If your weight, health and overall quality of life weren't reason enough to get active on a regular basis, here's another one that might get you off the couch: Working out can help you fight the flu this winter season. Well, that's according to a study on mice anyway. Researchers from Iowa State University have found that mice who regularly run on a treadmill experience flu symptoms that are far less severe than the symptoms suffered by their lazier counterparts. Even mice who only started exercising right before the flu had less severe symptoms, though the ones who were regular gym-rats (pardon the pun) had longer-lasting positive effects -- meaning their symptoms were diminished throughout the course of their illness, not just in the first few days.

The findings, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, suggest that exercise can really boost the immune system, and while it's not clear whether the results can be applied to humans as well, researchers are optimistic. And besides, it's already the general consensus that regular, moderate exercise helps improve your odds against illness.

Still, don't overdo it -- you can get too much of a good thing. According to Jeffrey A. Woods, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois, prolonged and intense exercise sessions can lead "to increased susceptibility to viral infection." His advice on navigating flu season? "I would recommend everyone get the annual influenza vaccination and the new H1N1 vaccination," he tells The New York Times.

The flu isn't the only thing that exercise is good for -- cardio is more effective than heart surgery.

Like the rest of America, you're probably trying to slim down this January. But here's a good reason to not diet this new year:

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Recent research suggests that dieting during flu season could make you more likely to catch the flu. Researchers from Michigan State University put mice on a calorie-restricted diet; the mice found it harder to fight off the infection than other mice who were given higher amounts of calories.

So, yay! Hand over the chocolate cake, I'm going to eat some calories and save myself from the flu. Uh ... no.

The mice in the study were given 40 percent fewer calories than their non-restricted counterparts. That's a pretty drastic calorie reduction. Safe and effective weight loss involves cutting calories, certainly -- but the reduction shouldn't be as drastic as that in the study. You can use an online calculator to estimate your caloric needs. Eating healthfully, as balanced diets suggest you do, will help you with your weight loss efforts while keeping your body strong, healthy and able to fight off illness.

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The common cold. Ugh. Even typing the words leaves me feeling a bit drained. When my son got home from school last Friday, he gave me a hug and said, "Mom, you feel warm." Sure enough ... a few hours later, I was spiking a 101.6 temperature. The next two days, I was practically glued to the couch and was starting to feel like a real slug. And it made me wonder: How much of a damper does the common cold really have to put on your fitness routine?

Fitness expert Chris Freytag recommends doing the "neck check." If your symptoms are limited to the neck or above -- such as a stuffy nose or a sore throat -- you're likely OK to exercise. In fact, gentle exercise may help unclog your sinuses a bit, and the circulation boost will help fight the fatigue symptoms. If you're having symptoms below the neck -- such as chills or stomach problems -- you should probably stick to rest.

Knowing how I felt this weekend, I wasn't about to do anything strenuous. But today, when I was feeling a bit better but still far from 100 percent, I got up and followed a portion of my typical fitness routine. I wasn't able to finish it, but even doing a bit of it made me feel better. If a cold has you down, listen to your body -- if it's calling for rest, give it what it needs. But don't forgo fitness entirely -- even a little bit can make you feel more like your healthy self.

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There's no denying it -- some people seem to be prone to every kind of illness out there, while some are healthy as a horse. I tend to fall into the latter category -- besides one doozy of a cold I had last January, I haven't been sick in ages. But trust me, I'm exposed to just as many germs as anyone else, be it at the office, at the gym, at school and just about any public place I frequent.

AOL Health recently listed the healthy habits of women who never get sick, including these:

• Get regular massages (I really like this one!)
• Wash your hands
• Sip ginger and honey for stomach and bowel issues
• Take cold showers
• Get your fill of garlic, vitamin c and zinc

As for me, I find that the old adage an apple a day keeps the doctor away really works! How do you stay healthy?

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Germs are all around us all the time. Try as you might to keep yourself free from them, save for living in a plastic bubble, there's really not much you can do to provide 100 percent protection. Wear rubber gloves? Wear a face mask? Wear an entire Haz-Mat suit? Go for it if it makes you feel "cleaner." Truth be told, however, measures of this kind are no more effective at preventing the spread of germs than much simpler methods.

