Best Ways to Boost Immunity in Everyday Living:
- DIET! Diet is key to maintaining a healthy immune system.
- Eat lots of immune-boosting foods, such as mushrooms, healthy protein, beets, citrus fruits, asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, berries, onions, chicken bone broth, and butternut squash
- Add some more spice in your life! Spices such as ginger, turmeric, and garlic are amazing at boosting immunity!
- Supplement with immune-boosting nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin D, L-Glutamine, zinc, selenium, elderberry, echinacea, and oil of oregano
- Support your microbiome (bacteria!)
- Get a good night’s sleep!
- Excercise!
- Manage stress!
- Take some time for you! Do the things that make you smile. Keeping a healthy immunity is not only physical it’s mental as well.
- Drink WATER!
Things You Need to Remove, NOW!
- SUGAR! white sugar is the worst!
- Refined Grains again, white/processed are the worst!
- Hydronated oils – Hydrogenation is a process in which a liquid unsaturated fat is turned into a solid fat by adding hydrogen. During this manufactured partially hydrogenated processing, a type of fat called trans fat is made. ex – vegetable oil, canola oil, margarine
- Foods made with white flour and white sugar cause a decrease in immune function. These foods are typically refined and often come in the form of store-bought, processed foods. These ingredients are also linked to inflammation, which can lead to many conditions – including autoimmune diseases.
Tips For a Good Diet:
Paleo Diet – AKA, Healthy Eating Plan
- Paleo is an amazing healthy eating plan to use as a guild line
- The word Paleo meaning Paleolithic –from our earliest ancestor!
- Whole foods, not changed by man
- Very limited sugar
- Healthy animal proteins (naturally raised, wild)
- Very limited refined grains and legumes
- Lots of variety of colorful fruits and veggies
Let’s Go Over A few Immune Boosting Foods: mushrooms, beets, ginger, garlic, and turmeric!
Mushrooms!
- Mushrooms are a superfood!
- Mushrooms contain more selenium than any other vegetable and one of the rare sources of vitamin D, also a fantastic source of zinc. These two minerals selenium and zinc, combined with vitamin D are excellent immunity boosters and infection fighters.
- Mushrooms also help activate your immune system by regulating your white blood cells and keeping them on high alert for invaders.
- AND…. Mushrooms have been proven to be anti-aging. 😉
Beets:
- Beetroots and beet greens provide a lot of vitamin C, which makes them soldiers for your immune system! All white blood cells need ample amounts of vitamin C to function
- Antioxidants are compounds that play a central role in health and disease. They help fight disease-causing free radicals which will minimize oxidative stress and damage to your cells.
- Beets are also super beneficial for the proper function and cleaning of your liver. Nice!
Ginger:
- Ginger is very anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and a big antioxidant
- Ginger is superior at reducing inflammation in the body, which is the root of almost all diseases…
- Studies have shown that a small amount of ginger can be more beneficial at pain management and reducing inflammation than prescription painkillers.
- BONUS: Ginger is very powerful at improving your digestion function. It reduces inflammation in your gut which in turn can heal things like psoriasis or eczema, acne, any sort of skin blemishes. It also reduces nausea!
Garlic:
- Garlic is probably the BEST food for naturally boosting your immune system!
- It is one of the oldest cultivated plants on earth (paleo) and has been used for centuries to cure a cold and flu.
- Garlic is known as natures anti-biotic.
- The main property in garlic is phytochemical “allicin” which has been shown to be effective against common infections such as colds, flu, stomach viruses, and Candida yeast.
- There are differences in garlic though, a mass-produced garlic bulb from china, not going to do much for you.
- It must be freshly chopped to reap the benefits –pre-chopped garlic, not as much benefit.
- Tip- chew some parsley after eating a lot of garlic, it will freshen your breath and your liver will love it!
Tumeric:
- Most importantly for us, turmeric like ginger is hugely anti-inflammatory for the whole body. This is because it is full of an antioxidant called curcumin.
- Turmeric acts as an anticoagulant in the body, which means it works to naturally prevent blood clotting
- Turmeric is very effective at treating most gastrointestinal issues such as IBS, and Crohns
- Turmeric can help as an anti-depressant.
Helpful Immune-Boosting Supplements
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin D
- Zinc
- Selenium
- Echinacea
- Elderberry
- Oil of oregano
- L-Glutamine
- All of these will greatly help in boosting overall immunity. The doses depend on the individual, work with a health care provider to find out what is right for you.
Support Your Gut Microbiome (gut bacteria)
Evidence indicates that beneficial bacteria help to ‘train’ the immune system so it knows what pathogens are friend or foe, produces beneficial nutrients and keeps the bad bacteria in check.
One of the ways we can help grow and keep our microbiome healthy is with a good probiotic. These can help improve digestive function, boost immune function, benefit our brains and improve mood, and may even prevent the common cold.
Other basic good-digestion tips that will help your gut health:
- Consume soluble and insoluble fibre
- Drink water!
- Eat fermented foods (sauerkraut, pickles, dairy-free yogurt/kefir, etc.)
- Eat prebiotic foods (jerusalem artichoke, garlic, onions, leeks, dandelion greens)
- Don’t overuse antibiotics
- Chew your food well
- Reduce or eliminate refined sugars
Get a good night’s sleep!
- Sleep is very crucial to overall health and keeping your immune system high!
- When you shut down and let your body rest that’s when true healing and repairs can happen to your body
- A good night’s sleep can also greatly help with your mental state and focus for the days to come
- When you do get some rest make sure there are no light sources in your room, not even an alarm clock, this will disrupt your natural production of melatonin while your sleeping
Excercise!
- Exercise boosts the part of our immune system that fights infections, reduces inflammation, and increases our circulation, allowing the immune system to work much more efficiently.
- Any exercise is good exercise, find what works for you and do it!
Manage Stress and Take Time For You!
- Stress can take down even the healthiest person in a mater of hours. When a body is under stress all immunity, digestion, and healing pathways shut down.
- Learn to manage your stress, take time for your self. Its important to do things that make you smile.
- Taking time to do things like, Get a massage, mindful meditation, infrared sauna, get out in nature, pamper yourself!
Drink WATER!
- Water is soooooooooooo important to maintain a healthy immune system your body is made up of 70-80% water! Water flushes toxins from your cells, keeps your skin young and hydrated and keeps you healthy.
- Rule of thumb is ½ your current weight in oz a day
Final Thoughts…..
- You are going to get sick, but boosting your immune system will make it less often and a shorter duration
- REMOVE – Sugar / Refined Grains / Hydronated oils
- FOODS – Citrus / Berries / Asparagus / Broccoli / Cauliflower / Onions / Chicken Broth / Mushrooms / Beets / Butternut Squash
- NUTRIENTS – Vitamin C / Vitamin D / Zinc / Selenium / L-Glutamine / Oil of Oregano
- HERBS – Garlic / Ginger / Turmeric / Elderberry / Echinacea
- EMOTIONS – Limit fear / Get Sleep / Manage Stress
- EXCERCISE – The best exercise is the one you will do!
- GUT BACTERIA – Support your gut microbiome with probiotics, fermented foods, chewing your food, not drinking cold water (room temp), avoiding sugar, and eat fiber
