Spring…Summer…Fall…Flu Season…Winter

As you know, when Fall rolls around we start to get excited for the prospect of bundling up, putting back on those scarves and boots, gearing up for the coziness of winter (who am I kidding? It won’t get that cold in the Bay), and stocking up on Kleenex.

People will start to sneeze and cough, their noses running and bodies aching, and they will blame it on the “fifth” season of the year; Flu Season.

But, as we all know, there are only four seasons in a year, so what’s really going on??

The answer: failure of adaptation.

When Fall rolls around the air becomes more dry which makes the mucus membranes in our body more dry. The mucus membranes in the nose help to trap/block foreign things like dust, bacteria, or viruses from going into the airways and lungs. With dry membranes the foreign material is able to enter the body and can lead to respiratory infections.

Additionally, the days are shorter which keeps people indoors more often. This shared indoor space and closer person-person interactions can increase transmission of infections. Days also become colder, causing people to turn on heat in homes, schools, offices, etc. This makes the air inside dry too.

In the Fall, with less hours of sunlight per day and increasing amount of time spent insides, vitamin D levels in the body decrease. Your body needs sunlight to naturally produce vitamin D. With less vitamin D, symptoms such as fatigue, pain, and decreased immunity can appear.

Fall and Winter also bring the prospect of many comforting, delicious foods. The cooler weather calls for warms drinks to ward of the chill, rich and hearty casseroles, and baked goods galore! ‘Tis the season, right? Well, a lot of those seasonal foods; pumpkin spice lattes, casseroles, holiday cookies, and more, tend to be full of sugar and carbohydrates (which break down into sugar in our bodies). This can lead to dehydration and increased inflammation and both can make you more susceptible to viruses and bacteria.

This is also the season of holiday parties. Halloween parties, family gatherings, Christmas parties, getting together to bake cookies or build gingerbread houses. People are inclined to overindulge at such parties; lots of snacks, sweet treats, alcohol. All little stressors to the body and can decrease the immune system further.

Altogether, we have dry air, less sunlight, more time indoors, and a tendency to eat sugar-filled foods and drinks. All of these factors are things you body needs to adapt to, add that to the stress of everyday life, and the risk of acquiring an infection increases.

So, let’s adapt!
Here are some easy ways to skip that “fifth” season:

Drink more water! A good way to make sure you get enough water is this simple rule:
Take your body weight and divide it in half, that number is how many ounces of water you should drink daily. (For example, if you weigh 150 pounds, 150 pounds /2 = 75 ounces).
Drinking more water will help to keep mucus membranes from drying it. It’s important to remember that by water, I mean real water. H2O. Not tea, not juice, not water with flavor or sweetener added to it. Just plain water.

Monitor your diet. It’s easy to get caught up in the Fall mood with rich foods and holiday treats. Fall foods tend to include sauces, gravies, root vegetables, starchy sides. The fresher, lighter foods of Spring and Summer can lose their appeal when the weather turns cold. To keep it simple, try to include some green vegetables in your meals everyday, stick to one carbohydrate per meal (or no carbs!) like just rice or squash or a slice of bread, and be conscious of your sugar intake.
Move every day. Even if it’s just a short walk or a 10 minute video from YouTube, try to incorporate some purposeful exercise. Exercise can help to keep lungs clear and gives your immune system a boost.
Supplementation. Vitamin D production is down with less sunlight during the days. This vitamin helps to stimulate your immune system. Many people are vitamin D deficient in today’s world, which I will go into in another post. There are many other vitamins and minerals that help to boost the immune system, such as vitamins A, E, C, and zinc.
Get adjusted regularly. Chiropractic care reduces nervous system stress. When the nervous system is stressed it cannot communicate completely with the body. Signals may become dampened or skewed leading to symptoms such as pain, dysfunction, decreased immune function, and more. A chiropractic adjustment removes the interference in this pathway, allowing the nervous system to communicate properly. This helps to keep the immune system functioning at full capacity.

These simple changes to your regular Fall routine can help you to adapt to seasonal changes and skip “Flu Season” altogether!