General flu and sickness can be a pain in the butt in general and COVID-19 is outright scary for multiple reasons. Much of the world is experiencing tremondous fear and anxiety as a result of this global pandemic. The good news is that the impact of the virus on our immune system can be mitigated through boosting the immune system with proper nutrition and lifestyle practices. In this article are the top helpful actions to take to protect your immunity.
I hope this is no big new news to anyone:
To understand how to protect yourself from the flu/viral attack, you must know that the flu/viral attack is not caused by a virus as popular belief has us thinking. Viral attack/Flu is CAUSED by a suppressed immune system and is TRIGGERED by a virus.
So, let’s talk about how you can boost the immune system and make it robust…
Below are nutrition and lifestyle tips that help to create a strong resilient immune system:
Make sure you get adequate vitamin D: Best source is a healthy dose (30mins) of sunlight regularly or take a food-grade vitamin D supplement of about 2000 IU/day.
Take a strong food-source probiotic supplements and/or eat quality fermented foods daily. (Brenda Watson’s or GNC’s 100 billion count is recommended by yours truly!)
Make and drink this immune boosting ginger-cirtrus drink daily. (Recipe on http://www.sustainable-wellness.com/beverages)
Limit inflammatory foods/drinks. Work on decreasing/eliminating sugary foods/drinks, dairy, and alcohol. These suppress the immune system severely, guaranteed and well researched.
Eat healthy, whole, "quality" nutrient dense meals regularly with lots of greens.
Have fresh greens, sprouts, and grapefruit daily. (If you have acid reflux that prevents you from having citrus, feel free to contact me for one-on-one support to address the reflux first or any other unique issues.)
Elderberry, astragalus, and reishi are some herbs to add to your tea/tincture collection.
Embrace a dynamic perspective and helpful attitude towards stressful and challenging situations in your life as much as possible to keep your cortisol levels low. Excessive cortisol depresses the immune system. This does not mean deny the reality of the hardship, it just means that you are creative with your coping strategies and you seek out and secure support as needed.
Get quality and adequate rest, about 6-10 hours of sleep daily.
Wash hands regularly and cover your mouth when sneezing/coughing every time.
These are some initial and foundational steps that are to be maintained for at least 6 months to help boost and stabilize the immune system.
Doing Our Part to Protect
I'm around people whose immune systems are compromised...whether it be in the yoga class, or a consultation with clients, or when I offer a workshop to groups of youth or adults in a school/health fair/church group/etc. I acknowledge there are many factors in our lives that are working against us and that attack our immune system on a daily basis...in certain seasons, we are especially vulnerable because the human respiratory system is more sensitive due to several environmental factors.
However, the good news is that we CAN do something about it.
I do not get sick because I proactively ensure that I create and live an immune-boosting lifestyle to mitigate for the environmental factors that challenge my immune system daily. I do my part with food and lifestyle daily and I am not willing to entertain excuses for not doing my part. This takes effort, and it is well worth the effort.
The year-round proactive-preventive-lifestyle practices are what protects us and prevents us from getting sick even when we may be surrounded by people who are infected. This is because our immune system is able to be resilient with proper tools in place and therefore, it does its job in fighting virus and bacteria that we tend to be exposed to season to season. It is our proactive lifestyle that responds best to even the most recent viral strains. We have already heard that even flu shots these days don't come with guarantees.
The only people who this natural method of immune robusticity may not always apply to are folks who already deal with an underlying chronic immune-specific disfunction or are in a life phase where the immune system is naturally depressed, for example, very young children and certain elderly folks.
With some effort and resources in place, I believe that most of us can proactively support the immune system to be strong and resilient if we are willing to take the necessary actions. When the immune system is equipped with proper natural resources/tools, it can do better what it is designed to do: ward off virus/bacteria/illnesses.
If you are interested in learning about what these PREVENTIVE LIFESTYLE Practices are, read on...
More questions?
Do not have access to proper support/tools/supplements/etc.?
Don't know where to start?
Do not hesitate to contact yours truly! Email me at class@sustainable-wellness.com
Cold Season Dynamics:
Since the season is changing and the temperature is cooling as we enter into the drier seasons of the year. Which means our immune system will require some extra attention.
It can be scary to think about getting sick/flu with flu shot stations everywhere on the background. It's enough to drive us running to our local clinics/grocery stores or even airports for a flu shot!
Proactively support the immune system to be strong and resilient. When the immune system is equipped with proper tools, it can do better what it is designed to do: ward off virus/bacteria/illnesses.
What to do if you FEEL SICK already?
1. Take action quickly! As soon as you have that "yucky! I feel a bit weak and achy" thought, immediately go into action mode!
2. STOP eating anything with sugar or dairy in it. Your phagocytes (such as white blood cells) have up to a 70% drop in effectiveness for 4 - 6 hours after eating sugar, and dairy creates mucous that stresses your immune system.
3. Apply stress-reduction steps: Hold off from engaging with stressful situations/people.
4. Spend time with yourself and pamper yourself in a nurturing and relaxing environment
5. Rest and get extra sleep
6. Avoid physically-extraneous activities
7. Check with your health care practitioners and do your own research regarding these tips
To learn more about how to boost your immunity, watch this video by Dr. Mercola of www.mercola.com
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/11/how-to-supercharge-your-immune-system.aspx
May these tips help you feel more empowered and in charge of your health during these sensitive months.
Contact me today to learn about what else you can do to support your immune system not only for this season, but for the long run in the months and years to come for the rest of your life.
Class@sustainable-wellness.com
If you have special medical conditions that prevent you from trying out the tips, please consult your primary health-care provider.
Disclaimer: Sonali is not a medically trained physician and does not diagnose, prescribe for or treat any disease, nor does she dispense medical advice. Your Holistic Health Coach is not affiliated with any physician practitioner.