It’s somewhat difficult to believe that the summer season is already starting to dwindle… Just last week, we actually had a frost warning for the early morning hours in Regina. A little bit hard to believe, since we’ve spent the majority of our time fighting through laboured breathing brought on by extreme heat just a week or two prior. We’ve had some warmer days since, obviously. But the vestiges of summer are starting to disappear, with the evenings coming on earlier and a colder chill on the morning air reminding us that fall will soon be upon us.
With the change in weather comes a change to one’s body chemistry and a propensity for catching colds and all sorts of other fun stuff. As a Type-1 Diabetic, I often harp that just about everything affects my health and my blood sugar levels and an overall change in weather is no exception. As tends to happen at least twice a year when the weather changes to an extreme, I recently caught a pretty nasty illness that saw me bed-ridden whenever I wasn’t actively doing chores or working.
Getting sick definitely sucks and speaking personally, I’ve been through enough in my life without having to deal with every little bug that floats by. Unfortunately, such choices are not up to us and none of us are immune to the effects of changing weather (see what I did there?). That’s why it’s important to continue to work towards the betterment of one’s health and make sure that smart choices are taken.
Ensuring that one is properly hydrated is the first step towards those smart choices. Good hydration not only helps maintain good blood sugar levels but it helps with all sorts of other things as well, such as blood pressure, immune system and also helps to keep your heart from working harder when pumping blood. Keeping the heart happy is kind of a good thing from a, you know, staying alive standpoint. I’m definitely guilty of this since the majority of my fluid intake (at least in the mornings) are in the form of caffeine.
Eating a healthy diet is also very important as one needs all the food groups and a proper balance of vitamins, nutrients and minerals are required to ensure a strong immune system and over all health. This can be difficult, especially if you do shift work, have little or no time for meal prep or somehow manage to have fresh produce go bad before you actually have a chance to consume it. Given that the cost of everything is going up these days, spending that much money on stuff can seem redundant if all one does is toss it out.
Last but not least is exercise. It’s no secret that exercise can be an integral and important part of one’s weekly and even daily routine. It’s pretty hard to focus on exercise when one is sick and honestly, if you’re feeling like a bag of smashed ass, it may not be the time to start trying to beat your personal push-up record or breaking a heavy sweat. You could end up doing more damage than good, compromising your immune system and making it take longer to heal. On the flip side, sitting idle for long days on end isn’t the greatest, either. The idea is to find that “sweet spot” where you do something to keep your blood flow going and prevent undoing any of the progress you may have been making before getting sick.
Getting sick sucks but there’s no way to avoid it completely, so taking steps to mitigate the effects and the damage are important. Naturally, one can’t go running to the ER for every batch of sniffles (especially nowadays!) so if you get ill, you should prepare for a few days of fighting through it at home. If you see that it’s been well over a week and you’re still ill with no signs of getting better, you may want to consult your doctor or medical practitioner as it could be a sign of something that will need a push in getting over. ☯️
The Blogging Buddhist 