Feel like you and your family are going from one cold or sickness to the next? Sick of being sick? You’re not alone – this winter has been a DOOZY for bugs and ails. Cases of the Flu, particularly in Auckland, are surging. Here’s how you can do your best to avoid the flu – and the other bugs currently doing the rounds…
If you’re feeling extremely over it, we know the feeling, so we’ve talked to as many health professionals as possible to find out what we can do to avoid yet another bout of sickness. Here’s what we’ve gleaned:
Get the Flu shot
Yes, it’s the most obvious one. If you haven’t had your flu shot, you might think it’s a bit late now – but that’s very much not the case. There’s still time! Health NZ is encouraging people who haven’t had the flu shot to go get one now. “Getting protection against the flu now can still prevent serious illness, reduce hospitalisations, and protect vulnerable whānau,” they say.
They’re warning that this year, the flu season appears to have a long tail to it, and could continue for quite some time into spring.
National Public Health Service’s Director of Prevention Immunisation, Nikki Canter-Burgoyne said that the flu doesn’t follow a strict timetable. “While there is one more month of winter, the flu season in New Zealand often extends well into early spring,” she says. “With people indoors during this cold weather we’re seeing significant transmission, and vaccination remains one of the most effective ways to protect yourself and the people around you. If you haven’t had your 2026 flu vaccine yet, now is the time.”
The flu vaccine takes around two weeks to build protection, but health experts emphasise that the benefits extend well beyond the peak. With schools, workplaces, and winter gatherings continuing through August and September, vaccination can still prevent severe disease and reduce pressure on health services.
Stock Up on Vitamin C
Vitamin C has long been touted as a quick way to boost your immunity, fight infection and clear inflammation. If you’d rather not reach for another supplement, Dr Libby says there are plenty of ways to get Vitamin C in your diet. “You’re looking at your citrus fruits, kiwi fruits and also your lightly cooked vegetables,” she says. “If you boil your broccoli to death, there won’t be any left in it, but if you have it stir-fried, you’ll still get plenty of Vitamin C.”
Make Sure You’re Eating Your Key Minerals
Naturopath Erin O’Hara says one the key ways to stay well is to ensure you’re eating a varied diet which contains the right kinds of minerals. Iron, zinc and selenium help nourish the immune system and keep body cells active and healthy. Mineral-rich foods include nuts, seeds, meat, fortified cereals, kale, broccoli, quinoa, and pulses. For the little people in your life, you can always hide the good green vegetables in a pasta bake!
Keep That Body Moving… But Sensibly!
In terms of exercise, this can also either support or hinder our immune health. As Lisa Walker, a leading health specialist at BePure tells, too much exercise can create stress on the body and fatigue the immune system, but we do need exercise to increase blood flow and support strengthening antibodies to help fight infection in our body.
‘Strive for a mix of resistance-based training, cardiovascular work, and don’t forget mobility. Ideally, go for two days resistance, two days cardio and one day of mobility, with some outdoor active rest in between. It’s all about balance, so make sure your exercise regime is specific to your level of fitness and stress levels – not your friends or people you’re following on social media!’
Lay Off the Sugar!
Gah, if you’re about to reach for your morning hit of coffee with two sugars, or your afternoon can pick-me-up can of coke, it might be time to reconsider, if you’re trying to fight off winter ails. As Naturopath Erin O’Hara explains, refined sugars actually work against us and negatively impact the body’s defence structure. Sugars increase inflammation and damage cells. To curb a sweet craving, eat more foods with protein and fats to stabilise your sugar levels. For the littles, swap out chippies and cookies with hummus and brown rice crackers or a delicious bliss ball as a treat.
Get a Good Sleep!
A study by the Sleep Foundation found a direct link between lack of quality sleep and compromised immunity. This is because our body has to use vital nutrients to repair ourselves from the lack of sleep, instead of fighting foreign bugs. In other words, if you aren’t sleeping well, you’re more likely to get sick.
Start getting better sleep by establishing a good bedtime routine. Unplug from electronic devices at least an hour or two before bed. Turn down bright lights. Keep the room temperature cool and consider taking a muscle and mind relaxing magnesium supplement.
Look After Your Gut
If you’ve heard a lot about gut health recently, it’s for a good reason – the more research that is done on gut health and the microbiome, the more we find out about how vital a healthy gut is. An astonishing 80% of our immune system is in our gut, so if you’re looking for real results, it’s the best place to pay serious attention to.
Take a Look at Your Stress Levels
Surprise, surprise – stress isn’t great for your immunity. Maybe it’s time to do a little audit and see what you’ve got on your plate at the moment, what the pressure points are, and what you could potentially let go of?
We know, we know, it’s all a lot easier said than done. Sometimes it’s just a case of freeing up a bit of time to do a few helpful things (have a look below at the mindfullness suggestions, or getting out in nature!).
If you’re looking for supplements that can help, naturopath Michelle Irving has a couple of suggestions.
“In my opinion Bach Flower Remedies (like Rescue Remedy) are a nice gentle place to start with mild anxiety and even some of the Red Seal Herbal Teas such as Chamomile, Zen or Relaxing tea,” she says. “Then you have B vitamins, magnesium, fish oils and herbs like passionflower, chamomile and lemon balm. Just remember, don’t suffer in silence, do reach out to friends and family if you need someone to talk to.”
