3 Simple Strategies to Boost Your Immunity

With “cold and flu season” right around the corner for the northern hemisphere, I wanted to share some of my favorite tips to staying healthy.  Something I think we are all prioritizing this year with a threat of a second round of COVID erupting this fall. 

Sure, there are many, many things I can think of to boost immunity, but none of us need any more complications in our lives. My hope is that these 3 simple focuses will be a reminder on what to do to stay well this fall!

LIFESTYLE
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If there is one thing that will lower your immunity fast, it’s stress. Living in a chronic state of stress, even if it’s a low grade stress, can create a constant release of cortisol into the system. Over time, elevated cortisol will lower your ability to fight infection. 

So right now, if you can think of a few ways you can lower stress in your life...do it. If you, like most, feel like stress is a little out of your control at the moment, consider focusing on a few things you CAN control that we know help lower stress.

Sleep
You need at least 7 hours of sleep each night to fight off infections. If you haven’t already established a good sleep routine that prioritizes blue lights being off 2 hours before bedtime, now's the time to refocus on it!

Meditation
Learning to quiet your mind, even if it’s just for 5 minutes each day, has been shown to lower cortisol. If meditation isn’t your thing, you should try some restorative yoga, stretching or even a quiet walk outside where you focus on your breath. All of these things can help you turn off the thinking cycle and give your brain a break. 

Exercise
Daily movement boosts your immune system! Ideally, you would make time to get in a 30 minute sweat session each day. Not only will this improve your immunity, but sweating daily helps drive unwanted toxins out of the body! 

Hydration
Your body needs the proper amounts of fluids and electrolytes to function at its best. Proper hydration levels are especially important to maintain a healthy mucus membrane in areas like your gut, lungs and sinuses (the areas that are usually first to encounter harmful bacteria and viruses). 

Supplements
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Sure, there are a few supplements that are helpful to have on hand this time of year! But if you know me, you know I’m a “food first” person. However, in the case of these supplements specifically, the evidence I have seen shows that the dose you can obtain from food alone is not enough to effectively fight off certain colds and flus. Therefore, it is my recommendation to consider additional supplementing with specific nutrients during cold and flu season. Three of my favorite to add in this time of year are:

Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral that plays many vital roles in the body. It is the second most abundant mineral in the body (behind iron) and is present in every single cell. However, since the body can’t make zinc on it’s own, it needs to be obtained exogenously through diet and supplements. Foods rich in zinc include: shellfish, meat, fish, legumes, nuts and seeds, eggs and dairy products. Prioritizing these foods during cold and flu season can help provide the RDI of zinc (which is 11mg for men and 8mg for women). However, when exposed to a bacteria or virus that challenges the immune system, additional support can be helpful!

Supplementation of zinc between 80-92mg per day has been shown to reduce the length of the common cold by 33%! 

It is generally recommended to obtain zinc supplementation during cold and flu season in the form of a lozenge. With the majority of cold and flu infections starting in the throat, using zinc in lozenge form puts the zinc directly in that region allowing it to be effective in the throat, nose and mouth. 

“Borrowing from the research on the common cold, I think the best way to enrich the tissues of the mouth, nose, and throat with zinc is to use zinc acetate lozenges at a low dose preventatively, at a more intensive dose when encountering a potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2, and at a dose used in common cold trials at the first sign of illness” says Chris Masterjohn, PhD.

Vitamin D
We know that vitamin D is an important nutrient to promote calcium homeostasis and bone health. What we also know is that a deficiency in vitamin D is associated with an increased susceptibility to infection. As humans, we can obtain vitamin D from foods, but most of it is absorbed through our skin from sunlight. That poses a challenge during cold and flu season when rates of infections are higher but the hours of sunlight during the day are shorter. This means supplementation with Vitamin D3 and K can help keep your vitamin D sufficient.

Before you willy nilly take a random dose of Vitamin D, I recommend having your vitamin D levels tested in your serum. This will help you understand where your current levels are and will allow you to dose appropriately. My recommendation for most healthy adults is to aim for a serum vitamin D (Vitamin D, 25-Hydroxy, Total) level between 60-80 ng/mL. If your test results reveal that you are lower than that range, consider taking a Vitamin D3 with K supplement. My favorite Vitamin D supplement is Designs for Health Vitamin D Supreme. 

Probiotics
Did you know that 70% of the cells that make up your immune system reside in the gut? This is why focusing on gut health can be so powerful in boosting the immune system. 

The gut is an interesting place. Despite what you might think, the gut is technically outside our body. When you eat food, the nutrients it contains don’t actually enter into the body (specifically into the bloodstream) without first passing through the lining of the gut.

