Probiotics for Cold Prevention? + Immune Boosting Smoothie Recipe

Probiotic’s are added to every food you see in the grocery store these days. Probiotic’s are excellent for boosting your immune system and keeping your gut bacteria balanced. The issue with probiotic’s being added to store-bought foods is that they are all processed which means the live enzyme’s these foods say they have in them died during the processing system. Unless you are making your own Kombucha, Kefir, or Kimchi at home then the store-bought probiotic-added foods are not give you the probiotic’s you think they are.

I love Kombucha, Kefir and Kimchi, but I don’t eat or drink it daily. The simplest way for me to get probiotic’s in my diet is to take a daily probiotic supplement, which I do. It comes in my daily nutritional packet I take, but you can also buy it separately.

Probiotic’s do help regulate your immune function & there have been some studies that state it can help to prevent the cold virus (acute upper respiratory infections).

I very rarely get sick (since I take a high quality multi-vitamin daily), but if I do start to feel that tickle in my throat or stuffy nose coming on, I always start taking a Vitamin-C Immune Boosting complex supplement that contains echinachea and astralagus as well as a few other immune boosting herbs and minerals.

Here are a few other tips to boost your immune system and stay healthy during cold season (especially for those kiddos that always seem to come home with a cold at the beginning of the school year):

• Drink plenty of water daily
• Exercise daily
• Get outside in the fresh air and sunshine
• Wash your hands with triclosan-free hand soap frequently (especially after being around someone who is sick)
• Take a daily high-quality multi-vitamin and probiotic
• Diffuse these essential oils daily: Melaleuca, Lemon, Lavender & Peppermint
• Get 6-8 hours of sleep every night
• Try to reduce your stress as much as you can (meditate, yoga, walking, watch this video to calm yourself)
• Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and try adding in extra immune boosting foods like in the following smoothie recipe

Fruity Immune Boosting Smoothie Recipe

This recipe is packed with antioxidants and I like to add in my Vitamin C-Immune complex supplement for a super immune boost.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice (or grapefruit juice)
• 1 cup quartered fresh or frozen strawberries
• 3/4 diced fresh or frozen mango
• 1 packet Vitamin-C immune complex supplement
• 1 frozen banana (or fresh then add in ice if needed)

Blend and enjoy! This would be a great morning smoothie or make 2 snacks out of it for the kiddos.

Stay Healthy my Friends!

XO,

Carrie A Groff
– Healthy, Fit & Barefoot!