Practice Mindfulness
Until you give it a go, mindfulness can sound like it’s quite woo-woo, but, it’s actually based on science and actually works!
As Sarah Lang wrote in a special on Mindfulness, it is, at its core, a way of being in the world. As described by the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, “mindfulness means paying attention to what is presently occurring, with kindness and curiosity. What you pay attention to may be a thought, a feeling, a physical sensation, another person, or things that are happening around you. By practising this over time, you will more fully appreciate the relationships between these things.” Of course, that’s all easier said than done.
That’s where mindfulness meditation comes in. Imagine sitting somewhere comfortable, closing your eyes, breathing in deeply, and as thoughts pop up, bringing your attention back to your breath. You quietly observe rather than feed the distracting thoughts and feelings. Thoughts will keep creeping in, of course, but that doesn’t mean you’re ‘doing it wrong’, so to speak. You’re learning, and even at the start, that comes with benefits!
Don’t Worry About Wet Hair...
Ever heard that old wives tale about not going out with wet hair because you’ll catch a cold? Well, while it mightn’t actually be a pleasant experience, it’s a myth that has been busted. Family medicine specialist Matthew Goldman, MD says: “Hair being wet is not the cause for catching a cold. A microorganism, such as a virus, has to be involved to cause a cold.”
But, as he explains, there is a bit of logic to the thought process. “Colder air temperatures are better environments for viruses, such as the rhinovirus (the most common cause for the common cold), to travel through the air. There is some research to suggest that the lack of sun and vitamin D during the winter may also play a role in a weakened immune system or a diminished ability to mount a response to an infection.”
Get Some Sun (or Sun in a Bottle!)
Leading on from what Dr Goldman shared, Vitamin D is an essential one for our immunity – as well as for keeping our bones strong. Testing of Vitamin D levels in NZers has become increasingly rare, so statistics on how many of us are deficient aren’t particularly reliable – although the studies that do exist suggest that around half the population have a below average level, while 3-4% have an extreme deficiency.
To boost your levels, get some sensible skin exposure (the Ministry of Health suggests a daily walk or outside activity during the middle of the day in August), or increase your intake of foods containing D (eggs, liver, milk and milk products, plus oily fish such as salmon, tuna and sardines)
Work on Your Breathing
One of the most life-changing books I have read was James Nestor’s book, Breath.
James – a journalist – spent years researching the breath and along the way turned himself into a human guinea pig, testing the results of mouth breathing. The results were staggering: In 10 days he developed sleep apnoea, high blood pressure and his stress levels were off the charts – all just as a result of not breathing through his nose.
Drawing on thousands of years of medical texts and studies, further results he found around breathing correctly were nothing short of miraculous. Modern research shows that if we make even just the slightest adjustments to the way we exhale and inhale, it can have wide reaching effects on our health – from jump-starting athletic performance to halting asthma and autoimmune disease. It can even straighten scoliotic spines. And yes – it can certainly make a difference to our immunity! I highly recommend giving his book a read, and concentrating on your breathing. For something that’s free, it can make one hell of a difference!
Socialise (Sensibly!)
Now, of course if you are feeling unwell or the person you’re hoping to meet up with is under the weather, definitely reschedule your plans, but otherwise, boost your wellbeing by catching up with a friend or two.
Human beings are social creatures, and it seems, we need to be social in order to feel in tip-top condition.
“Being alone or isolated can be more detrimental than some chronic conditions. It actually starts breaking down the body. The more that we isolate, the more that we become depressed, and the more that we get anxious.” says Dr Jonathan Leary, founder of social wellness Club, Remedy Place.
Make a Smoothie…
Okay, yes, we know we need to get lots of veges into our diet if we want to boost our immunity, but it’s hard sometimes finding the time (and energy) to prepare nutritious meals every night! That’s where the smoothie comes in. You can pop your fruits and veges into a blender with some ice and start your day off with a boost (it’s also a good way of using up those wilting veges in the fridge, or, you can generally buy cheap boxes from fruit and veges stores that are at the end of their lives!)
Nutritionist Mikki Williden has a few more tips to making the perfect smoothie: “If making a smoothie, add in fresh (ideally organic) herbs and greens – keeping them in a smoothie rather than as a juice keeps the fibre in, which is good for our gut. Make it thick enough to require some chewing (good for your digestion) rather than a thin liquid!”
Spend Some Time in Nature
Rongoā Māori practitioner Donna Kerridge (Ngāti Tahinga, Ngāti Mahuta) says a separation from nature is behind many of our modern ailment.
“A lot of our illnesses come from disconnection – disconnection from our community, disconnection from nature,” she says. “A lot of us are born and bred city folk, and we definitely don’t like mud in our toes and we’ve forgotten how to jump in puddles. We’ve forgotten the vibrancy that comes from jumping into cold water. All of those things that help build our immune system, because reconnecting to nature lifts our immune system for lots of reasons. We feel included and we have hope for a better future, once we start to reconnect to nature.”
Want to read more from Donna? Click here.
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