Hello cold and flu season! If it seems like everyone around you is getting sick, you might consider taking some extra measures to boost your immune health. But it can’t hurt to support your immune system year-round for optimal well-being. With a nutritious diet, a targeted supplement protocol, and healthy lifestyle habits, you can set yourself up for your best health year round.
The immune system
Your good old immune system is constantly working and during times of good health, you won’t even notice how hard it works to keep you healthy. However, when the winter months or a stressful time roll around, you might feel like you can’t escape getting sick, or that you’ve had a cold for weeks on end!
Your immune system consists of a complex network and helps you ward off colds, flus, pathogens, viruses, and abnormal cells. In order to stay healthy through cold and flu season and in general, it’s important to support your health so that your immune system can function optimally. While the immune system doesn’t have a specific location in the body, the majority of our immune system resides in the gut. Therefore, it is essential to have a healthy gut, which we can support through our diet, supplements, and lifestyle.
What happens when your immune system is down and out?
One obvious side effect is you get sick more often, or have lingering symptoms you just can’t seem to kick. But more long-term issues can happen as well, such as the development of autoimmune diseases, severe infections, and even tumors. We have a lot of power to influence our immune systems, so get your shopping list ready – we’re going to add some immune health basics to give your immunity a boost!
Best foods to support immune health
A healthy foundation is the best place to start with diet. What you eat affects your immune health, and starting with nutrient dense foods gives your immunity a better shot at warding off illness. Load up on lots of colorful, organic fruits and vegetables, grass-fed and organic meats, and healthy fats.
Organic fruit and veggies
It’s important to focus on organic produce as much as possible. Conventional produce is sprayed with chemicals like insecticides, pesticides and herbicides, which can lead to serious health issues such as cancer, neurological disorders, and compromised immunity. Look for the organic label, and if you can’t go 100% organic, at least always buy the organic options for the Dirty Dozen, which tend to be the most heavily sprayed.
Grass-fed and organic meats
Grass-fed and organic meats are also a healthier option, as they won’t have antibiotics, hormones, or growth promoters. Conventional meats, on the other hand, are higher in inflammatory compounds with can lead to inflammation in the body and provoke an inappropriate immune response. Grass-fed beef also contains higher levels of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid which has been shown to enhance the immune system.
Fermented foods
Once you have a good foundation, you can throw in some heavy hitters that really boost the immune system. Since the immune system largely resides in the gut, you can support gut health with things like fermented foods (sauerkraut, pickles, yogurt, kefir, kimchi, miso, etc), bone broth, and coconut products.
Fermented foods provide beneficial bacteria, which can boost antibody activity for the immune system. Bone broth is especially beneficial as it is rich in minerals, collagen and gelatin, which help heal and support gut health. Coconut products are rich in lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid that supports the immune system and helps fend off bacteria. Some options to try are coconut oil, coconut manna, coconut cream, coconut yogurt (look for unsweetened) and coconut milk (again opt for unsweetened).
A good practice to get into during cold and flu season is having a warm cup of bone broth every morning and 2 forkfuls of sauerkraut (or your fermented food of choice) with a meal. You could cook with coconut oil or add a little bit to your bone broth. A fun way use coconut manna is to make homemade chocolate.
Vitamin C rich foods
Additionally, you’ll want to focus on vitamin C rich foods (bell peppers, broccoli, strawberries), garlic, and mushrooms for supporting immunity. Mushrooms help boost your immune system due to their beta-glucans, which are known for enhancing the immune system. Focus on shiitake, reishi and maitake to help activate your immune health.
There are certain foods to avoid which can wreak havoc on the immune system and include processed/packaged foods, refined “white” foods like white flours and white rice, conventional meat/dairy and produce, inflammatory foods like vegetable oils and foods you are allergic or sensitive to, soda, coffee, alcohol, and sugar.
Best supplements to support immune health
There are some basic supplements that can be taken regularly to boost the immune system, such as vitamin D, probiotics, and vitamin C. Then there are the ones you can take during the winter months and/or when you travel, such as zinc, mushroom supplements, Echinacea, elderberry, and selenium.
As always, speak with your healthcare practitioner before adding in new supplements, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, and/or taking medications.
Best lifestyle habits to support immune health
It’s so important to prioritize mental well-being, physical health, and sleep always, but especially during times when you’re trying to avoid getting sick.
Stress impacts most, if not all, aspects of our health and can actually suppress our immune system. This is why you can get through a stressful deadline at work and then as soon as your project is over and you take a much-needed vacation, you get sick (what a bummer!).
While it can at times feel impossible to stay on top of stress nowadays, it’s vital to implement a stress management routine every day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes a day. I recommend this for everyone regardless of your stress levels, because it helps your body build resiliency to stressors when they do come along. It’s like training for a marathon – you don’t train the day you run the marathon, but practice increasing your speed and endurance leading up to the big event. Stress management takes practice and when you implement it as a part of your daily routine, you build that muscle of stress resiliency.
Stress buster ideas include:
- Going for a walk
- Listening to your favorite music
- Enjoy a mug of tea in a quiet place
- Meditating or journaling
- Stretching
- Dancing
- Calling a friend or enjoying time with friends and family
- Reading a good book
- Doing something creative like coloring, knitting, puzzling
- Joining a class like yoga, meditation, dance, etc.
- Exercising or movement
Sleep is another important habit to cultivate for supporting a healthy immune system. When you don’t sleep well, your immune system cannot do its job. Sleep deprivation leads to more illness, so ensure you’re prioritizing your sleep and practicing good sleep hygiene. This means keeping electronics out of the bedroom (put that phone on airplane mode, and no TV), keeping your room organized, cool and dark, and having a relaxing evening routine. If you’re having trouble sleeping, book an appointment with one of our healthcare practitioners for support with your sleep routine.
Exercise is a great activity for supporting the immune system – and bonus – it also helps improve sleep and is a great stress buster! As long as you don’t overdo it and push your body into overdrive, exercising every day can go a long way in promoting your health in many different ways. If you don’t enjoy hitting the gym, try at-home workouts or try a yoga/pilates/barre studio. Walk with a friend in the mall or join a rock-climbing gym or dance class. There are all kinds of ways to move your body – find something you enjoy and make it happen several times a week.
Boost your immune system
Your immune system is influenced by a variety of factors, many of which are within your power to control. Having a good diet, a targeted supplement regimen, and holistic lifestyle habits can keep you feeling well not just through cold and flu season, but at all times!
