How To Boost Your Immune Health
The immune system is a complex network that defends your body against infection. To stay feeling your best, focus on the foundations that keep that system strong: wash your hands, eat a healthy diet, exercise, prioritize your sleep, limit alcohol and tobacco. Beyond that, here are some tips + tricks to help boost the immune system. These will help you prevent some illnesses; and more importantly, when you do get sick (because we are all going to get sick), you will minimize the severity and length of the illness.
Take a Probiotic - Up to 80% of our immune system is located in our gut. To keep our gut microbiome happy and have those little soldiers keep on fighting, take a daily probiotic to replenish the troops. My favorites are Seed and Just Thrive. Seed offers one for children as well and Just Thrive is gentle enough for a newborn in the correct dosage.
You can also eat probiotic rich foods to increase the good bugs in your gut: yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, hard cheese, etc.
Bone Broth - Our gut lining is only 1 cell layer thick and we want to keep that completely sealed. Bone Broth is full of L-Glutamine, the most beneficial amino acid to maintaining and repairing that lining. So sip on Bone Broth or use it in recipes in place of stock this winter. Some favorite brands: Fond, Kettle + Fire, Bonafide, Epic.
Manuka Honey - Switch to Manuka Honey as your sweetener this winter. It has antibacterial properties it’s picky - it actually strengthens and stimulates the good bacteria while reducing the bad. The higher the MGO number on the label, the more potent.
Bonus points for making this healing homemade tea:
Grate some ginger, garlic and turmeric in a mug (as much as you can handle, somewhere between 1/4 - 1/2 tsp each). Squeeze in the juice of 1/2 lemon. Add a splash of Apple Cider Vinegar and a pinch of salt. Then pour some boiling water over it and let it steep for 5 minutes. Lastly, add a scoop of Manuka Honey and enjoy!
Use a Humidifier - viruses love dry air so make them unhappy with a humidifier. This will also keep your nose and throat from drying out and maintain those mucus membranes, which is akin to having a giant bouncer at the door. My favorite is Canopy because you can just throw it in the dishwasher.
House Plants - Nature’s air purifiers that add moisture into the air. They have been proven to increase our natural killer cells and speed up recovery time if we do get sick. Some also filter out mold, VOCs and other yucky stuff so that our immune systems don’t have to battle those as well. Best to consider: Peace Lily, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, Aloe Vera, Chrysanthemum.
Adaptogens - Stressed? Who would be extra stressed this time of year?! These queens help you better react to stress and balance our adrenal glands, which are mobilizers of our immune system. There are many to choose from but my 2 favorites are Ashwagandha and Rhodiola. If you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, like you are surviving but not thriving - reach for Ashwagandha, which is calming. If you have tipped over into exhaustion and wake up feeling like a truck hit you, Rhodiola is for you. This one is an energizing stimulant, so don’t take it after 12-2pm depending on your sensitivity.
Sleep + Vaccines - A quick plug for sleep. It’s important every night and the time when your immune system can take stock and replenish its stores. But if you are getting vaccines, you really want to prioritize your sleep the 5 days leading up to them. With poor sleep, you could get as little as 50% of the antibody response rendering the shots less effective.