For starters, keep your fingernails clean. Germs are found in the most abundance underneath your fingernails, so you'd be wise to thoroughly wash your hands throughout the day. And, as you'd probably expect, don't bite your fingernails, either. One would assume that everyone washes their hands, but it's actually not the case. Women's Health recently reported that a 2006 international survey found that two-thirds of American adults admit to not washing their hands properly (falling right behind the appropriately-named Germany). Another simple way to help keep as germ free as possible is to not shake hands with someone who you just heard coughing up a lung. Germs can hang around on human skin for two hours, so when Coughy McCo-Worker extends his or her hand, you may want to tactfully and respectfully decline.

Look, it's almost impossible to stay completely germ free. But, there are steps you can take to at least minimize your exposure, such as those mentioned. Feel free to add more suggestions of your own in the comments section below.

I know it got me. Did it get you? Despite getting the flu vaccine last fall, I was down for the count with one of the nastiest bouts of flu I've ever had. According to US health officials, I wasn't alone. This flu season has been the worst in four years.

According to the CDC, the flu vaccine was only 44% effective against the strains of the flu viruses that were out this year. While it gave 58% protection over the most predominant strain, it was completely ineffective against other types of the flu virus.

In previous years, the flu vaccine has had up to a 70% effectiveness. The vaccine is developed each year based on data about the currently circulating strains of the influenza virus. According to the CDC, the vaccine has been a good match to the circulating viruses in 16 of the past 20 years.

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I know a lot of people who say that they catch some kind of bug every time they fly. There's no doubt that sharing cabin air and sitting in close proximity to a passenger with a contagious illness ups your risk of getting sick yourself.

What's a person to do when they fall ill before a flight? The right thing to do is to stay put to protect your own health as well as the health of others, but getting out of your ticket can be especially tricky.

Travel columnist Elliot Christopher has four tips for travelers who find themselves suddenly and seriously ill before a flight, tips that might just help you skip your flight without losing hundreds of dollars in fees or non-refundable tickets. It's not always an easy battle to win, but it might not be as hard as you think.

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There's a cold season. And a flu season. But these pesky sicknesses linger year-round really, which means we must consistently fight them off and work at staying healthy. Here's how.

1. Wash your hands often, like at least five times a day.

2. Wash your hands twice when you wash them -- if you're serious about fending off colds, anyway.

3. Use your knuckle to rub your eyes. The eye is the perfect entry point for germs and knuckles are less likely to be contaminated with viruses than fingertips.

4. Run your toothbrush through the microwave on high for 10 seconds to sterilize it. And replace it every month when you change the page on your calendar and after you've had a cold.

5. Leave the windows in your house open a crack in winter. Fresh air does wonders for chasing out germs.

6. Lower the heat in your house five degrees. Lowering the temperature and using a room humidifier helps maintain a healthier level of humidity in the winter.

7. Scrub under your fingernails every night. They're a great hiding place for germs.

8. Sneeze and cough into your arm or a tissue. Coughing and sneezing into a hand puts germs right where you can spread them to objects and other people. Switch to the crook of your elbow instead.

For an extra helping of sickness-fighting strategies, take a look at this Reader's Digest article.

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Gyms are a great place to get fit, but they're also a great place to get sick. Because intense exercise may temporarily lower immunity, you may be somewhat susceptible to catching a cold or flu.

An article in the International Journal of Sports Medicine reports that people who work out tend to have fewer germ-fighting resistance molecules in their saliva after working out than before they start. So, to help stave off sickness, always wash down machines and equipment before using it, assuming that the person who used it before you didn't. Also, try to keep your hands away from your face if possible, and wash them with soap and water before leaving the gym for the day.

As for immune-boosting foods, try to consume a diet rich in vitamin C, zinc, and garlic, as all have been shown to have some semblance of affect on preventing and/or reducing the duration of a cold.

