With so many bugs around at the minute, I thought it a good moment to give you some pointers on boosting your immune system.
The two biggest tips I can give you for boosting your immune system are relating to gut health and stress.
Over 70% of your immune system is located in your gut, which is where our first two tips lie. If you’re eating stuff which either doesn’t agree with you or which takes a lot of effort for your body to deal with (this means too frequent naughty treats!), then your immune system won’t be able to function so well. You get the same effect if you’re constantly over or under eating. If you’re eating too much, your gut is constantly trying to digest food, and doesn’t have much time to do anything else. And if you’re not eating enough, fairly obviously, your gut won’t have all the things it needs in order to keep you protected.
People who take daily probiotics get less colds than people who don’t – regardless of whatever else they’re taking. Keeping the gut populated with lots of good bacteria is key to a well functioning immune system. You can achieve this through a good diet packed with veggies, probiotics, and fermented food.
Stress is the other major influencer on your immune system. Just as with gut health, if your body is too busy dealing with stress, then it isn’t focussing fully on keeping bugs at bay. Remember stress can come from internal sources too; external sources like emotional stress or not taking enough downtime are still important – just don’t forget internal stressors like poor sleep, poor diet, dehydration, too much exercise, injuries etc all play a big part too, and are too often overlooked.
Other, perhaps quicker to action, tips include:
– take a big dose of vitamin C as soon as you’re exposed to a bug, or when you’re not sure if you might be coming down with something. Don’t wait until you know you have a bug, it is too late then.
– you can take zinc on a similar basis. There are also some thoughts about zinc lozenges which can bind to bugs and eliminate them as they float around your upper respiratory tract.
– elderberry is also quite well researched and apparently reduces the severity and duration of a cold
– use eucalyptus oil to kill airborne viruses – pop it in an oil burner.
– eating garlic, coconut and chia can also provide antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral effects
– keep moving. Promote lymphatic movement in order to clear toxins more easily and to help immune supplements get to where they need to go.
And if you do pick up a bug (less so if you pick up a sniffle) make sure to rest. You’re not going to do anything other than increase your risk of injury and lengthen the duration of your cold by forcing yourself to carry on at your usual pace and to keep exercising. Make sure you eat veggies and protein as a priority, or if you don’t fancy anything, bone broth (which is just homemade stock really) is a great option, and keep yourself hydrated. You can also inhale steam with a drop or two of eucalyptus and oregano oil; this works well if you put a few drops in the shower.
Clearly, the right diet is different for everyone, and therefore optimising your immune system is different for everyone too. The immune system is sometimes described as a fingerprint – everyones is unique. If you need some guidance on working out the optimum diet for you, get in touch with me and we’ll get you on the right path.