15 Oct 6 Ways to Boost Your Immune System
With the cold and flu season pretty much upon us, not to mention another virus we’re all rather aware of right now, it’s really important to look after our general health and ensure our immune system is firing on all cylinders!
1) Vitamin D
2) Probiotics
These brilliant supplements are designed to populate our guts with all the good bacteria’s we need. Our guts are incredibly important to our overall health and a poorly functioning gut or one which is overpopulated with bad bacteria is linked with a poor immune system. It is recommended to take probiotics to increase your gut and immune health. Our wonderful Nutritionist Lissa Leader is a big advocate for Probiotics and also works for Optibac as an advisor , so if you want to understand these supplements more, how they could help you and which one would be best for you and your family then please do chat to Lissa. You can find her here.
3) Reduce refined sugars
Studies have shown that spikes in sugar intake suppress the immune system. Sugar is also very inflammatory for the body so can also increase pain in the body which can also then suppress the immune system. Next time you reach for a mid afternoon biccie, perhaps swap it for a piece of fruit (something high in Vitamin C is even better!
4) Balanced diet
Making a bit of effort in what we eat can really improve our immune health- making sure we have a balanced diet containing plenty of vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, good fats and varied minerals and vitamins ensures all bodily systems can work well and we remain healthy and strong.
5) Get plenty of sleep
6) Decrease stress
When the body is dealing with emotional stress it also has an effect on our physical body (we are seeing the effects of the stress caused by this year a lot in our patients in clinic right now.) If the body is in a constant ‘stress state’ , several systems including the immune system are suppressed and cannot work as required making us more vulnerable to coming down with illnesses when stressed or fatigued. A visit to see Jo our Reflexologist is also a good way to relax and de-stress!