Staying healthy and avoiding illness can be preventable. Here are 5 steps you can take to ensure that you avoid illness.

1. Safe food handling and storage

Did you know that there is no such thing as the 24 hour flu? If you have become violently ill for the duration of 24-48 hours or less, you have consumed contaminated food. This may be the result of cross-contamination (food that has touched other tainted foods or surfaces), undercooked meat or food that has been improperly stored or thawed. You can prevent illness by disinfecting your kitchen and food preparation surfaces often and following safe food storage guidelines as set out by the Food Safety and Inspection Services. Always use a meat thermometer to determine if your food is properly cooked. This is the only way to really tell if your meat is fully cooked to a safe temperature. Use an appliance thermometer to ensure your refrigerator and freezer are keeping your foods at safe temperatures during storage and store all meats at the bottom of the fridge and vegetables and other foods at the top. This will prevent the meats from cross-contaminating your raw foods.

2. Take care of your immune system

Your body’s immune system is your natural defence against illness and disease. We are designed to fight off external attacks from infections, viruses, chemicals and our environment as well as internal diseases such as cancer. Our skin, organs and blood all work together to battle disease but if any one area becomes stressed or weakened, the immune system can break down and allows us to become ill. A healthy lifestyle of proper nutrition, the right amount of sleep, exercise, reduced stress, proper hygiene and avoidance of toxins such as tobacco and alcohol will help you maintain a healthy immune system. Supplements including protein, vitamins A, C, and E, omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, selenium, calcium, iron, and antioxidants, including carotenoids like lycopene and beta carotene will help keep your immune system strong.

3. Hand washing

We all know to wash our hands after going to the bathroom, but there are a great deal of other sources that are equally as germ laden as a bathroom. Surfaces such as keyboards, telephones, TV remote controls, money, hand rails and banisters and so on are handled often by many people and are rarely disinfected. Our hands pick up germs and bacteria constantly. Get in the habit of keeping your fingers out of your mouth, nose and eyes as these are the three main portals for ingesting bacteria and viruses. Wash your hands not only after using the bathroom, but before you eat. To wash your hands properly, wet your hands with warm (not hot) water, lather with soap for at least 20 seconds away from the stream of water and then rinse thoroughly. It is the suds of the soap that trap the germs in the bubbles and allow them to be rinsed away.

4. Balanced diet and exercise

Your body is like a fine tuned machine. It requires adequate fuel and movement to function properly. A balanced diet will ensure that all of your organs are well maintained with the necessary energy, vitamins and minerals it needs and movement will keep your circulation and joints healthy.

5. Reduce stress

There is no doubt about it, high stress levels can do a number on your health. Your immune system will weaken, you can develop high blood pressure and your mental health can suffer when you are exposed to stressors long-term. We all have things that stress us out whether it is from work, kids, financial problems, etc. It may not be possible to eliminate stress from your life entirely, but you can give your body “time off” to help it recover. The key is to identify the source of your stress and do what you can to reduce it. The other important factor is to take time to de-stress. This may involve taking some “me” time or maybe just a few minutes of meditation or deep breathing several times per day.

The fact is that illness can be prevented and taking a pro-active approach to your health is always much more effective at keeping yourself healthy than treating illnesses when they occur. You know the saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.