Classic Winter, bringing with it a surge of bugs! Immune care is always important, 365 days of the year, especially when these cooler months hit and the bugs come out to play.
What actually is your IMMUNE SYSTEM?
Your immune system is your body’s own personal defence force, like an army. Its sole purpose is to serve and protect you from infection, illness and disease – tackling both threats from within and outside the body. We have innate immunity (what we are born with, general, first-line of defence) and adaptive immunity (what is acquired over your lifetime, back-up immunity, jumps in when the innate immunity can’t do the job). Your immune system is constantly working for you, checking for and fighting off anything that poses a threat to your health. It even keeps a record of every micro-organism (virus, bacteria, parasite etc) it has ever defeated, so if faced with again, it is ready for a fight! This memory mechanism helps us develop long term immunity. So, germs aren’t all bad – you need them to stay healthy! Getting sick from time to time actually ensures that you maintain a robust immune system. The efforts of your immune system won’t always stop you from getting sick, though – that’s not its main purpose, and remember, getting sick from time to time is a good thing. Rather, it’s to stop a threat from escalating to dangerous levels inside your body and to also help you recover after an injury or illness.
Factors Affecting Immune Health
Some conditions and circumstances can hinder your immune defences, making you more susceptible to illness. Some of these instances include;
· Older age
· Excess weight
· Poor diet and nutritional status
· Environmental toxins (smoke and air pollution, chemicals, mould etc.)
· Chronic disease and medical conditions
· Medications or medical treatments
· Chronic mental stress
· Lack of sleep and rest
· Pregnancy
Some Signs Your Immune System is in Need of Some Serious TLC
There are some tell-tale signs that your immune system may not be functioning to the best of its ability. These are quite general, so always consult your healthcare practitioner for more guidance on your health and treatment guidelines.
· High stress levels
· You pick up whatever is going around
· It takes you a long time to recover from illness
· Gut/digestive complaints and food intolerances
· Slow wound healing
· Frequent infections
· You feel tired all the time
So, How Can I Support my Immune System?
Regardless of whether you are sick, susceptible to getting sick or just wanting to support your immune system as best you can, listen up. There are numerous ways to naturally help your immune system thrive in fighting off infection, my consistent and never-flailing top five natural ways to help boost your immunity include;
1. Sleep
Sleep allows for our body systems to repair and regenerate, including our immune systems! It is actually an ESEENTIAL piece of the puzzle for maintaining good immune health. Sleep affects how we think, react, work, feel, learn, interact, heal, restore and it certainly affects how we fight off infection! Sleep is a regenerative time for your body, when it relaxes, repairs and restores all your systems. Poor sleep can compromise your immune system and increase your risk of illness, leaving you open to colds, flus and infection. When you’re sleep deprived, your protective immune cells go down and inflammation goes up - hello infection. Factors to help achieve a good night’s sleep include; going to bed at the same time each night, waking up at the same time each morning, daily exercise in the sunshine, no screens at least 1 hour before bed, restful bedroom decor, aiming for 7-9 hours sleep/night and not going to bed on a full or empty stomach (eating dinner at least 2 hours before you go to bed). More information regarding sleep here.
2. Calm Your Stress
Stress can basically weave its way in to any of our bodily systems and run a muck. Mental stress drains the resources your body requires to stay physically strong. As a result, your body’s ability to fight off illness is weakened or suppressed, making you more susceptible to infection. If our body is in a stress response ('fight/flight'), all our energy and blood flow will be directed away from our organs/proper functioning of our body, and directed towards our peripherals (arms/legs) so we can run away from stressful stimuli. Thus! In a state of stress, energy will not be directed to fighting off disease - as if our body is concerned about fighting off infection whilst we are running away from a tiger! For some stress-reducing strategies - have a read here
3. Sunshine + Vitamin D
Vitamin D is one of our top immune-boosting nutrients! It is always best to get your Vitamin D levels checked, through your GP or Naturopath, and correct any deficiencies via supplementation if necessary. Furthermore, Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin! So let's get out in the sunshine! I always recommend my patients have at least 3 points of sunshine throughout the day - first thing in the morning, 15-20 minutes in the middle of the day, and again before the sun goes down. Take a deep dive into Vitamin D over here.
4. Up your fruit + Veg Consumption
One very simple way to help your body fight infection is feeding your cells with all the nourishing stuff - all the essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that we obtain through our food. For a very general guideline; aim for 2-3 pieces of fruit each day and 6ish cups/handfuls of veggies each day. Eat the colour of the rainbow! And load up on those mushrooms! Rich in B vitamins, beta-glucans and the powerful antioxidant, selenium, mushrooms are known for their immune-regulating properties. That means - they stimulate your immune system when it has something to fight and calm it when it’s overactive. Furthermore, whilst increasing all the great stuff, work on reducing the more inflammatory/immune-suppressing foods such as highly processed/refined/sugary foods, and excess caffeine + alcohol.
5. Take your supplements!
While a healthy and varied (organic) diet may offer many of our vital immune nutrients, certain population groups may not have adequate intake or may have underlying medical conditions or stress which can increase the body’s demand. When we have an infection, our immune system heavily relies on some key nutrients to fight. Nutrients such as Zinc + Vitamin C are two big immune boosting nutrients and often come together in supplementation form. Before taking any supplementation, it is always best to consult with a healthcare practitioner first. In terms of food - let's boost our zinc and vitamin C! Foods high in zinc include wholegrains, nuts/seeds, eggs and meat and foods high in vitamin C include citrus fruits, kiwi fruit, berries, capsicum, brussel sprouts and broccoli. Other key nutrients for immune health include Vitamin D, Vitamin A, probiotics, N-acetylcysteine, quercetin, selenium, Mg and glutamine. Remember to always consult your practitioner before taking any supplements.
*Please note that this blog is providing general advice, it is not specific to your individual health history. If you are experiencing significant health changes, please book an appointment with a health practitioner to obtain your individualised treatment approach.
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