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Wellness

How to Boost Your Immune System During Flu Season

Claire Early
Mary Moody McLean
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at VCU chapter.

As we begin to transition to the colder weather season, you’ll be staying inside more of the time. This means less fresh air, sunlight and more reason to lay around, eat snacks and put on a little winter weight. This also allows germs to be passed around more easily. If you don’t want to catch a cold, your roommate has, especially in the time of COVID-19, use these tips to help keep you and your immune system happy and healthy. 

Get Outside

Whether it’s laying in your Eno, going for a walk around the block or even sitting on your apartment balcony to do homework, it’s important to get outside and breathe in the fresh air. Even though the weather is colder, you can layer up with jackets, hats and fuzzy socks to keep you warm. Any extra sunlight you can get will help, and getting fresh air will help keep the germs away.

Get Moving

This can easily go hand-in-hand with going outside. Staying active can help keep your metabolism running, keep off some of the extra winter weight and give you endorphins, making you a happier person. You can go to the gym and lift weights, do cardio outside or even do a Chloe Ting workout on Youtube in your own apartment.

The gym makes it easy to do a diverse set of workouts if you can’t decide what you want to do that day. You can do cardio on the treadmill or elliptical, or use the machines to build some muscle. Running and biking are both good ways to burn calories and will help you get that fresh air you need for the day. Even going for a walk is a simple exercise that will get you moving.  

Eat Right

It is so tempting to slack off about eating your fruits and veggies when the weather gets cold. If you insist on eating a whole box of Cheez-Its, at least pair it with an apple or other healthy food. There are healthy food options that taste good also! Tomato soup paired with a grilled cheese with spinach in it provides nutrients from vegetables and will keep you warm.

Or, make some pasta and use homemade pesto with all-natural ingredients to top it. If you’re like me and would prefer buying already made meals rather than cooking, try Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup. Just like tomato soup, it will help keep you warm but still has nutrients from the broccoli that’s in it. 

Take Your Vitamins

Taking vitamins will help replenish some nutrients lost during the winter, such as Vitamin C. Being inside in addition to seeing less sunlight depletes you of that nutrient. Take one vitamin every day, and keep Emergen-C on hand for some extra immune support when you start to feel like you’re getting sick. Multivitamins also can help by assisting in managing your stress and anxiety levels. 

Just doing a few of these tips every day will help boost your immune system and improve your chances of not getting sick during flu season. 

Claire Early is currently a senior at VCU. She is studying mass communications with a concentration in public relations.
Mary McLean (née Moody) is an avid writer and is the former Editor in Chief of Her Campus at VCU. She wrote diligently for Her Campus at VCU for two years and was the Editor in Chief for three years. You can find her work here! She double majored in Political Science and History at Virginia Commonwealth University and graduated in 2022. She loves her son, Peter, and her cat Sully. You can find her looking at memes all night and chugging Monster in the morning with her husband!