Make Back to School Healthy

That’s because fall also heralds the start of cold and flu season. Although it’s important to make sure the little scholars stay healthy in the classroom, students aren’t uniquely at risk of getting sick this time of year. Teachers and parents are also at risk of catching any bug that’s circulating around campus. In fact, these adults typically experience a sharp rise in infections, catching two to four colds or viral illnesses each year.¹ What’s more, households with multiple young school-aged children face active viral detection for more than half the year.²

Of course, young children, parents, and teachers aren’t the only ones who are vulnerable. Studies show that viral infections heavily impact high school and college students due to close group living and social contact.³  Regardless of age, the last thing you need right now is to be stuck on the sidelines with an illness.

Back to School Means More Colds and Flu

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, most kids get six to eight colds per year—and children who attend daycare get even more. Most respiratory illnesses have been shown to occur in  winter, when children are indoors and exposed to more germs.⁴ And that means your exposure goes way up, too! Making matters worse, humidity also drops, making nasal passages drier and putting you at greater risk for infection.

Tips for a Healthy Back to School Season

Sidestepping illness isn’t always easy. But following a few proven steps can help keep your family’s risk of getting sick to a minimum.

Hand washing basics. Germs live on surfaces—and kids seem to touch everything. That’s why washing your hands (and theirs) can be one of the most effective ways of eliminating any bacteria and viruses you may encounter throughout the day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends washing with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds, which is about how long it takes to sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice. And remember, hand sanitizer should be used as addition to, not as a substitute for, proper handwashing.

Focus on eating healthy. Back-to-school schedules can leave families with little time to focus on eating right. Though the drive-thru or pizza delivery may be crowd-pleasing time-savers, the foods they offer are typically devoid of any meaningful nutrients, and that can create the perfect environment for an illness to take hold. That’s because what you eat has a direct impact on the makeup and activity of your gut microbiota, which affects both your physical and mental health.⁵ Fast and prepackaged meals are also loaded with unhealthy fats and additives. A recent study showed that a high-fat diet can hinder a type of white blood cell called neutrophils, which act like your body’s first line of defense against infections.⁶ So instead of leaving your dinner choices to the last minute, take a couple of hours over the weekend to meal plan and prep for the upcoming week. That way, you can make sure everyone is eating healthy while saving time when needing it most.

Try to manage stress. Let’s be real: back-to-school stress is unavoidable. No matter how good a planner you are, the sudden flurry of activity can leave you feeling frazzled. If stress becomes chronic, it can wear your immune system down, and open you up to a host of more-serious health issues.⁷  Blocking out a little time each day to unwind can help defuse the stress and balance immunity. For instance, meditation not only helps reduce stress, it can have an impact on excessive or persistent inflammation that comes with a sluggish immune system.⁸ If you’re new to this practice, a good place to start is by downloading a meditation app on your phone, such as Calm, Headspace, or Serenity.

Get plenty of sleep. Shifting schedules, extracurricular activities, and late nights can really mess with everyone’s sleep routine. But not getting enough shut-eye can negatively affect your immune response and lead to increased pro-inflammatory activity, which can increase your risk of catching whatever’s going around. It can also up your risk of developing an inflammation-related chronic disease over the long run.⁹ However, if you find that getting eight hours of sleep each night just isn’t in the cards, at least try to keep a consistent sleep schedule. Hit the sack at the same time every night, as regular high-quality sleep may be just as important.

