5 Tips to Boost Your Immunity During the Holidays

The cold morning breeze, the Christmas carols, the sparkling and colorful lights at night remind us that the most awaited season of the year is here. The season of sharing and giving has finally arrived!

Christmas is a very joyful season, a celebration we all look forward to. Personally, Christmas is about making up for lost time with friends and loved-ones. To others, Christmas means giving and completing items from their Christmas wishlists. While others associate Christmas as an opportunity to relax and unwind from heavy work demands. 

Blissful and festive as it is, the so-called holiday rush can be stressful. Attending parties, reunions and merry-makings here and there is exhilarating but can be tiring. Many people in popular establishments mean crowded places and heavy traffic; which adds to the normal holiday traffic because of shopping mall sales and extended mall hours. Making your way through the crowd just to find that perfect gift can be exhausting. Brainstorming for your Christmas gift list can be draining and completing your noche buena items can cause increased stress levels because of long lines at groceries and department stores.

Increased stress levels weaken our immune system and make us more susceptible to illnesses. While they say that stress is inevitable, there are some ways to keep our bodies strong and healthy this season:

1) Begin the day with a positive mindset.

As the old cliche says, mind over matter; our brain is very powerful that whatever it conceives, there's a big chance it will happen. Say you wake up and think of how bad this day is because of the deadlines you have to meet, most probably, you will really end up having one.

Waking up to a new day is one of the best blessings to be thankful for. How lucky are we to be given another day to enjoy, learn and make a new start. So why destroy a brand new day with a negative thought in mind? We all have our fair share of struggles so never let them affect your day and life. Remember that there's a solution to every problem and every time you think of stressful things, you are not just ruining your day but you are also harming your health. So the moment you wake up, be thankful and think of positive thoughts to attract them.

The Gift of Education

If there is one thing I could give the Philippines, that is the gift of education.

In terms of effort, the government has been doing its part. They have been continuously exploring ways to improve the quality of education, hence the implementation of the K-12 education system program. Financial resources have been utilized to build additional classrooms, hire teachers and buy school books and materials. A mobile education system was formulated to help more Filipinos gain access to education. Despite the efforts, there are still a lot of things that need to be done.

We have seen television documentaries of children taking the extra mile just to pursue education. Children walking for hours ignoring the scorching heat of the sun or the heavy downpour of the rain just to get to the lone school in their municipality located kilometers away from their homes. Some were forced to cross dangerous bridges or rivers or even embark on a wavy and terrifying boat ride just to get to school. Some would have to work extra so they can buy schools supplies or have pocket money to buy food. Some would have to settle for recycled school supplies, worn-out uniforms and even torn books; while some just won't have the luxury of having a single school supply.