6 Ways to Support Your Immune System
Oct 31, 2022
- Updated from November 2021
As we head into a challenging time for our immune systems, I want to remind everyone that the best offense for anything is a great defense.
The six categories listed below are what my family focuses on to strengthen our immune systems and I know they work because I am just a few months shy of enjoying twenty years without a sick day!
Sleep
Sleep is getting a lot of attention these days and there is a good reason for it. One of the fastest ways to run your body down is poor quality of sleep. As we enter into the holiday season with late nights, parties, and get-togethers, I encourage you to stay on a consistent sleep schedule and make sure to catch up on any sleep deficits you accumulate through the week. For more on sleep habits, you can find my previous blog on this topic HERE.
Stress
Over the next six to eight weeks (holiday season), stress levels always seem to rise. So what can you do? My suggestion is to minimize the impact of stress by preparing your body. It’s well known that we cannot control the situations around us - we can only control our response to them. To best equip yourself to handle this stress, I recommend that you exercise regularly AND meditate. If you are already feeling run down, then perhaps you should stick with low to moderate exercises. This type of movement will still be helpful without placing additional high stress on your body.
Hydrate
Consuming an adequate amount of WATER plays an important part in achieving good health, but did you know that it can boost your immune system or assist in a quick recovery if you do get sick?
Simply put, our immune system is supported by our lymphatic system which is responsible for removing toxins, waste, and unwanted materials. A quick way to check if you are getting enough water is to divide your weight in half and turn it into ounces. So 200 lbs would be 100 ounces or approximately 3 liters of water per day. For added benefits, add a pure form of salt (sea salt, pink Himalayan salt) or electrolytes (like BioSteel) to your water.
Sugar
We’ve written previous articles about how sugar affects the immune system and it is especially challenging after Halloween and through the holiday season to keep this in check. This is definitely one of the major factors why people have a particularly harder time with their immune system at this time of year.
To give you an example, the average Halloween mini-treat contains anywhere from 7 to 11 grams of sugar. If a tsp of sugar (4 grams) can suppress your immune system for hours, then ONE mini-treat doubles the length of time of the suppression!
You don’t have to completely remove these “treats” from your diet as we never strive for perfection, but it is important for you to be aware of the impact they are having if you are focusing on improving the strength of your immune system.
Supplements
This time of year in Canada, everyone should be mindful of their vitamin D status. Health Canada has deemed the safe upper limit of Vitamin D for people over the age of nine at 4,000 IU’s (International Units) per day. It is helpful to know what your actual number is in comparison to your intake and this can be measured with a blood test.
At the onset of not feeling well, you may want to try one of, or a combination of, the following: Oil of Oregano, Garlic capsules, extra Vitamin C, Astragalus, Elderberry, Echinacea, and/or Zinc. Everyone’s system is unique, so I recommend you try a few different things or talk to your local health food store, like Parks Health Shop in HRM, or your Naturopath to find a combination that works well for you.
Get Outside
There is scientific research that states that spending time in natural environments boosts immune systems. Being close to nature is part of what we were BORN to do!
A few suggestions for things to do would be walking in the woods, going to the beach, going for a bicycle ride on a trail, bird watching, visiting a local park, and reading or doing yoga on your deck.
Now I realize that we are entering colder months here in Atlantic Canada, but there is no reason why you can’t add on an extra layer of clothing and still enjoy these activities MOST of the time when weather permits.
Already feeling rundown? Don’t panic. It is not a bad thing to get exposed to mild viruses as this increases the strength of your immune system. It is important to honor your body, give it the rest it needs and apply some of the above suggestions to reduce the amount of time that you are not feeling your best.
For those of you who are looking for more help in terms of hitting health goals and monitoring lifestyle stressors, I highly recommend our Longevity Academy where we teach topics like this and so much more. For a very small investment in your health, you will learn how to make small changes, one step at a time, without the overwhelm. And with our money-back guarantee, it is literally risk-free for you to give it a try!