There’s just something about the comfort that food brings us in winter. If you find it hard to resist the munchies on a cold night, you’re not alone.

Recent research indicates that simply following a regular yoga exercise routine and/or practicing mindful meditation for about 45 minutes a day is just as effective as an anti-flu shot in reducing your chances of an acute respiratory infection.

Quoting the results as ‘remarkable,’ professor of family medicine at the university of Wisconsin-Madison, Bruce Barrett found an overall 40 to 50% reduction in respiratory infections from the study compared with 50-60% protection rates for only a few strains of flu viruses when prescribing flu vaccines.