How Can I Boost My Immune System?
Healthy Lifestyle Tips
Less Stress & More Sleep - Your body does a better job fighting off illness and healing when it’s not under stress or sleep-deprived. Aim to get 6-8 hours of sleep each night.
Practice Good Hygiene - Regularly wash your hands, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, throughout the day. Use hand sanitizer when out and about and disinfect surfaces you come into contact with - including your cell phone!
Eat a Balanced Diet - Load up on fresh fruits and vegetables; they enhance your immune response! Vitamin C-rich foods include citrus fruits, along with leafy greens, bell peppers, berries and broccoli. Vitamin A boosts immunity, lowers your risk of infection and supports wound healing. Snack on carrots, squash, sweet potatoes, dark leafy greens, cantaloupe, wild-caught Alaskan salmon, organic pastured eggs and grass fed beef.
Drinking cold-pressed juice is great way to incorporate more leafy greens into your diet!
3 Supplements for Immune Health
In one study of 107 older patients, some patients took high doses of vitamin D while others were given standard doses. After a year, the researchers found that people in the high-dose group had 40 percent fewer respiratory infections over the course of the year compared to those on the standard dose.
Why would vitamin D lower risk for respiratory illness? Our bodies need adequate vitamin D to produce the antimicrobial proteins that kill viruses and bacteria. “If you don’t have adequate vitamin D circulating, you are less effective at producing these proteins and more susceptible to infection,” says Dr. Adit Ginde, professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. “These proteins are particularly active in the respiratory tract.”
In a study of respiratory illness and vitamin D, the dose was equivalent to about 3,330 IU daily.
Zinc is a protective antioxidant that helps create and activate your immune system’s white blood cells and is essential in the enzymatic reactions needed for wound healing.
Additionally, the NIH notes that children and the elderly with zinc deficiency in the developing world have been shown to be more vulnerable to pneumonia and other infections.
Zinc-containing foods include grass fed red meat, pastured, organic chicken, eggs, nuts and pumpkin seeds. If you're vegan or vegetarian, you may want to consider supplementing zinc in your diet.
Elderberry has long been proposed as being immune supportive, and supports the body's natural defense. Research studies show Black Elderberry to have immune modulating and antioxidant properties. Because Elderberry is high in flavonoid rich compounds, it exerts antioxidant protection on cells. By providing antioxidant protection, Elderberry aids in protecting cellular health from free radical damage and airborne elements.
In one randomized study of 60 adults with flu-like symptoms, those who took 15 mL of the elderberry syrup four times a day saw symptoms clear up on average four days earlier than those who took a placebo syrup.
Why does Elderberry reduce cold & flu?
You may have heard of taking an Elderberry supplement during cold and flu season, but have you ever wondered what it actually does for you?
Black Elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is a powerful antioxidant that helps to shorten the duration of virus by inhibiting the virus from duplicating in your body. It can be taken everyday as preventative immune support, or if you feel you might be getting sick, head it off early with elderberry syrup, capsules, gummies or packets that you can mix in your water bottle.
Not all elderberry is created equal. The Austrian-sourced black elderberry found in New Chapter's Elderberry products has anti-bacterial properties along with its naturally occurring anti-viral properties. The membrane extraction process used to provide a therapeutic dose of the berries uses no solvents or evaporation, but filters out sugar while retaining the beneficial phytonutrients. Garden of Life offers an elderberry syrup combined with organic echinacea, zinc, and vitamin C, all non-GMO, and tested for high concentration immune support.
Oseltamivir, marketed as Tamiflu®, can shorten the duration of flu symptoms by about one day and may include potentially serious side effects, while studies have shown elderberry can shorten duration by up to four days while having no known side effects. It's a superfood!
Elderberry makes a great addition to your daily immune routine and can be used by the whole family. Be sure you're getting a high-quality, clean processed supplement like New Chapter's Elderberry Force or myKind Organics by Garden of Life to help keep the cold and flu at bay this winter season!
(A note of caution: If you make your own elderberry products at home, the berries must be thoroughly heated to remove toxic compounds that could otherwise cause severe stomach upset.)