Supplements to Level Up Your Immunity

Even if you take precautions this cold and flu season, it may not be enough to ward off every bug kids heading off to college or adults caring for younger kids are exposed to. One supplement shown to help reinforce your immune response during cold and flu season is Aged Garlic Extract (AGE). Clinical studies show that AGE not only enhances immune cell activity, it also reduces the severity of cold and flu symptoms.¹⁰  It’s also been shown to reduce inflammation and improve your gut’s microbial profile.¹¹

Supplements that provide a targeted combination of medicinal mushrooms can also help fortify your immune system. Studies show that chaga, cordyceps, and turkey tail mushrooms can support a healthy immune response in a variety of ways. Chaga contains potent compounds, including beta-glucans that bind to receptors on immune cells, triggering the proliferation of white blood cells and regulating cytokine production to enhance the body’s immune response.¹² Cordyceps mushrooms, on the other hand, increase natural killer (NK) cell activity by as much as 38.8 percent.¹³  Since NK cells are the immune system’s first responders, this action can help nip illness in the bud. Finally, turkey tail mushrooms contain polysaccharides that stimulate and regulate the immune system while helping manage inflammation.¹⁴ Taken together, these mushrooms help protect the body from common viruses that can trigger back-to-school illnesses.

To ensure you’re getting a concentrated source of these beneficial compounds, check the Supplement Facts label on the mushroom supplement you’re considering to confirm it contains fruiting bodies instead of mycelium.¹⁷  For even more protection, look for an immune specific supplement that pairs these mushrooms with other herbs and nutrients like oregano, B12, and zinc—additional ingredients shown to further fortify immunity.^15,16

Going back to school is challenging enough on its own. But adding cold and flu season into the equation requires giving your health a little extra attention. These strategies and supplements can help to provide protection so you and your students can minimize illnesses that can take time away from school and family time.

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1. Bowers E, Entrup GP, Islam M, et al.  High fat diet feeding impairs neutrophil phagocytosis, bacterial killing, and neutrophil-induced hematopoietic regeneration. The Journal of Immunology. 2025;214 (4):680–93.
2. Alotiby A. Immunology of stress: a review article. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2024;13(21):6394.
3. Chandran V, Bermudez ML, Koka M, et al. Large-scale genomic study reveals robust activation of the immune system following advanced Inner Engineering meditation retreat. PNAS. 2021;118(51):e2110455118.
4. Garbarino S, Lanteri P, Bragazzi NL, et al. Role of sleep deprivation in immune-related disease risk and outcomes. Communications Biology. 2021;4:1304.
5. Percival SS. Aged Garlic Extract Modifies Human Immunity. The Journal of Nutrition. 2016;146(2):433S–6S.
6. Ried K, Travica N, Sali A. The effect of Kyolic Aged Garlic Extract on gut microbiota, inflammation, and cardiovascular markers in hypertensives: The GarGIC Trial. Frontiers in Nutrition. 2018;5:122.
7. Kim YR. Immunomodulatory activity of the water extract from medicinal mushroom Inonotus obliquus. Mycobiology. 2005;33(3):158-62.
8. Jung SJ, Jung ES, Choi EK, et al. Immunomodulatory effects of a mycelium extract of Cordyceps (Paecilomyces hepiali; CBG-CS-2): a randomized and double-blind clinical trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine. 2019;19(1):77.

14. Camilleri E, Blundell R, Baral B, et al. A comprehensive review on the health benefits, phytochemicals, and enzymatic constituents for potential therapeutic and industrial applications of Turkey tail mushrooms.Discover Applied Sciences. 2024;6:257.
15. Shakeri H, Azimian A, Ghasemzadeh-Moghaddam H, et al. Evaluation of the relationship between serum levels of zinc, vitamin B12, vitamin D, and clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Journal of Medical Virology. 2022;94(1):141-146.
16. Leyva-López N, Gutiérrez-Grijalva EP, Vazquez-Olivo G, et al. Essential oils of oregano: biological activity beyond their antimicrobial properties. 2017;22(6):989.
17. Fijałkowska A, Muszyńska B, Sułkowska-Ziaja K,et al. Medicinal potential of mycelium and fruiting bodies of an arboreal mushroom Fomitopsis officinalis in therapy of lifestyle diseases. Scientific Reports. 2020;10:

This article is for informational purposes only. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice.