Cold and flu season is right around the corner and will be here to stay until spring. The best way to prevent colds and flu is to have a healthy immune system. Though colds and flues may still happen, the stronger your immune system, the quicker you'll recover.
While there are some things you can do to fight a cold and stop it in its tracks (tips will be in a future blog!), it's all about taking preventative measures ahead of time.
Here are some great ways to support your immune system.
Focus on Digestive Health
There has been a considerable amount of research recently on the link between gut health and immune function. Chinese medicine has recognized this concept for thousands of years. Your diet and gut health is everything.
The gut houses most of the cells that make up the immune system. Therefore, when your digestive system is inflamed and not functioning optimally, it can lead to low immune function, anxiety, depression, and even autoimmune disease.
Reduce your consumption of processed foods and oils (avoid sugar, bread, white flour, and processed/packaged foods). These are inflammatory for your gut.
Nourish yourself with whole foods that don't come in a box – fruits, veggies, and proteins. Shop the grocery store's perimeter and avoid the inner aisles where all the boxed/processed foods are.
Avoid sugar and dairy. Sugar suppresses your immune system making you more likely to catch a cold, and dairy produces phlegm, which can worsen cold symptoms and cause them to linger.
Take a quality probiotic.
Incorporate more fermented food into your diet – yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and kimchee.
Drink bone broth. It really is medicine, just like your grandma said.
Prioritize Sleep
Sleep is crucial for a healthy immune system. People who get an average of fewer than seven hours of sleep a night are much more likely to develop cold symptoms than those who get eight or more hours of sleep when exposed to the cold virus. In addition, those who get better quality sleep are less likely to come down with a cold.
So, prioritize your sleep. Avoid screen time 2 hours before bed, supplement with magnesium, and try to go to bed before 10 pm.
Manage Stress
Stress and the immune system have a complex relationship. Your immune system knows when you're stressed about work, family, finances, or current events. The body's natural defender is sensitive to psychological stress, especially if it's chronic. Taking time for some much-needed self-care will help to reduce stress and support your immune system.
Regular Acupuncture - treatments are one of the best tools to support immunity and a stress-resilient body, mind, and spirit. It is proven to lower stress hormones, such as cortisol while improving sleep and immune function.
Massage - The physiological effects commonly occur during a massage help reduce stress by increasing endorphins, serotonin, and dopamine, decreasing cortisol, and increasing tissue elasticity.
Enjoy Nature - Spending time in nature can help relieve stress and anxiety, improve your mood, and boost feelings of happiness and well-being.
Take Your Supplements
Sometimes we just need a little extra support. The quality of your supplements matters greatly. I added a link below for access to the recommendations listed here. Significant research shows that these supplements have proper absorption, efficacy, and quality.
Myco-Immune Tincture - Mushroom extracts have been used medicinally by many cultures for thousands of years. The six mushroom extracts in Myco-Immune are well-researched and are proven in numerous studies to provide significant benefits to immune function.
Zinc - If there were a super mineral, zinc would be a contender. Zinc is an essential micronutrient crucial to more than 200 enzymatic reactions and plays a key role in growth, immune function, testosterone metabolism, and numerous other functions in your body.
Vitamin C - a potent water-soluble antioxidant that can protect us from damage by free radicals, even in small amounts. It is vital to immune function and is an essential cofactor in many enzymatic reactions in the body. It is indeed our most universal antioxidant.
L-Lysine - an essential amino acid your body doesn't produce on its own, meaning it must come from diet or supplementation. Primary dietary sources of lysine are meat, poultry, fish, dairy, tofu, lentils, and beans. However, supplementing this essential amino acid is advisable because many individuals don't get enough L-lysine through diet alone. L-lysine provides nutritional support to help your body maintain its natural defenses among many other functions.
You can order all of these here: https://us.fullscript.com/protocols/earmstrong1600830971-immune-support-for-flue-and-cold-prevention
May health and wellness be with you and your family in every season!
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This blog and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. All material on this blog is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program.
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