How to Supercharge Your Immune System

TW was a female patient of mine. One day, a couple years ago, she and her husband spent the day visiting with her father in law. They didn't know it at the time, but he was carrying around a nasty bug. Three days after their visit, her father in law started showing symptoms of a winter cold. The next day her husband got sick.

Despite direct exposure to the virus she never got sick. What the heck?

The reason is, under my naturopathic care, her immune system - okay.

Stop. I can't lie to you anymore.

TW is me. I'm her. That year my immune system was primed and ready. It's not necessarily all about exposure to the bug. That's only part of the equation. The other part is how healthy one's body is to fight off the bug.

I'm exposed to sick people all season long so I take careful precautions to make sure that my body stays as healthy as possible during cold and flu season.

The reason I'm writing this now is because:

a) it's cold and flu season, and
b) for some reason, this year, I neglected to heed my own advice.

I typically have a routine, that I follow, and it helps me avoid getting sick.

Over the past two weeks I've encountered the bug from my patients, my husband, my co-workers, and a friend. To be honest I was a little bit cocky. I'm usually well prepared.

But it wasn't until I got the little tickle in my throat that I realized that I had not been following my normal fall / winter regimen. It's a combo of supplements, food choices, and lifestyle habits, that has worked for me and many of my patients to get through the flu season unscathed.

Now if I'd only been following the ideas, I probably wouldn't be a mucousy mess as I type this. But on the bright side, if I hadn't been negligent, I likely wouldn't be sick, and I wouldn't have thought to turn this into an article for you to benefit from. Reframe!!

Today. I share those tips with you (as a sickie.)

Here are my top 5 strategies to avoid getting sick:

1. Use food as medicine

Avoid Sugar
Sugar wreaks havoc on the immune system. It paralyzes the cells that hunt and kill infectious invaders. This effect occurs within 20 minutes and can last up to 12 hours. Got a sweet tooth? Choose whole fruits instead of concentrated sugars like sugar, honey, and maple syrup.

Avoid your food allergens
Eating foods that are offensive to your system creates inflammation and prevents the immune system from being able to do it's job properly. I recommend getting these checked. My favorite way of figuring out what foods work and don't work for YOUR body is The Plan.

Eat a copious amount of veggies
Fret not! I've provided ideas on how to get in your TEN daily serving of veg. All you gotta do is click here. But I'd wait until you're done reading this article.

Eat a rainbow
Brightly coloured veggies and fruits are super foods. Eat a variety of colours every day.

2. Take specific herbs

Echinacea
Unfortunately the media got this wrong. This herb is a great preventative approach. When you're shopping for echinacea, make sure you're getting the ROOT, not the flowering tops. And, try to find a combination of two species: Echinacea purpura and E. augustifolia.

Mushroom blends
Mushrooms are great immune strengtheners. Find a combo capsule that includes: Reishi, Shitake, and Maitake.

St. Johns Wort
This is a potent anti-viral. Now checkity check check. Medication interaction alert. This herb is gonna mess with your birth control pill and your anti-depressants. Best done under the care of a naturopathic physician.

Goldenseal
All hail - the king of the mucus membranes. That's what us herb nerds call this one. It`s a super-charged anti-microbial (read: it kills bugs) but this royal herb should only be used short term.

3. Take specific supplements

Liquid sunshine - Vitamin D
We're just not outside enough. Vitamin D is a SUPER DUPER immune support. It's also a mood lifter and a cancer preventer. Gotta love the Vitamin D. Liquid versions or soft gels are preferable over tablets because it's a fat soluble nutrient. How much? Well... it's controversial... but lets just say that your body uses 4,000 IU per day. I, for myself, like to replenish that.

Probiotics
Wanna know something wacky? The micro-organisms that live in our gut outnumber our body cells 3:1. THREE TO ONE! The good dudes help us fight off the bad dudes. I picture this like a western movie in my mind, with the dust ball rolling across the screen. I usually suggest capsules to get a therapeutic dose.

4. Hydrotherapy

This is old school, but good stuff.

Hydrotherapy is the use of hot and cold water applied to the skin to affect changes under the skin.

These changes include: improving circulation, moving lymph (the garbage collectors in the body), and enhancing detoxification. One simple thing you can do right now? Finish your hot shower with a 30-second splash of cold water. Okay. Maybe not right this moment - but the next time you hop in for some hygiene, why not get immune support at the same time.

5. Stress management

Make time for quiet time
Alright party people. This is the last one. You gotta manage or better yet, reduce your stress. Stress, like sugar, cripples the immune system. Do things like meditation, yoga, deep breathing, progressive relaxation, and emotional freedom technique.

Hire a professional. I can help give you more specific guidance based on your individual needs. Also I love using acupuncture and Brain-Based Transformation Coaching to shift my patients out of stress mode and into rest, digest, heal, grow, and sex mode.

What's your favorite immune booster? Leave me a note in the comments below and share what works for you! Be sure to like and share if you dig it.

Here's to your bug fightin', jivin' Health and thrivin' Life!