Sickness and Seasonality: The Connection Between Weather Changes and Sickness

6 Minute Read
Trees in fall

As we leave behind the early days of autumn and enter the season of longer nights and chillier days, we find ourselves on an all-too-familiar emotional rollercoaster.

At first, there's the anticipation—the thrill of digging out our favorite sweaters, the promise of cozy nights inside, and yes, perhaps even the unbridled joy of indulging in spiced seasonal beverages.

Then, the real excitement takes over. The holidays are just around the corner, bringing with them the sparkling magic of festive lights, crackling fires, and cherished moments with loved ones. (And hopefully, some much-deserved time off.)

But underneath all that seasonal elation, a quiet anxiety still lingers. Because while all this good stuff is happening, we still can’t help but brace ourselves for the other inevitable promise of the season: the sneezy, coughy, snotty (and hopefully not feverish) sick days that threaten to ruin all we hold dear in the colder months.

This annual experience of being both elated for all the fun winter promises, while also dreading the illness the season seems especially good at doling out, is nothing new.

So, the important question remains: is it really winter weather that’s responsible for the uptick in illness? And the even more important follow-up question: regardless of why we’re more likely to get sick, what can we do to stay well?

First, does cold weather make you sick ?

Sick person blowing nose

The short answer is, unfortunately, yes.

It’s true—the incoming season also brings with it the cold, hard truth (no pun intended) that illness will soon be on the rise. Because chilly weather does play a role in upping the risk of getting sick.

While factors like lower humidity and simply staying indoors more often are partly to blame, there’s so much more to the story than that.

The connection between cold weather, illness, and the modern world at large

Sure, the shift from warm summer days to chillier winter nights creates the right environment for germs to thrive, but what we’ve come to call “flu season” isn’t so much about the flu as it is about the environment in which we live. (Yes. Really.)

There’s a deep wealth of scientific reasons for this (you can read and watch more about it here!), but to put it plainly: our effect on the environment—thanks to pollution, herbicides, pesticides, etc—also comes back to have an effect on us.

Regarding winter illness? Air pollution, especially particulate matter (PM 2.5), plays a big role. These tiny particles can bind to viruses, increasing the likelihood of getting sick. So, during the winter, when plants are dormant and not absorbing carbon from the air, pollution levels spike and put illnesses on the rise.

And this is why, also, flu season seems to magically end when spring makes its appearance. Because when plants and greenery start to bloom and come alive again, they reduce carbon levels by 96-98% in just a few short weeks. Poof. Winter sickness? Gone.

To be perfectly honest, what we call “flu season” may actually be better renamed as “carbon season.”

And to truly tackle flu season on a large scale, we need to think way, way bigger than microscopic germs and viruses. We need to think about how to actually clean up our environment, reduce pollution—especially air pollution—and live more harmoniously with nature.

How to naturally protect yourself during cold and flu season (emphasis on “naturally”)

Cleaning up the environment and changing how we live is important for our health. But that will take time, and sickness season is almost here. So, what can we do?

Surprise, surprise. Someone’s got that figured out. Her name is Mother Nature, and she had some really smart ideas about how to create our bodies to help us thrive, even in the face of pathogens that may make us ill.

Nature equipped us with an immune system that is incredibly good at its job, especially if it has the right support. What does that mean? Well, supporting where you can find the majority of your immune system is the best place to start. Your gut, that is.

That’s one of the reasons why immune response and gut health are innately connected and why if you take care of one, the other benefits. (And vice versa.)

Vital Immunity and Gut Support

Pair +Vital Immunity and ION* Gut Support for a naturally supercharged immune boost

Just like your immune system and gut work together to keep you healthy, the same is true for +Vital Immunity and ION* Gut Support. They go hand-in-hand to help your body thrive the way Mother Nature intended.

+Vital Immunity is a new, uniquely powerful, all-natural supplement drink mix formulated to boost immune response, scavenge free radicals, and support your body’s defenses on the cellular level—all thanks to a potent blend of whole botanicals and adaptogens backed by science.

But immune response alone isn’t enough, you need a strong gut, too. That’s where ION* Gut Support comes in. It’s the only all-natural wellness solution proven to strengthen your gut in as little as 16 minutes.

Unlike other narrowly-focused supplements, prebiotics, or even probiotics that simply introduce billions of bacteria into your gut without addressing the need for diversity, ION* Gut Support is completely different. It does what no other wellness solution can to get right to the heart of immune function by sealing the tight junctions in your gut lining—even when exposed to harmful toxins like glyphosate.

Together, +Vital Immunity and ION* Gut Support creates a powerful immune defense—no matter what the weather outside is doing. (And if you do get sick, your boosted immune response means you’ll recover faster!)

Science and nature should never be at odds

Using science to back nature’s solutions is the right way to look at the world and our place within it. By using natural supplements like +Vital Immunity and ION* Gut Support to bolster the innate defenses Mother Nature has already designed for us, we can stay well without throwing other aspects of our health—or the environment—out of balance.

In addition to being all-natural and effective, one of the best things about these two products is their simplicity. Both are gentle and are easily incorporated into the busiest of schedules.

All you have to do is simply mix a packet of +Vital Immunity into 6 oz of filtered water and add a teaspoon of ION* Gut Support. Then, enjoy a body that’s supported at its most foundational level with all-natural ingredients that work with Mother Nature’s design—not against it.

Get ready for “flu” season by protecting yourself in any weather

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Sure, colder weather does indeed play a role in why we get sick, but the bigger picture remains that how we interact with our environment is key to why we’re falling ill.

While we can’t fix pollution or our environmental problems overnight, we can take steps to protect ourselves from within. By supporting your gut health and boosting our immune defenses with +Vital Immunity and ION* Gut Support, you’re taking care of the systems that were created specially to take care of you.

So, as we all start shrugging into our warm jackets and looking ahead to cozy moments inside with loved ones, it’s also the perfect time to rethink how we protect ourselves and our families, not just for flu season, but for the long run.

Try +Vital Immunity and ION* Gut Support today and get a head start on a healthier tomorrow—for many tomorrows to come.

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