Whenever someone asks why the flu is always worse in the winter, health experts usually reply with a few of the same theories. One is that we're all inside more in the wintertime, and therefore are more likely to spread germs around. Two is that dry winter air makes our respiratory passages more susceptible to infections. While those theories may still hold water, new research about the flu bug itself have some scientists wondering if they've happened upon a new way to beat the flu.

Researchers from the NIH recently discovered that the flu virus can coat itself with a fatty material that hardens in cooler temperatures. When the virus enters a human body, the warm temperature melts the fatty material and the virus is free to cause an infection. When the weather warms up outside, the fatty material melts away and the virus dies.

In time, this may lead to a soap or cleanser that destroys that fatty outer layer. Until then, health experts recommend hand washing, exercise, and a healthy diet to ward off the flu.

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In the past, the CDC recommended the flu shot only for children under the age of five and for kids with certain chronic conditions. But as of 2009, the CDC is hoping that pediatricians will make the annual flu shot part of the yearly standard of care for all children under the age of 18.

Though the recommendations are being made to keep children healthy, in school, and to reduce the number of doctor and hospital visits, experts anticipate a secondary benefit. If schoolchildren can avoid the flu, then their parents and grandparents are likely to be healthier as well. The shots won't be mandated, just heavily encouraged. It's not clear yet, however, that health officials will be ready by 2009 to vaccinate that many children.

My older daughter was born during flu season, and her pediatrician recommended that any adults that cared for her on a regular basis get their flu shots to protect her. This recommendation seems to be the flip side of that. By vaccinating children, the CDC hopes to protect the elderly and to slow the stop of the flu in general.

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We've all seen them: co-workers who refuse to call it a day and show up anyway, even when they're coughing or sneezing the entire time. What makes them not call in a sick day? It's called "presenteeism," but researchers are finding out this costs the company more money than if they would just not go to work at all.

Other fellow employees would probably want to reduce the chance of getting sick too, so it's really in your best interest to stay home if you're exhibiting nasty symptoms. Here's a list of five reasons to call in sick if you feel the urge coming on.

For starters, watch the color of your phlegm if you have coughing and a runny nose. If it looks dark yellow, green or brown, then stay home. It could be an infection so consult a doctor. Chills accompanied by aching joins should be enough to deter anyone from spreading the funk, as this is another set of symptoms worth following up on. The classic fever is another thing to take seriously considering that it ccould easily spread to co-workers. These are just a few examples, so head on over to the full article for a rundown.

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That nasty flu bug that's been circulating around the nation hit our town a week or so ago, and my two-year-old caught it. When my husband handed her to me in the middle of the night, I could tell she was hot. It wasn't until the thermometer started beeping an alarm and showed 104.5 that I realized just how high her fever was.

Taking a young child's temperature is tricky. As unpleasant as it sounds, getting an accurate reading on kids under two or three is easiest with a rectal thermometer. But once they get older, there are literally dozens of models of thermometers to choose from. I've used an ear thermometer, but couldn't get an accurate reading, and now I use a temporal artery thermometer. It works, but it's finicky. The night my daughter came down with the flu, I wrapped her in a blanket and took her out into the cool air to work her fever down until the medication took affect. After that, I couldn't get an accurate reading because her skin was cool, but I knew her fever was still high.

It's times like these that I look forward to the day when I can just stick a thermometer under their tongues and get an answer. What do you use to check your young child's temperature?

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Nasty cough, three days of high temperatures, lethargy, refusing to eat -- I swore that the virus causing my two-year-old to suffer last week was the flu. But I had gotten her a flu shot back in October. What gives?

The CDC recently announced that there's a variation of the flu circulating this season that isn't covered by this year's flu vaccine. When vaccines are created, they include the top three most likely viruses to be spread. This year, a fourth bug is circulating that wasn't included in the vaccine. Is that bug the cause of our current woes? I have no idea, and since she's recovering nicely, whatever it was, I'm just glad that it's on its way out.

Does this mean that you shouldn't get a flu shot? Not at all. In fact, if you haven't gotten yours this year, it's not too late. The vaccine will still fight the three targeted viruses, and may even help you fight off this other virus and lower your risk of complications if you do contract it. Read more about this bug and the 11 states that are especially involved here.

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