10 Ways to Boost the Immune System

As COVID-19 cases seem to be climbing again the the U.S., I’ve seem a lot of panic and despair on my social media newsfeed. I’m sad to see that the media is choosing to focus on fear and restriction. While precautionary measures like masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing will maybe help the slow the spread (anyone else feel like the recommendations keep fluculating?)- I’m shocked by how HOW LITTLE is being shared about true sustainable ways to boost the immune system.

A reality check for America

Last month, the CDC released an updated report of medical conditions that make you more susceptible to Coronavirus and severe symptoms. These conditions include:

• Cancer
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Obesity
• Sickle Cell Disease
• Serious heart conditions (heart disease) such as heart failure or coronary artery disease
• Chronic kidney disease
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)- most common among smokers
• Immuncompromised state from an organ transplant

The true pandemic

When looking through this list of pre-existing conditions, I hate to say that I’m not surprised. These diseases have literally become the hallmark of our culture. As Americans (and other Western countries), it has become completely normal to make poor health choices related to smoking, stress management, execise, diet, and more and then face the consequences of chronic disease.

Chronic lifestyle diseases like obesity and diabetes have been on the rise for decades now. They are responsible for billions of dollars in healthcare costs , uncessary suffering, and thousands of deaths each year. This pandemic has been going on for DECADES without any real panic. It has slowly crept up on us and now is making us more susceptible to the current virus we are dealing with.

Addressing our health with lifestyle choices

There is tons of research (old and emerging) about how lifestyle changes that can manage and even reverse a lot of the health issues. In fact, making good lifestyle choices have been shown to promote better gene expression– ultimately what decides our health status.

Making sound choices when it comes to your health starts with understanding what you can control (which is pretty much everything!). You can them feel empowered to make one small change at a time that will have immense long term benefits.

The best benefit of all? All the lifestyle options we will cover helps address both chronic disease and will boost your immunity and overall health to build resilience against pandemics. Plus, you will feel your best yet! That’s a pretty big win-win in my book!

10 ways to boost your immune system TODAY

When the body is in balance, it can elicit an appropriate immune reponse when it’s needed. To weak or to sensitive of an immune system can be problematic for our health. Here are 10 ways to build your immune system and help fight everything from the common cold to the current pandemic.

1. Boost your family’s gut health with probiotic rich foods like kombucha, Kimchi, kefir and other fermented foods
2. To further boost your gut, eat whole foods (think produce, nuts, seeds, etc.) and consider use of high quality probiotics.
3. Get your vitamins. Vitamin D, vitamin C, and zinc are all great immunity boosting compounds. Vitamin D is best synthesized with 30 minutes of sunshine a day. Zinc and vitamin C can be found in foods or supplements.
4. Eat high quality food. Cut out packaced foods full of preservatives, pesticides and chemical names you can’t pronounce. Opt for organic and unrefined foods as often as possible.
5. Exercise everyday for 30 or more minutes. (BONUS: find something you enjoy!)
6. Get enough high quality sleep, rest, and self-care in each day.
7. Complete daily stress management with a mindfulness practice.
8. Don’t live in a sterile bubble. The body is meant to live in sync with the biome (aka bacteria) in it’s natural surroundings. Constantly disinfecting with hand sanitizer and completely avoiding “germy” situations are not good for your immune system. Not sure how to do this while complying with social distancing? Get outside (think walking barefoot, swimming in the river, etc.) and consider starting a garden to boost your germ exposure- in a good way!
9. Avoid unncessary chemical exposure. Harsh cleansers and chemical perfumes, lotions, and other skin products are often full of unnecessary chemicals that disrupt our normal biology. This can lead to health problems and a weakened immune system.
10. Ultimately, try to reduce inflammation in the body. This allows the immune system to work properly and can be done in so many ways. Diet, stress management, reducing your chemical exposure, nature time (i.e. grounding), exercise, and proper sleep all play a role.

Start building your immune system the right way

We live in a society that covers major problems with band-aids, rather than getting to the root cause and finding a true solution. Prescription medications mask a lot of the chronic issues we are facing today. Now, use of masks, gloves, and hand sanitizers are the new quick fix approach to the health issues we are facing with COVID-19.

While they may be useful in the short term, there is so much we should be doing to boost your health for the long term future. Otherise, we’re setting ourselves for a pretty nasty cycle of poor health.

A healthy immune system is worth it’s weight in gold right now. Choose one or more ways that you can start building into your daily routine to boost your immune system this week! It’s never too late to get started. If you’re not sure where to start, you can always seek medical advice from a trusted medical professional as well.

What could you add to your routine to naturally start boosting your immune system?