Even though delivery of flu shots has been delayed to many areas of the country, it’s not too late to get one - that is if you are one of the people that plans to get one.

The official recommendation is that seniors, medical professionals, and those who take care of small children should get the shot.

However, personally I am one of a group of people that really does not enjoy the idea of getting shot that is going to make me feel sick anyway. I’ve never had the flu, so I guess I can’t say how miserable I might feel if I ever got it, but I take other measures to make sure my immune system stays strong enough so that I don’t need to partake in the annual ritual of feeling poopy now to avoid possibly feeling really bad later - maybe.

I do things like exercise, (try to) get enough rest, and supplement my diet to help all of my bodily systems (including my immune system) to work more effectively. In the past I’ve found that even if I come down with something that has been particularly virulent (it’s going around and everybody is getting it) my symptoms are not nearly as bad as anyone else’s and I get over it much sooner.

In addition to using a good protein supplement, a comprehensive group of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, beneficial bacteria and enzymes (wow, that’s quite a list :)) I use an immune system booster that has been shown to be powerful enough to reduce the amount of virus in people with hepatitis C, reduce allergy symptoms (by helping the body to determine what is an invader and what is not) and even reduce PMS and menopausal symptoms. I’m not really sure how that last part works, but there evidence for it.

Basically, I feel confident enough in my body’s ability to fight off illness that I don’t intentionally get myself ill (as the flu shot does for most people) just to possibly fight off something that I would likely be able to fight off anyway.

But for those that do feel the need to get “the shot”, you should do it before the middle part of December, at the latest. It takes about 10 days for the body to produce the antibodies for the particular strain of flu that is predicted to be going around by then. The end of December and all of January are the peak times for the flu virus to spread.