​This lining plays an important role in the body’s immunity because it acts as the body’s first line of defense against unfavorable bacteria and viruses. It does this by lining itself with a whole crew of “body guards,” otherwise known as beneficial bacteria. They hold the key to deciding if a nutrient gets in, or has to say out.

You can only imagine that if the body is flooded with lots of bad guys (like during cold and flu season), we want as many (or more) good guys to help keep them out. This is where probiotics come in very handy. One specific probiotic you should be looking for is Lactobacillus. These guys have been shown in studies to enhance the immune system and reduce cold and flu symptoms if you are to be exposed. 

My favorite probiotic is Klaire Labs Ther-biotic Complete which has multiple types of Lactobacillus, but includes all 3 forms of Lactobacillus that have been clinically tested and have shown to give the immune system a boost: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus paracasei and Lactobacillus acidophilus. 

Whole Foods
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It’s pretty amazing how whole, unprocessed foods can boost your overall health! Some of my favorites to prioritize this time of year to naturally boost your immune system include:

Garlic
Garlic has been used as an antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal agent for thousands of years. Garlic contains the compound alliin which has been shown to boost the disease fighting white blood cells when they encounter an invader, like the virus that causes the common cold or flu.  Looks for different ways to include garlic into your cooking during the cold and flu season. And check out the fire cider recipe below for your daily dose of garlic! 

Vitamin C rich foods
Vitamin C has long been touted as the immune boosting vitamin. And it’s true...Vitamin C is fantastic for the immune system because it helps encourage the production of white blood cells which make up our immune system. 

When most of us think of vitamin C rich foods, we think of citrus fruits such as oranges. The problem with these foods is they are also full of natural sugars, which can add stress to the immune system. Instead of increasing your vitamin C rich foods from fruit, considering adding in vitamin C rich vegetables such as bell peppers, brussel sprouts and broccoli! That fire cider recipe below also includes rose hips, a herb chalk full of Vitmain C!

Bone Broth
Bone broth is a highly nutrient rich broth that is obtained from simmering the bones and connective tissue of animals. The nutrients in bone broth work mostly in the gut by helping repair damage done from a poor diet, stress or unfavorable bacteria.

​This type of damage causes a weakened immune system, so using bone broth to help it heal can also improve your immunity! The main nutrients hard at work in bone broth are amino acids which aid the immune system, including arginine, glutamine and glycine. 

Bone broth can be consumed daily. It is generally recommended to swap water for bone broth in recipes such as soups and stews, rice dishes and even smoothies!  

Fire Cider
Fire cider is a traditional herbal drink used to boost the immune system! It was developed by an herbalist in the 1970s. She started with apple cider vinegar, a fermented ingredient proven to have antibacterial and antioxidant properties, as the base, adding other ingredients such as horseradish (for decongestion), ginger (for warmth), garlic and onion (for antibacterial properties), cayenne (to boost metabolism and immunity), and honey to tie everything together and make the drink more palatable.

Fire cider is said to restore and invigorate one’s system, and additionally, many claim it has benefits that include boosting energy, warding off colds and flus, easing sinus congestion, lowering blood sugar, curbing cravings, and aiding digestion.    

Most people drink 1-2 tbsp of fire cider daily, either as a shot or diluted in water. Personally, I love to add mine to homemade salad dressing to give it punch of flavor and a kick of heat! If you feel a cold coming on, consider taking a shot every 3-4 hours to help support your immune system.

Fire cider is SUPER easy to make, but since it is a ferment, it needs time to sit. So plan ahead by making a batch early in the fall!        

Ingredients                    

• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 7” ginger root, grated
• 7” horseradish root, grated
• 2 jalapeños, coarsely chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1/4 cup rose hips
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1” turmeric root, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• raw apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 cup raw honey (or more to taste)

                                
Tools

• 1/2 gallon jar
• plastic lid          

             
Directions

1. Prepare your roots, fruits, vegetables and herbs and place them in a 1/2 gallon jar. **
2. Pour the apple cider vinegar in the jar until the jar is full and all of the ingredients have been covered.
3. Use a plastic lid, or a piece of parchment paper under the metal lid to prevent the vinegar from touching the metal. Shake well.
4. Store the jar in a cool, dark cupboard for 1 month. Shake daily.
5. After 1 month, use a cheesecloth to strain out the pulp while reserving the vinegar in a clean jar.
6. Add the raw honey to the vinegar, and stir until incorporated.
7. Taste your cider and add more honey until you reach the desired sweetness.      
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** If you have never grated horseradish before, you are in for an experience! Be prepared for a powerful sinus opening. To lesson the impact of the horseradish on your sinus, grate the root in a well ventilated area with plenty of air flow.