Thankfully nurturing a strong immune system isn’t rocket science.
I realise that’s easy to write, when we maybe recovering from a chronic health challenge like an autoimmune imbalance, or handling post-surgery healing.
If you’re needing some inspiration, following these 5 steps can be a game changer-
- Simplifying our food; including removing sugary, salty, processed options that need rehydrating.
Instead, opt for fresh-food-technicolour-eating– with blueberries, dark green leafies, oranges, carrots, beets, red grapes, mushrooms and kiwi fruits.
Other resistance-optimisers include garlic, onions, turmeric, cinnamon
These all ultimately help our immune systems to be able to efficiently fight bacteria and be more responsive when needed.
- Sleep –I believe this one’s highly under-rated as an all-round health-injection!
When we’re well rested we reduce our cortisol (stress hormone) levels, and reduce inflammation – reducing the work load on our immune system.
- Have a laugh! – our bodies enjoy this one on the inside as well as the outside…
…And for good reason. It can help boost our infection-fighting white blood cells and reduce circulating levels of stress hormones.
Even thinking about something funny can help reduce those stress hormones!
- Look after the Micronutrients – often referred to as the missing link when it comes to our food.
– And the reason that respected publications like the Journal of the American Medical Association now recommend we take a good multi – every day.
Avoid ‘pottering’ – meaning with some garlic here, some vitamin C there and the odd zinc booster. This is because having higher levels of certain nutrients can throw out our overall balance. Opting for a high quality multi is the best investment of resources.
- Get moving – as little as 30mins a day can help strengthen our immune system.
Regularity can help reduce our stress hormones, improve the quality of our sleep and mean we’re less susceptible to colds.
Take away –If you’re ready for results – pick just 1 out of the options above and practice it for 3 days – you’ll be pleased you did. And do email me – I’ve love to hear how you get on.
Fi Jamieson-Folland D.O., I.N.H.C., is The LifeStyle Aligner. She’s an experienced practitioner since 1992 in Europe, Asia and New Zealand as a qualified Osteopath, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, speaker, educator, writer, certified raw vegan gluten-free chef, and Health Brand Ambassador.
