Prevent colds this holiday season

Today looks like the first day of snow here in Toronto which brings both festive spirit as well as more time inside and increased changes of being exposed to cold germs. Shape magazine in December has a few tips to keep you cold free this holiday.

1. Try to keep about 3 feet away from people that are coughing or sneezing (Source: Chuck Gerba; University of Arizona)

2. Take probiotics: 42% fewer people caught a cold when taking them

3. Exercise: An article in the British Journal of Sports Medicine showed that people who got at least 20 minutes of aerobic exercise such as walking or swimming five times a week had fewer and milder colds.

4. Hum: Apparently the vibrations from humming open the sinuses and let phlegm drain. If you practise yoga than breathing exercises done at the end of class such “fire breath” --a deep forceful exhale out sticking your tongue out at the end of the breath (it sounds silly but feels great).

Erin Billowits
Vintage Fitness
416-951-7978
Serving the Greater Toronto Area including Etobicoke, North York, Markham, Brampton, East York, Downtown, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington