Support of the immune system during the winter

Nourishment/21 January 2021

Winter is almost upon us. Now is the best time to implement immune-boosting techniques to keep yourself healthy, or at least reduce the duration and severity of symptoms when you come in contact with cold or flu viruses.

My five simple and effective tips for keeping your immune system strong:

• Sleep/Recovery
  Don’t skimp on recovery! A sleep regimen ensures your body reboots and allows your immune system to stay energized. Ideally 7-8 hours.

• Warm, cooked foods and beverages
  Drink adequate amounts of well-warm water. Avoid raw and cold foods, meals that you have just taken out of the refrigerator. These foods make digestion difficult and thermally cool the body. In winter, we want our body to be warm and our digestion to be non-spasmodic and warmed up. Rich vegetable soups with seeds and stews, bone broth, warm wholemeal porridges and herbal teas are staples of the winter diet.

• Useful Fats
  During the cold season it is important to increase healthy fats, which include: fatty fish (mackerel/shellfish, herring, salmon), seeds and nuts, ghee oil and butter, olive oil, olives. You don’t have to chase avocado and c/s salmon. Even canned salmon is fine, but read the ingredients carefully: fish, oil and salt. Fats give us satiety for a long period of time and help us avoid snacking. For women, healthy fats are especially important for maintaining hormones.

• Vitamin D
  Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels. This is a simple, inexpensive blood test that will allow your doctor to prescribe the correct dosages for you. Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased susceptibility to infections. Vitamin D is best absorbed in liposomal form.

• Greens, kale and colorful vegetables
  Eat one serving of dark leafy greens and one serving of kale/variegated vegetables daily. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, white cabbage, zucchini, beets, carrots, potatoes, pumpkin, yams, and a variety of root vegetables can all be purchased, either fresh or frozen.

• Avoid refined sugar
  Processed sugar, sweeteners, and alcohol can increase inflammation and affect immune function within hours of consumption. Limit these ingredients to allow your immune system to work at 100%.

Bonus finish dinner and all snacks three hours before your desired bedtime (unless there are contraindications). It’s important to give your body a break from digestion overnight. This energy can then be used to balance the immune system, detoxify cellular waste and balance hormones while you sleep, which is essential to staying healthy through the winter and beyond.

Be sure to talk to your doctor, who can provide you with personalized advice that is most supportive of your unique body.

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