How to not get sick!

Sleep I'm putting this as #1 because in my experience it's been the most important factor as to when I catch a cold or whatever. Your body is like a car and it can't run 24 hours straight it needs a break to recharge, eliminate toxins, and all those other good things your body does when you sleep.

Teas to drink when you are sick/are stressed out/running low on sleep and want to prevent illness! I'm putting them in order of how best they are for your health! It has been found that herbal teas are healthier to drink than filtered water. You should not drink soda, and only drink (pref. organic) coffee/alcohol (pref. organic wine) occassionally. Let me tell you tho that i drank some wine the night before i got sick and i think i got sick because i got up after only 5 hours, not letting my body recharge and get rid of all the toxins from the wine. Drink tea all day long!!!

1) fresh squeezed lemon juice of 1/2 a lemon, fresh grated ginger, honey (you can also throw an echanacea tea bag in there if available) (Knudson brand sells this in a glass jar in health food stores! However it's not fresh and it's not a tea its a drink. TEA is so much better because it is very warm/hot water.

2) Kombucha Tea - the process of making this from scrach is so complex i know you would never do it, so just look for it in a health food store. The brand i get is Yogi but i've never tried any others.

3) A tea that says "Breathe Easy" is good for me, whenever i have respitory problems it works to clear the shit in my nose.

Massage/Reflexology/Reiki I recommend you have a few people massage your back, hands, and feet (or whatever they are willing to do!) using a chemical-free lotion, and then pick the best one and who you are most comfortable with. This is a big de-stressor and has immune-inhancing benefits! The next level is reiki, which for most is more intense than massage. This drains out all your negative energy and replaces it with positive energy and you'll be able to deal with stress easier throughout the day!

Spine Tapping. If you can't find someone willing to do that, have someone do this at the end of your day or towards the end of your day. While you lay down on your stomach or sit comfortably leaning over in a chair, have someon slowly and gently tap on your spine from your head down to your tailbone and back up. The tapping should be slow and overlapping (hitting the same points a few times each as you move down the spine), and it should take an entire minute to get down the spine once before working back up. Having someone do this for 10 or 15 minutes as you lay down in a quiet room with your eyes closed is the most intense yet quick and easy stress-releaving thing I know! If you either discuss or mentally think about the tasks, chores, obstacles or stressors throughout your day while someone taps, it helps reduce the stress that these items bring you. It sure beats taking an entire hour out of the day to go get all sweaty in a Yoga class!

I know it may sound weird to ask someone, but TRUST ME this is great. Maybe consider giving the massage/spine tap to the other person first (find someone stressed!) so that they understand why you want them to do it to you. Make a regulary buddy this way and if you could do this every day or three times a week that would be great!

My favorite "I'm sick and miserable" reciepe: Coconut oil, kale, garlic. When you are sick, two things that will kill a viral infection are coconut oil (spoon it in liquid form a few times a day! yea it tastes grose (like all medicine!), but just have a chaser). Also, freshly chopped garlic has properties that will kill viral infections. When i'm sick i eat this receipe at least once a day and its easy as long as you have the ingredients! Put 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a pot (cook on LOW heat), chop fresh garlic (A LOT OF IT!) and put that in first. Then put about 1/3 cup of filtered water in, then put the chopped kale (cut the leaves off the stem and throw the stem out) in and mix around for 10 minutes. This will help your body fight off your illness! However if you want to add a little taste and protein, put some beans in (with the kale leaves). I usually use pinto beans or lentils or both.

Music Don't listen to depressing music - Listen to happy music such as mates of state! If you want i will mail you the only other album you don't have by them. They are playing on saturday i'm so excited!!! I actually have CDs of soothing raindrops/showers that are good to fall asleep to that some people say help de-stress themselves (you need headphones, earplugs work best cuz they are compact). I find they help me fall asleep very easy (good for insomnia). They also have the added benefit of making you smarter because behind the rain drops are inaudable (but your subconscious picks it up) binural beats. Through resonance technology, they exercise your brain dendrytes and create new neuron pathways in your brain!

Help combat the effects of stress on the body! I've never tried this before but it is loaded with B and C vitamins and is only $10. http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html?deptid=21236&parentid=92&stocknumber=492&page=2&itemsperpage=12

Brain food for Vegetarians and Vegans: Make sure your getting enough brain food! If you don't regularly consume fish oils, the veggie alternative is to generous portions of flax oil almost daily and also consider supplementing with http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html?deptid=21236&parentid=92&stocknumber=633&page=3&itemsperpage=12 For maximum B12 absorption (problem for vegans), use http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html?deptid=21236&parentid=92&stocknumber=497&page=2&itemsperpage=12.

A really good whole food multivitamin/meal replacer blend full of vegan amino acids:
http://www.veganstore.com/index-store.html?deptid=21236&parentid=92&stocknumber=878-LARGE%20VANILLA&page=4&itemsperpage=12

Vitamin C. I have for the past year been reading articles over and over about the outstanding benefits of vitamin C in extremely high doses. One even said that patients in Germany were cured of cancer by intravenous vitamin C therpay!