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'Tis the Season to Be Sniffling

So stay warm, avoid stress, and nix chemicals.

by Donna Barker

When I was a kid there were four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. I don’t recall when it was added, but for years now, as soon as Rita MacNeil’s holiday concert ads hit the TV, so do messages about the fifth season—cold and flu.

We have Don Cherry shilling for Cold fX, public health departments encouraging us to get a flu vaccine, and news stories predicting the gravity of this year’s viral and bacterial strains.

As much as I want to believe the cold and flu season is a marketing ploy by pharmaceutical companies, I must admit that when I worked in an office, almost everyone came back from the Christmas break either hacking or telling tales of how sick they’d been.

Dr. Heidi Rootes, a naturopathic physician with Vitality Clinic (vitalityclinic.ca), confirms that, indeed, being under the weather has a lot to do with the weather. As the temperature outside falls, she says, the body must work harder to maintain a healthy internal temperature. When the body temperature drops, immune function is compromised.

“Just consider how our body responds to acute illness: we mount a fever. The purpose of a fever is twofold. First, the immune system functions optimally at temperatures above 100 degrees. Second, at elevated temperatures, viruses and bacteria don’t replicate as easily.”

Instead of waiting to get sick so we can figure out how to get healthy again, Rootes suggests focusing on building and maintaining a healthy immune system. She advises her patients to keep warm, and discusses diet, lifestyle, and health history with them to determine a treatment plan. The plan involves an intravenous containing high doses of vitamins (vitamin C and B vitamins) and minerals (including selenium, magnesium, and zinc), all essential building blocks to support the immune system.

Rootes also can’t stress enough how much of a role stress plays in the functioning of our immune system. When our stress levels go up, so does the production of cortisol, our body’s natural stress-fighting and anti-inflammatory hormone. Contrary to what you might think, high levels of cortisol actually suppress immunity.

It suddenly makes sense why so many of my co-workers came back sick after the holidays: they suffered the emotional stress of big family gatherings and the physical stress of not getting enough sleep, drinking too much holiday cheer, and forgoing fresh fruits and veggies to fill up on holiday comfort foods.

It isn’t news to any of us that eating too many holiday sweets is unhealthy. But when Rootes explained exactly how all that gingerbread and pumpkin pie clobbers our immune system, I put down my rum and eggnog and nearly spat out my mincemeat tart.

“White blood cells are the cornerstone of our immune system, responsible for fighting infection. Studies have shown that 100 grams of sugar in the form of carbohydrates, such as bread, fruit, juice, honey, and refined sugar, starts suppressing our white blood cells’ ability to destroy bacteria within 30 minutes of consumption and will continue to suppress it for up to five hours.”

So, for five hours after gorging on goodies, it’s best to avoid kissing cousins or cuddling with runny-nosed nieces and nephews. Good to know.

But wait—what about those of us who bundle up before we go outside, take our vitamins and minerals, and don’t celebrate the winter holidays with overeating, overdrinking, and overpartying? Why is it that almost everyone I know finds themselves feeling lousy as soon as the winter rains set in?

Tracey Mann, the Toxic Smart program coordinator at the Georgia Strait Alliance (georgiastrait.org), says the winter sniffles may have nothing to do with cold and flu.

“In colder months, we like to keep our homes warm, so we don’t open the doors and windows for fresh air as much as we do in spring and summer. Without realizing why, people will start to feel under the weather with symptoms that appear to be a cold or the flu—nausea, headaches, runny nose, and irritated eyes. These are also the symptoms of chemical reactions to many common household cleaners.”

The worst offenders, Mann says, are commercial air fresheners and deodorizers, products containing chlorine, and products containing ammonia—all of which can irritate eyes, nose, throat, and lungs.

As for me, if I feel the sniffles coming on, I’ll take Rootes’ advice and get my body temperature up to over 100 degrees by taking a nice, hot bath and skipping the fever suppressors. When I want my house to start feeling a little bit like Christmas, I’ll eschew holiday-scented candles and throw some cinnamon sticks into a pot of boiling water instead.

And if I’m feeling both under the weather and feeling the urge to increase my holiday spirit, I’ll just throw the cinnamon sticks right into my bath.

Donna Barker is thrilled to be able to use “I’m keeping my feet warm so I don’t get sick” as a legitimate excuse for wearing Dayton boots, not high heels, with her fancy New Year’s dress.