Nutrition
We are made from and run on the nutrients that we get from our food. This includes our immune system (our body’s surveillance team which protects us from invaders). From a nutritional perspective we should remove the foods that suppress our immune system and feed our body’s with the foods that help to keep it strong and healthy. So, we really want to remove the highly processed white foods, such as refined grains and sugars and replace these foods with unprocessed, nutrient rich whole foods, such as:
- Eat lots of colorful vegetables
- Eat good quality protein – pasture raised meats, chicken, pastured eggs, legumes
- Eat good quality fats, omega 3s from oily fish such as salmon and sardines, coconut oil, butter, ghee, nut and seeds
Up to 80% of our immune system lives in our gut – so a healthy digestive system is key to a healthy immune system Bone broths and fermented foods are great gut health foods – which then support healthy immune!
Check out these links for a Chicken Broth and a Bone Broth.
Reduce stress
Not all stress is bad. Stress in acute situations is even healthful for our body. However, chronic stress is a different story. When we are stressed our body produces hormones for fight and flight and these hormones suppress our immune systems function. In our current environment with COVID-19 our stress levels are certainly high.
When we recognize ourselves reaching our tipping point with stress, such as sweating, feeling frantic, rapid heart beat, etc we need to put in strategies that help us to find calm and peace. For example, exercise, meditation, breathing exercises – what ever helps your to find your peace.
Sleep
Turn off social media and the news and go to bed! We need to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep each night. This is the time that our immune system really work its magic!
For some great tips on how to get a better nights sleep click here.
Hydration
This is a big one! Our body cannot function well without proper hydration. Are you hydrated?! Take your body weight and divide it by 30. This will give you how many liters per day you need to drink.
For some great tips on how to stay hydrated click here.
