How I Prevent Penn State’s Frat Flu

Penn State frat flu is absolutely no joke. 

After being sick last year for an entire two months, bloodwork and four doctors, I am here to say after that experience, I don’t deserve to be sick for quite a while. 

This is what I do to stay healthy during the school year, while still managing to go out at least three nights a week. 

First of all, it’s okay to stay in when you don’t feel good. Remember that. 

This next part may sound weird. Just trust me on this. 

So, for the past 2 months, I have religiously been taking sauerkraut as a probiotic for gut health. I learned that good immunity has a strong foundation in gut health, and probiotics are always a great way to promote healthy bacteria levels. 

According to livestrong.com, “Researchers from the August 2016 report in Functional Foods in Health and Disease wanted to see if sauerkraut could give you all the probiotics you need, so they compared different portion sizes of sauerkraut to some probiotic supplements to see how they stacked up. 

The researchers tested 2-tablespoon, 1/2-cup and 1-cup servings of sauerkraut and found that the smallest 2-tablespoon serving of sauerkraut contained 1 million colony-forming units (or CFUs), which was enough to give you all the probiotics that you need for the day.” 

I take about 2 tablespoons per day, right in the morning before my breakfast.

Alongside the sauerkraut, my roommate and I make our own “health shots,” which contain pineapple, orange, ginger, turmeric and black pepper for absorption. 

Click here for a recipe and more information. We pretty much use exactly that recipe, with fresh orange added into our juicer.

These are really similar to the ones you can find in stores marketed as immunity boosters. We take about a shot glass, or two, daily. 

I try to take them in the morning but if I forget, dinnertime is fine as well. They may upset your stomach, so I take them with a light meal.

You’ll need a chaser for this one. It’s rough to get down but totally worth it.

Every morning I blend a mixture of spinach, frozen mango, orange juice and water into a smoothie. 

According to womenshealthmag.com, “Packed into those incredible shrinking leaves is an incredible amount of nutrients, including high levels of vitamins K and A, as well as Manganese, Folate, Magnesium, Iron, Copper, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, Calcium, Potassium and Vitamin C.”

The orange juice sweetens the smoothie a ton, and oddly enough, just from my experience, the mango keeps the fiber from separating from the juice. 

I’m talking about that foam that appears on the top of spinach juice. When I was using pineapples in the smoothie, this happened all the time. I’ve never had that issue since switching to mango. 

I’m not 100% sure if it’s the mango or not, but if it works, it works. 

I take Vitamin D and Elderberry supplements on top of everything else. You can find these at any local drugstore or grocery store.

This is all I do to prevent another sick season. Of course, take or leave what you choose.

Stay healthy my friends!

• avoiding sickness
• health
• Immunity