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If you are reading this, I sincerely hope you are not curled up in ball, with medication, waiting to be admitted to hospital while your significant other tells you to “grow some balls.” Apparently man flu is a real thing – when are the scientists going to confirm this so that the female species will take your incessant wailing seriously?
But, if luck is on your side, and you are not sitting on death’s doorstep, I urge you to keep reading so as to avoid getting a visit from the Grim Reaper. They say knowledge is power, so let’s enlighten you with some facts to keep you from coughing and spluttering this winter, by simply taking care of certain dietary and supplementary requirements.
In a nutshell, the idea is to build up your immune system through various food sources and then top it up with additional help from vitamins and minerals that are provided in bigger quantities than you can get from your meals, in the simple form of a tablet. But before you jump in your car and head to your local store, here are some items to unpack from your over owing trolley.
Bye, bye dairy. Yes, the old wives tale is true – between milk, eggs, cheese and yoghurt, your poor respiratory system doesn’t stand a chance. The mucus build up these foods create is a fantastic (not so fantastic) breeding group for germs and bacteria. Rather don’t even give the bug a chance at a potential breeding ground.
Now replace those unpacked items with fruit and veg – particularly citrus, and green leafy veg. The vitamin C content in oranges and other fruits is a great natural booster for your potentially wavering immune system. Vitamin A can be found in the form of sweet potato, carrots and the usual greens such as spinach; while vitamin E can be found in nuts and oils.
There are a few other things you can do to keep the germs at bay – regular exercise will obviously be in your favour for numerous reasons, and then of course, getting enough sleep is vital in ensuring that your body doesn’t fall prey to the u when it is feeling run down from not getting enough shut-eye. Your local pharmacy will also have the latest vaccine for you, which you can quickly get done during your lunch break at work. Speaking of which, making sure your stress levels aren’t skyrocketing is also key to staying healthy this season.
For those of you who have ticked the boxes mentioned above, and are now looking for the added booster, pharmaceutical and supplement companies have a range of products to help you fight back against the viruses. Some of these products can even be ordered online – perfect for the men who prefer to avoid any human contact during the sickly season.
Supplements that should be either in your online shopping cart, or in your cupboard include a multivitamin (try Olimp’s VITA-MIN or USN Men’s Daily Pack), Vitamin C (Biogen’s C-Ester is a great all-round solution), Echinacea (A.Vogel’s Echinaforce is a winner) and a debatable one – Zinc. There have been studies for and against zinc as an immune booster but since it can’t do any harm, rather take it and be safe. These products can be bought from the supplier directly, or your local Dischem.
On a final note, if you decide not to heed the advice given and you do fall prey to the doom and gloom that is the winter flu, please don’t be that guy that insists on training through it. Rather don’t come to gym and spread your germs to the people who are eating right and taking the necessary precautions. Increasing your heart rate while ill will only have a negative effect on your health, so rather milk that man-flu and ask your other half to bring you chicken and veg soup – with vitamins on the side.
