Keeping Healthy: Natural Ways to Support Your Immune System By Dr. Andra Campitelli, ND Flu season is upon us! Most of us have had the flu or have taken care of someone suffering from it, and if there is one thing we can all agree upon, it’s that we don’t want to get it! Many of us do what we can to avoid colds and the flu, such as taking a flu shot, but we know that it doesn’t offer 100% protection. So, let’s look at some other natural lifestyle options that we can use, whether we’ve had the flu shot or not, that will help keep our immune systems strong and healthy. Here are few things that we can do on a daily basis that will go a long way in keeping us healthy during the winter season: 1) Limit Caffeine Consumption Caffeine and its active metabolites may actually cause a suppression in necessary immune cells. Although caffeine is generally safe in doses of up to 4 cups per day, but when we consume more of it, we may start to experience its negative side effects. Caffeine is also a major cause of insomnia. 2) Get Your Beauty Rest & Sleep Soundly Recent studies found that people who sleep ≤ 7 hours are 3x more likely to catch a cold than those who sleep ≥ 8 hours. Additionally, people who do not sleep well are 5.5x more likely to catch a cold than individuals with a sound sleep. We need to hit our REM sleep so our bodies can recuperate. So, take the necessary steps to get a sound night’s sleep. If needed, Try TrueSLEEP to get that much needed rest. 3) Avoid Excess Sugar Consumption Refined sugars and carbohydrates may directly decrease the efficacy of white blood cells, the cells required to fight infection! So, reaching for that a can of Coke or bag of sweets, especially when you’re not feeling well, may not be the best option. Within 30 minutes of consuming a refined carbohydrate, our immune system may become depressed by 50% and can remain that way for 5 hours after consumption. Not helpful to stave off those colds! 4) Control Your Stress These days we tend to live in a perpetual state of stress. Studies show that increases in colds and respiratory infections are associated to the degree of psychological stress meaning that the more stressed you are, the sicker you’ll get. Infection rates range from 74 to 90%! Powerful chemicals triggered by stress may dampen or suppress the immune system, making the body more susceptible to infection and illness. Chronic stress may also inhibit good bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and our first line of immune defense stems from our gastrointestinal tract with approximately 70% of our immune system found in the GI tract. Try TrueSTRESS Support to help your body manage stress if your stress won’t be changing anytime soon! 5) Poor Diet & Lack of Exercise We know that diet and exercise are the key to health, but they are also key to our immune health. Overeating, over-consumption of fatty foods or excessive bad fats may actually suppress the immune system. On the flip side, underrating and lack of protein in the diet may also impair immune system function. Add to this lack of exercise, when we know that exercise is a huge contributor to enhancing our immune health, and we have a recipe for getting sick!
Posted on: Thu, 26 Sep 2013 14:34:05 +0000
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