Sooooo many people sick with the flu. Sooooo many people sooooo sick, for sooooo long. How does that happen? One cause is that sooooo many people are burning the candle at both ends. Running themselves ragged, running themselves into the ground. At some point, the body has to slap us down to get us to rest! We call that illness.

How does running ourselves into the ground set the stage for illness - in particular this time of year, the flu?

When we run around, we are stressed. Stress is interpreted by the body as a fight or flight response. In fight or flight, anything not needed for running or fighting gets shut down. Two of those are immune function and digestion. That's OK every now and then, but if it persists and we have a chronically shutdown immune response - well, we've just lost our best defense against microbial invasion.

That gets coupled with eating improperly. When stressed and overly busy, we don't take the time to prepare healthy meals. Again, that's okay once in a while, but when it becomes the norm rather than the exception, we deplete our bodies of the nutrients needed to support healthy immune functioning (healthy functioning, period). We typically add too many "comfort foods" or "easy foods," which tend to be high in sugar/carbohydrates. This, too, can suppress immune function. When we do get sick, we tend to eat even more of these foods, and actually prolong our illness! Not a smart thing to do!

When we eat on the run, we also suppress digestion (part of that fight or flight response). That, in turn, means we get less of the nutrients our bodies are in so desperate need of. Too bad it's not the sugar that doesn't get through to our cells!

If that weren't enough, we add insult to injury by going to bed later and later in order to get things done. OR, we go to bed, but can't sleep because of all the racing thoughts. Either way, sleep deprivation compromises the immune system even more.

The solution? When you start realizing you're getting run down, begin by taking things off your plate. Learn to say "no." Take some time to relax - take a nice, leisurely walk around the neighborhood and enjoy the flowers beginning to spring up. Plan ahead for healthy meals on the days you typically run for fast foods. Get to bed early - with the added rest, you'll find your use of your awake time is more efficient anyway. Spend quality time with your family, friends at church, and those who uplift and support you. The result? Your immune system will love you and uphold you when you need it the most!

Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with more than 32 years of experience. She is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d'Alene clinic. Visit Carling's website at www.vitalhealthandfitness.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. She can be reached at (208) 765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.