Your Immune Boosting Guide

With coronavirus in full force, we’re all looking for ways to boost our defenses. But before you go buying all of the highly marketed supplements, read our essential immunity tips below!

What is the immune system? 

Broadly, the immune system comprises cells, proteins, organs, and tissues that work together to provide protection against bodily disease and damage.  AKA – they fight away the coronavirus. 

Nutrition `

1. Up your prebiotics! Prebiotics (AKA plant fibers) feed your gut bacteria in order to strengthen your immune system and help fight invading viruses. So stock up on fresh veggies and fruits. If fresh isn’t possible, then frozen is also a great option.
2. Probiotic foods have live bacteria which improve your gut health and help strengthen your immune system. So stock up on things like tofu, tempeh, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut. 
3. Cut down on sugar as it suppresses your immune system. Fruit is fine, but try to  avoid any added sugar, honey, or syrups. 
4. Limit alcohol. We’re all going a little stir crazy, but limit your drinks to one per sitting max since alcohol is known to suppress our system.

Hydration is key: Water delivers oxygen to all of your working systems (including your immune system cells!), transports nutrients (especially water soluble vitamins) from food to our cells, and also helps our body flush toxins from our body. Shoot for half of your body weight in ounces (so if you’re 150 pounds, that’s 75 ounces a day or approx 9 glasses). 

Hydration tips: 

• Infuse your water with fruits (lemon, cucumbers, mint, etc).
• Drink tea! Ginger tea is especially good for immunity. 
• Drink sparkling water to spice it up!

Supplements  

1. Vitamin D. Even if you live in a sunny city, it’s still tough to get enough vitamin D from the sun. Take about 4,000 IU a day so you can hit 50-75 on a blood test.
2. Zinc. Zinc has been shown to attach to viruses and remove them from your body so consider taking one a day. 
3. Astragalus. Astragalus is an herb that can increase the production of your white blood cells which are your immune cells that fight off viruses and other invaders. 
4. Less is more. Take caution when buying any other supplements, as more often than not, they can do more harm than good. 

Exercise 

1. Regular, moderate exercise can enhance immune response
2. Sedentary behavior puts you at greater risk for infection than moderate exercise. 
3. Intense and prolonged exercise (substantial heart rate elevation lasting more than 1 hour) may put you at greater risk for infection than being sedentary. 

Regular exercise can enhance vaccination response, increase T-cells and boost the function of the natural killer cells in the immune system. However, this doesn’t mean that you should exercise for 3 hours a day. The relationship between exercise and immunity seems to follow a “J shaped curve.” This means that no exercise decreases immune system function and puts you at greater risk for infection while a moderate amount of exercise boosts your immune system and is protective against illness. 

Sleep 

1. Get enough sleep – it is probably more than you think

While 7-9 hours is the appropriate amount of sleep in normal times. Try to get to 8-10 hours of sleep every night during flu season and while the COVID-19 outbreak persists. This will give your immune system an extra boost.

       2. Get quality sleep 

While we might be in bed for 8 hours, we may only be getting 6 hours of quality sleep due to interruptions in our sleep cycle or waking up in the middle of the night. 

Practice good sleep hygiene for highest quality sleep!

• Practice a relaxing bedtime ritual 
• Keep room cool, about 68-70 degrees
• Increase bright light exposure during the day 
• Limit blue light exposure in the evening
• Avoid caffeine later in the day 
• Try to go to bed and wake up around the same time daily
• Limit alcohol consumption

       3. Nap if you don’t get enough sleep

If your sleep schedule is interrupted, try to make up for the lost rest with naps, but not too late in the afternoon.

Other strategies to guard against illness

There’s more to boosting your immunity and safeguarding against illness than sleep, exercise, and dietary supplements. It’s essential to practice strategies such as washing your hands with soap regularly and avoiding close contact with people who are under the weather. In this outbreak, social distancing is extremely important and precautions should be taken to mitigate the outbreak in the interest of public health.