My Best Tips for Staying Healthy (and keeping your immune system strong)

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Here are my best tips for you to help keep your immune system strong and your mind at ease.

Diffuse Antiviral Essential Oils

This is a great time to break out your essential oil diffuser!

A few good antiviral oils (from your favorite trusted company) to diffuse are:

Cinnamon
Arborvitae
Eucalyptus
Clove
Tea Tree
Melissa
Myrrh
Oregano
Ravensara
Thyme

We have been diffusing around the clock. Add about 4-6 drops of any of the antiviral essential oils listed above (or combination of oils) to your diffuser and let that baby work its magic.

My favorite is a combination of Eucalyptus, Tea Tree and Bergamot. So good! For more antiviral diffuser blends check out this post.

Try Elderberry Syrup

I’ve always been a big fan of elderberry syrup for fighting viruses and pumping up our immune systems. We rely on this heavily during cold and flu season.

If you’re looking for a good recipe for elderberry syrup, check out this one from Happy Healthy Mama. It’s a lot easier than you think!

You could also try making your own elderberry syrup with this cool kit. Either way, you will save a bunch of money (yay!) by buying the dried elderberries rather than the syrup and you will have syrup for dayzzz. It’s also a fun project to get the kids involved with!

Make an Immune Support Roller

We love our tried and trusted immune support roller. It’s not a miracle fix, but it definitely helps my family stay healthy during cold and flu season. With essential oils like Oregano, Tea Tree and Lemon, it’s a great little roller to make and use daily – even if it’s just for peace of mind.

You can get the full immune support roller recipe here.

Try Propolis Throat Spray

I first heard about propolis and specifically Beekeeper’s Naturals Propolis Throat Spray on a podcast – and I was so intrigued! They explained that bees create propolis to line their hive and keep germs out. Bees are so amazing, seriously.

So us humans can use propolis just like the bees, to support our immune system and fight off germs! It’s full of antioxidants and over 300 beneficial compounds. It’s really good for sore throats too.

We have the adult and kids version – both are great!

Amp Up the Fruits and Veggies

Fresh fruit and vegetables are key when you are trying to strengthen your immune system. You can’t beat the amount of minerals, vitamins and antioxidants that they provide for us.

Try adding a smoothie to your day with tons of greens and fresh fruit! My favorite smoothie recipe right now is a handful of spinach (or any dark leafy green), 1/2 cucumber, 2 stalks of celery, a cup of frozen mangos and 1/2 frozen banana. It’s so yummy and refreshing!

Smoothies are an amazing way to get your greens in and they are great for digestion. I love the Simple Green Smoothies book – they have so many great smoothie recipes and it’s perfect for beginners. I refer to it all the time.

Wash Your Hands

So obvious I know, but I need to say it! My kids are notorious for doing the quick wash with water after school. I’ve been going into the bathroom with them and making sure they wash for at least 20 seconds with soap and warm water.

Washing your hands prevents germs from spreading and entering your body. Think about how many times you touch your eyes, mouth and nose during the day! We want those hands as clean as possible. Soap and warm water does the trick.

We like to make an easy DIY foaming handsoap with castile soap and water. You can even add immune-boosting essential oils to your mix, like Wild Orange and Lemon. I like to get this big jug of soap because it lasts forever, we will never run out and it saves us tons of money!

This touchless foaming soap dispenser gives you that extra sense of security since you don’t have to worry about germs on top of the pump. It’s a good precaution to take right now amid the coronavirus outbreak.

To make your foaming handsoap, fill the dispenser up about 2/3 of the way with water and then fill the rest with your castile soap and about 20 drops of essential oils. Good to go!

Check out more recipes with castile soap so you can really get your money’s worth.

Disinfect Surfaces

No, disinfecting surfaces won’t boost your immune system – but just like washing our hands, we want to give ourselves a clean slate to work on every day (this helps with the “staying sane” part of our lives). I usually spray down our surfaces with a simple spray of water and vinegar, but during times like this I break out the big guns, hydrogen peroxide. (For more info and CDC recommendations, check out this article from Good Housekeeping for the best products to kill viruses)

To make a quick all-purpose spray, combine 1 cup of water with 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide in an amber spray bottle.

Add your favorite essential oils for an extra punch of disinfectant power. I like to use tea tree oil due to its anti-microbial properties.

Try to Relax

If we stress about getting sick, that really gets you nowhere right? Try doing things to keep your mind off it. We are big on Lego sets around here! Go outside and take a walk if the weather’s nice. Make an anxiety roller and wear it like perfume! Whatever works for you to stress less:)

I hope these tips give you a few ideas to stay healthy and sane during this scary time. Leave a comment below and let me know what you are doing to stay healthy while stuck at home.