell phone out of your bedroom. Removing it from your sleeping environment is an easy way to immediately stop the doom-scrolling habit. We've all been there when "just 5 more minutes" ends up being 1.5 hours later.
Second, have a scoop of honey before bed! Preliminary research [1] [2] has shown that raw honey is an effective sleep aid, with the added benefit of having no adverse side effects compared to taking pharmaceutical aids.
2. Drink More Water
You already know that drinking more water is good for you. Staying hydrated helps all bodily functions including removing waste, breaking down foods to absorb their nutrients, and carrying oxygen throughout your body.
But it's so easy to forget this important habit! As a visual reminder, I carry a giant 2L water bottle around with me and try to finish it before dinner as a minimum.
You don't have to only drink plain water to get its benefits. As long as it doesn't also contain caffeine, most liquids can be hydrating for you.
I like to start and end my days with a warm drink. Instead of tea or coffee, you can have some hot water with a squeeze of lemon and honey for those extra germ-fighting benefits. (Or even easier is a scoop of our
Lemon Ginger Honey!)
