In the years 2005 and 2006 I've been sick more than the rest of my life combined. I feel like at least once every two months I've got some kind of sore throat, stuffy nose, chest cold, head cold, or some other nonsense going on. I found this list of things to boost your immune system somewhere, which makes it seeems pretty obvious why I'm constantly on the mend:

* Washing your hands thoroughly and often with soap and warm water, particularly before eating and after using the bathroom. This reduces the number of organisms that can enter your body. -- At least I've got this one down. I wash my hands obsessively, but hopefully not so obsessively that I've screwed around with my immunity to bacteria.

* Cooking meat thoroughly to kill dangerous bacteria and other microorganisms. -- I just began ordering my meat medium but for 24 years it was always medium rare, which is still far more delicious and something I indulge in occasionally.

* Getting at least eight hours of sleep every day, deep sleep stimulates and energizes the immune system. -- I probably average less than six hours of sleep per night. Although for a small stretch (Feb of this year) I was averaging above seven and felt much, much better.

* Maintaining a healthy weght, obesity can lead to a weakened immune system. -- I weigh the same now as I did when I was 16... which was not very much even then, does that mean anything?

* Excercising at least 30 minutes most days of the week, physical activity stimulates the immune system and helps with weight maintenance or reduction. -- I haven't been regularly active since 7/05 and it can be argued that I was half-assing it then. The last time I was active every day was the fall of 2002, a time in which I weighed about 20 lbs more than I do now.

* Consuming alcohol moderately, while one drink does not appear to affect immune response, having three or more drinks in a short period starts to impair white blood cells' functioning. -- Fug to this one. I drink at least four nights a week and very rarely drink less than three drinks. I don't drink like I did in college and wouldn't really be upset if I had to cap myself at three drinks every outing.. but some things (baseball, rock-n-roll) just seem to go a little bit better with a six pack.

* Eating less sugar. 100 grams of sugar, the amount in one 12-ounce can of regular soda, can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by 40 percent for up to 5 hours! -- Have you ever seen me drink coffee? Eight sugar packets, minimum. I have given up soda, for the most part... and try to drink one glass of water with every meal, but even that's nowehere near the eight per day people say you should have.

* Not smoking. Smoking leads to lung and other cancers, and also weakens the immune system. -- I'm nowhere near the two pack a week smoker I was in college. But it's still rare that a week goes by in which I don't have at least one smoke. Always harder to hold off during the summer.

* Reducing and managing stress, such as effective time management — long periods of feeling stressed weakens the immune response. -- I work for a bank and although I have free time to blog and send emails to friends, every bit of work I do usually affects millions of dollars. Any screw ups are generally very, very big deals and getting things right can sometimes be incredibly stressful. Working on a trading floor means people are on top of me all of the time. Phones ring off the hook and there are over 100 other people in the same room as me who are very good at being distracting. Add to that the hour plus bus commute each way in NYC rush hour traffic, the fact that I rarely get to eat lunch anywhere but my desk, and the long hours... my mind is usually spinning by the time I get to my pillow, which is usually about two hours after I'd like to due to trying to cram things I enjoy into a few hours each night.

* Getting the vaccines recommended by your health care provider. -- Umm, what vaccines? ***

Of the ten suggestions, I score well on exactly one of them. I don't think I'll ever be able to nail down all of the other nine at once, but reading that definitely makes me feel like I need to take care of myself a little better. By the end of this month I'd like to try and sleep more every night, eat a little better which will hopefully put a little more weight on me, run or do some kind of activity at least once per day, hold off on grubbing that cigarette that always makes me feel terrible the next morning anyway, and get a job that stresses me out less (fingers crossed). With those, hopefully I'll be able to keep enjoying a lil' booze, my coffee nice and sweet, and mediumly cooked meat. But man, I've gotta do something now. This being sick and tired all the time is the pits. --