This month's newsletter!

Hi Everyone!

Scuze me while I get up and put on a sweater!

Ahh, that's better. It really is getting cold out there. Can't ya tell that winter is coming? I sure can.

Here are some wonderful tips for winter wellness some of which I have borrowed from my good friend Dr. Kris. I know these things are basic, but isn't it amazing how we can forget those very things when we are in the throws of a busy life?

"When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot 
manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied."

--Herophilus 

Natural Ways to Stay Healthy & Fight Colds 

While germs will always be in our environment, remember that it is NOT the germs that cause an immune response in the form of a cold in our body but rather how well our body is able to fight germs and potential infection. If your body is healthy to start, no germ can cause a problem in your body because your immune system is fully armed to fight everything off - that's the miracle of the human body! So instead of running for a flu shot or living in fear of germs this year, why not practice some safe and simple tips that may help keep you healthier? 

Tips to Keep You Healthy: 

• ALWAYS be sure to wash your hands after using the restroom, touching commonly used surfaces and more often when you are sick (blowing nose, coughing, etc.). Use soap but leave the anti-bacterial soaps alone. These soaps are increasing the number of resistant bacteria out there as they strengthen - this is a huge reason why many antibiotics aren't working anymore! Wash hands for at least 30 seconds under water that is as warm as is comfortable for your hands and be sure to wipe soap around fingernails - many germs get stuck here. Heat and soap kill germs.

• Consider giving your immunity a boost with supplements. I recommend Arbonne's Get Well Soon dietary supplement. It includes echinacea to boost immunity. Click here to order now: www.in8health.myarbonne.com and click on Bio-Nutria in the lower right hand corner of the screen and then Get Well Soon.

• Take a high-quality multivitamin to protect your body against deficiencies that can weaken your immune system. How do you know if your multi is a good one? Use this simple test: Drop one tablet into a small glass of apple cider vinegar (which has the same pH as your digestive system) - if the tablet dissolves in about 20 minutes, you are able to absorb most of the nutrients and the multi is high-quality. If it dissolves faster or not at all, consider switching brands as you are likely not getting much benefit from yours. Again, I recommend Metagenics Multigenics with or without Iron depending upon your clinical picture. Make sure to ask me more about this! 

• Practice stress relief in the form of increased sleep, exercise, meditation, time with family and friends. Studies link excess stress and lowered immunity. We recommend Winsor Pilates, tai chi, gentle yoga, biking, elliptical training, walking and swimming for low-impact exercise.

• Decrease/eliminate sugar from your diet. Studies show a direct link between sugar consumption and lowered immunity! 

Tips to Fight A Cold:

• As soon as cold symptoms begin, suck on zinc and vitamin C tablets to soothe throat irritation and increase your immunity. Zinc and C can also shorten the duration of a cold. We recommend you keep a bottle of our Anabolic Laboratories Zinc Lozenges handy all winter long. And with their tasty orange flavor, they are a winner with kids too. 

• Use a nasal saline spray to keep nasal passages moist, encourage elimination of mucus and prevent deep-seated infection from taking hold. You can get Ocean saline spray at any drugstore or supermarket. And for your little ones- even babies--, I recommend Little Noses . This is also available at your local pharmacy and is very affordable. 

• Try squirting 3 drops of a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution into each ear. Leave it in for about 10 minutes - you may feel a gentle bubbling or warm sensation. Then take a Kleenex and gently remove any excess solution. Many germs enter the body through the ears and hydrogen peroxide is a safe way to remove them. 

• Eliminate sugar and dairy from your diet - they lower your immunity & produce mucus. 

• Eliminate citrus. Think an orange will help you get through your cold because of the vitamin C? Nope, guess again. Oranges, while tasty, are full of sugar (yep, even the natural kind can lower immunity). And oranges contain citric acid which is very irritating to our mucus membranes. To buffer themselves, the membranes produce mucus. Yuck! So, skip the orange in favor of lots of pure water. 

• Increase pure water consumption - this thins mucus secretions and makes it easier to eliminate. 

• Try Zicam. It's an over-the-counter homeopathic remedy anyone can take. It helps to decrease the intensity and duration of a cold. I recommend having one bottle of this in the medicine cabinet just in case. 

• Increase your schedule of adjustments - studies have shown that getting adjusted increases your white blood cell count by 13% and thus improves your immunity! If you don't regularly get adjusted (at least once a month), consider scheduling a few visits now to ensure a healthy, cold-free winter. That's how we chiropractors stay healthy year-round! I've listed this suggestion last, but it should really be FIRST. The chiropractic adjustment which corrects nerve pressure to the whole body helps you adapt to your environment and all its stresses better. 

I hope you liked these suggestions! Please pass them along to friends and family. Let's help everyone have a healthier winter.

And by the way, if you have found some time-honored all-natural traditions that your family has used to prevent the common cold, let me know! We'd love to share them!

Stay tuned to the next edition of this newsletter. I'm very excited to be able to report to you about the wonderful new information I learned at the first installment of Year 2 of my pediatrics diplomate course.

Yours in Health!

Dr. Erica