The coronavirus does not look like it is going to leave us alone anytime soon. The only way for us to stay away from it is washing our hands, avoiding touching our mouth, nose, and eyes AND having a good immune system. And that’s what I am going to talk about today.
I am not a doctor. Everything I am going to tell you in this article is based on things I have learned over the years and what I have learned over the past few weeks. It does not mean that you won’t get the virus if you follow those, and it won’t cure anything either. I would suggest to do these things when it is flu season or when you feel like you are about to get sick. Remember to check with your doctor before taking any supplements, especially if you have an autoimmune disease and/or if you are taking any medication.
What can I do to keep my immune system strong?
1. take care of your gut
eat nutrient-dense foods
There are a few things that you can do. 80% of our immune system is located in our digestive system. That means that if you want a strong immune system, you gotta take care of your gut. That’s why Hippocrates said “All disease begins in the gut” 2,500 years ago.
To have healthy gut, we need healthy foods. We need to eat nutrient-dense foods, and avoiding processed foods. This is the best time to eat the rainbow and adding variety to your diet. You want to get as many nutrients as you can to stay healthy. So eat your vegetables, and some fruits. Choose nutrient-dense proteins and whole-food fats.
probiotics
You can supplement with probiotics or consume foods that naturally contain probiotics. I like Just Thrive probiotics because they are shelf-stable, they have 1000x better survivability vs. yogurt and leading probiotics, and they contain a patented strain called Bacillus Indicus (HU36). They “are responsible for helping to combat the oxidative stress on the intestinal lining” (got that from their website). I learned about Just Thrive in the podcast The Paleo View episode 329. They are more info on this brand if you want to learn more about it before purchasing it.
If you rather eat foods that contain probiotics instead of supplementing, here are some foods that contain probiotics:
- yogurt
- sauerkraut
- kimchi
- kombucha
- kefir
L-glutamine
L-glutamine is great for reducing intestinal permeability. Intestinal permeability happens when your gut lining is leaking and food particles get into your bloodstream. It then leads to inflammation and changes in the gut flora. It also may play a role in the development of chronic disease and food intolerance. That’s why keeping your gut healthy and your gut impermeable is so important. (For more info see “Leaky Gut: What is it, and what does it mean for you?”.) By taking L-glutamine, you can help maintain a good gut barrier and avoid leaky gut. The Paleo Mom also has a great article about nutrients for leaky gut that you can check out here.
zinc
Is is also one of the nutrients for leaky gut recommended by The Paleo Mom in the article I just shared above. If you are deficient in zinc, it could also be a problem for your gut lining. According to The Paleo Mom, “it turns out that zinc has a targeted effect on tight junction proteins and helps regulate their permeability.” By supplementing with zinc, you can improve your gut lining. It is also great to fight off viruses. You can either take supplements or eat foods high in zinc such as oysters, other shellfish, organ meats, beef, poultry, and seeds.
By the way, I really advise you to read her articles and listen to her podcast, The Paleo View. She does tons of research to find what the science says about a topic. She also has great info on her blog about autoimmune diseases.
2. get some sun
Did you know that vitamin D is important for our immune health? It helps boost your immune system because it stimulates “naturally occurring antimicrobial peptides, which protect the body by destroying invading microbes.” You can reduce the occurrence and symptoms of colds and flu by supplementing with vitamin D.
You can either supplement with vitamin D or you can eat foods that contain vitamin D. Here are some examples:
- egg yolks
- salmon
- mackerel
- cold liver oil
- sardines
- shiitake mushrooms
- tuna
3. get enough sleep
Sleep is so important for our immune system, but we don’t get enough of it. Lack of sleep makes us more vulnerable to viruses. If we get sick, it will take us longer to recover if we are sleep deprived. Try to get 7-9 hours of sleep. If you get 7 hours, that would be a good start.
4. avoid alcohol and sugar
These two are not your friends if you are trying to stay away from viruses. Alcohol affects the structure and integrity of our gut. We saw above that keeping your gut healthy is important if we want to have a strong immune system. It means that everything that will damage our gut lining is bad news.
Sugar can suppress the body’s immune responses. It can affect it from 2-5 hours after digestion. So if your are drinking soda or even adding honey to your tea, you are causing a “fifty- percent drop in the ability of white blood cells to engulf bacteria.” It isn’t something to take lightly especially when we are trying to stay healthy during this pandemic.
5. manage your stress
Yes, easier said than done. Being stressed does not help our immune system. I know that right now, it can be stressful for some of us. You might not know how you are going to pay the bills. You might own a business and you do not know if it is going to make it. You might not be able to visit your elderly parents who are confined in an assisted living.
Regardless of your situation, it can be tough to relax. Take the opportunity to relax, do some mediation, or yoga, read a book or whatever else. Taking some time for yourself will help you stress a little bit less.
Is there some supplements I can take to boost my immune system?
Yes, there are. You can obviously take the supplements I mentioned above, vitamin D, zinc, probiotics, and L-glutamine. There are some others that you can take as well.
Om Immune+ – Immune and digestive health. It contains mushroom powders, vitamin C, and probiotics. I started taking this every time I felt like I was coming down with something. I haven’t gotten sick since I started taking those when experiencing the first symptoms.
Vitamin C – Our body does not make vitamin C, and it is required for our immune function. You can help reduce your chances of having a cold and reduce the duration of cold symptoms by taking vitamin C. According to Chris Kresser, liposomal forms are best absorbed. He suggests to take one teaspoon once a day on an empty stomach for prevention, and one teaspoon twice a day for treatment.
Vitamin A – According to Chris Kresser, vitamin A and D are “best at preventing/reversing colds and flus when taken together.”
Elderberry Syrup – Elderberry contains antioxidants and vitamins that may boost your immune system. It can help strengthening our immune function and preventing colds and flus.
I have a little recipe for you that I already shared on my Instagram. I have been drinking that for a few days to boost my immune system.
Recipe
- 1 pack of Om Immune+
- 10 drops of vitamin D (more or less, depending on how much you need)
- 10 drops of elderberry syrup
- 8-12 oz. of water
Instructions
Blend all the ingredients together and enjoy!
I hope this article was helpful. It is pretty long, and to be honest, I haven’t covered every single ways to boost your immune system. The beginning of this year has been scary, and I feel like we can learn from this pandemic to take care of our health. Boosting our immune system isn’t only important for when we have a pandemic. It is important every.single.day. I hope this will be a good reminder that our immune health is very important. It isn’t too late to make it your resolution.
Eat well, move more, and take care of yourself.
