Preventing Colds and Flu Beyond Handwashing

No one likes getting the cold or flu.  All of us would like to avoid illness, and even if we get sick, we would like to shorten its duration.  The germaphobic among us will wash their hands frequently and try to avoid the same airspace of the sneezes and coughs.  This is a good sound approach, but a new study suggests there is more we can do.

Dr. Bruce Barrett, the author of the study, assessed that both mental and physical health are needed to prevent illness.  Both exercise and meditation, which promote mental and physical well being, were shown to prevent colds and flu for the study participants that used these health techniques.  There were three groups of 50 people each.  The first group did daily meditation and missed 16 days of work because of illness.  The second group exercised regularly and missed 32 days of work.  The control group who did not exercise or meditate missed 67 days of work. 

This study confirms what Ayurveda and its holistic approach have always known.  Good health is a mind and body job.  Illness cannot take root in a healthy person.  The soil needs to be fertile for the germ and/or virus to grow.  Meditation helps to clear our minds from stress.  Stress interferes with our body function making it weak and susceptible to illness.  Exercise strengthens the body as well as removing physical and emotional toxins. 

While hand washing helps remove many of the viruses we are bombarded with daily, we cannot avoid all the germs out there.  Meditation and exercise are another form of security.  They make the body more resistant to the viruses we are constantly exposed to.  Give them a try and reap the benefits of a healthy body with strong immunity.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa