Have you managed to spend the end of the year holidays without too much damage to your health? It only remains now to try to slalom between the ailments of winter, which are particularly rife at the moment.
An IFOP poll recently revealed the extent of the evil! More than one in six French people do not escape the evils of winter. In question the viruses… Because contrary to what one believes, they like the cold… Even the very extreme cold does not kill them… They fall asleep while waiting for the warming. This is how some have remained alive for hundreds of years. On the other hand, they do not like extreme heat. And then there is the “end of the year party” phenomenon. When the aunt of Strasbourg comes to party at the Parisian nephew with the uncle of Brest, to the mandible polka is added the waltz of viruses which start to travel all over France and jump from one person to another in the thanks to hugs and conversations.
Fortunately, this is what this poll confirms, the French have rather the right reflexes. First, when you can have clothes that are well adapted to the cold. It is important to keep the body at 37 °, because it is a temperature that viruses fear. The message is getting across rather well, except that an effort must be made for children who are too often outside bareheaded. However, a bare-headed child is proportionally the same surface area of the body exposed to the cold as a shirtless adult!
I add that the organ of respiration is the nose, which is equipped with blood vessels to warm the air. So a hat for everyone, gloves, good socks – the ends are fragile – and a scarf that covers the mouth. You breathe through your nose … and you can go out without fear as long as you don’t slip … Another good habit: four out of ten French people wash their hands more often in order not to get sick. They are right: 80% of bacteria and viruses are transmitted through the hands. But it also means that 6 out of 10 do not wash them enough …
As for vitamin C, it is very popular. It is apparently the secret boot of the French. This is not a bad thing, but there is no need to take medication, instead, you should focus on lots of fruits and vegetables to fight winter viruses. It is also the second most popular prevention strategy. Fruits and vegetables are indeed rich in vitamin C. Nature being well made, they are also seasonal products: kiwi, orange and tangerine in the fruit section, peppers, black radish, broccoli and Brussels sprouts in the vegetable section.
As for grandmother’s recipes, there is the toddy that I could praise since anything that increases body temperature is good against germs. But I would like to point out that the alcohol that we put in it does nothing… from a medical point of view! Finally, the dozens of drugs that overflow the shelves of pharmacies and which are supposed to help us get through the winter… They will especially help the pharmacist and the pharmaceutical industry to approach the summer. Indeed, there are no miracle drugs. The family medicine cabinet has more pitfalls than solutions.
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