Your immune system is the most effective way to avoid contracting any infectious disease. Create the right internal environment, and your immune system can flourish in these troubling times.
Firstly, work on your digestive health, as this is one of your body’s strongest immune defenders. Research suggests that healthy levels of probiotics stimulate immune function. You can build healthy GUT bacteria levels by consuming fermented foods and coconut water kefir on a regular basis.
At the same time, stop killing your good microbes with alcohol, coffee, sugar, and processed foods. Even synthetic hormones have been shown to reduce the quantity of beneficial bacteria along with antibiotics.
A simple way to boost your beneficial bacterial levels is via fermented foods that contain live probiotics. Coconut water kefir, which you can make yourself, is a good option and part of our FREE 8-week Program. Dried powdered probiotics can help, but they take time to activate, and it could be a month or two before your levels reach sufficient activity.
Lifestyle Factors That Affect Immunity
Stress. Topping the list, stress is the number one immune suppressant, followed by sugar. Exercise is an excellent stress release and is beneficial for your immune function as well. Don't be afraid to venture outdoors to get some fresh air and exercise. A little warning, however, is excessive exercise can actually drop your immune function.
Sleep. Make sure you are getting enough of it. Good quality sleep has an impact on our hormonal health, mental health, brain functions, digestion, metabolism, and immune system. It also helps reduce inflammation and promotes energy restoration! When we sleep, our body goes into this pro-inflammatory state to once again detoxify, revitalise, and fight off any nasties to get us back to where we need to be. HENCE - why sleep is SO important.
A pro tip is to have your Happy Greens before bed. This little tip is getting rave reviews from ladies within our Happy Healthy You online community. For more tips on how to get a good night's sleep, click here.
Diet. A poor diet, characterized by excessive consumption of processed foods, sugars, and unhealthy fats, weakens immunity in several ways. It deprives the body of essential nutrients, vitamins, and minerals required for a strong immune system.
High sugar intake can suppress immune cell function, impairing their ability to combat infections. Unhealthy fats contribute to inflammation, disrupting immune responses. Moreover, a lack of dietary fiber hampers gut health, where a significant portion of the immune system resides.
This imbalance in nutrients and increased inflammation makes the body more susceptible to infections and chronic diseases, ultimately compromising overall immunity. A poor diet, therefore, undermines the body's ability to defend against pathogens effectively.
Immune-Boosting Nutrition
Green superfoods. Spirulina, chlorella, blue-green algae, wheatgrass, barley grass, and alfalfa grass all provide readily available nutrition. At the same time, they keep your blood flowing correctly and reduce platelet aggregation. Platelet aggregation comes from dehydration and not eating enough fruits and vegetables. Platelet aggregation inhibits immune function as the white blood cells cannot migrate as quickly as they should.
Antioxidants. Plant-based antioxidants, in particular, have a positive influence on immune function. Turmeric is the most well-known and also has an anti-inflammatory effect, so it is a good one to increase in your diet, or you can use Happy Turmeric, which has added probiotics. Having vegetable juice every day is one way to ensure your antioxidant levels remain high.
Vitamin C is probably one of the most well-known and effective immune enhancers. Stress and a poor diet and lifestyle deplete vitamin C levels. Citrus is a good source of vitamin C, and including some of the rind helps to boost bioflavonoids, which amplify the effect of vitamin C. High-dose vitamin C is also beneficial in times of illness to reduce recovery time.
Capsicum, melon, citrus, grapefruit, kiwi fruit, mango, broccoli, tomatoes, cabbage, leafy greens, berries, and pomegranate are the best foods for vitamin C. The body's Vitamin C storage capacity is quite small. The best way to keep your immune system strong is to have Vitamin C-rich foods in every meal. Or take smaller supplement doses throughout the day.
Zinc is another immune system nutrient which is often lacking. Alcohol, sugar, coffee and stress also deplete zinc. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds are a good natural source of zinc and zinc is readily available in health food stores and is inexpensive.
Herbal medicines are excellent for immune support and can act as immune-modulating, anti-bacterial, and antiviral support. Turmeric helps inhibit virus entry into the cells, Astragalus increases defence against incoming viruses, Elderberry is a strong antioxidant that helps defend against viruses, while Echinacea is strongly anti-viral and helps support the body's defence system. Liquorice root, on the other hand, has antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties, while olive leaf extract is an immune rebuilder and defender of incoming viruses.
Garlic is one of the best natural antibacterial and antiviral foods and helps to strengthen white blood cells. Oregano is also excellent for respiratory viruses. Ginger helps to stimulate the immune system, and finally, medicinal mushrooms (Chaga, Cordyceps, Lions Mane, Maitake, Reishi, and Turkey tail) have a large bank of scientific research indicating their ability to modulate the immune system and enhance its defence mechanisms when needed.
General nutrients for viral support. Vitamin D is a necessary component for helping to rebuild the immune system, Vitamin A protects upper respiratory mucous membranes and lining, Selenium is an excellent immune defence and Iodine is one of the strongest viral/bacterial defenders.
Essential oils can help protect you from bacteria and viruses (making your own sprays is great). Eucalyptus, clove, grapefruit, cinnamon, tea tree, lemongrass, and frankincense should be your first choice. Make a mixture of the above and spray on surfaces or simply inhale to assist in preventing and treating immune infections.
Diet and Lifestyle. Our immune systems are extremely dynamic and susceptible to what we eat and how we treat our body. Within hours of consuming sugar, your immune system starts to weaken. The best way to build long-term immune health is to make a conscious effort to improve dietary and lifestyle choices. It can be very easy to fall off the wagon; however, we have just the solution for you.
The Solution
Our new Lisa Curry Happy RESET program is the ideal way to revitalise your entire system. This 28-day structured dietary and lifestyle program is designed to create the ideal internal environment for your body to flourish. A nice ‘side effect’ is you will also lose weight if your body needs the shift. As the saying goes, “you wont get healthy when you lose weight, you will lose weight when you become healthy”.
REFERENCES
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