As we move into Winter, now’s the time to up your self-care for a better immune system. Consider it your superpower. Whilst we’re all genetically and immunologically different, some of us more resilient to infections than others, when you apply self-care, the benefits are universal.
Vital Nutrients
Start with your plate by covering 50% with a variety brightly coloured vegetables. Mix things up by experimenting with types you’ve never tried before. Onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, rosemary and oregano are great health allies when it comes to fighting infection.
Vegetables equal fibre and are the food of choice for our gut bacteria. Fermented foods, including kimchi, kefir and kombucha have a ‘probiotic’ effect in the gut and support our immune system, however, they have limited effect without fibre.
Supplements
Depleted soils and a greater demand for certain nutrients in times of physiological and emotional stress mean it’s not always possible to get everything we need from food.
Not all supplements are created equal. Go for brands that have a clinical nutrition team behind them and are transparent around ingredients.
ZINC supports gut immunity and hinders a virus’s entry into the cell. Sources are poultry, shellfish, nuts and seeds but supplementing acts an effective antioxidant and provides protection via its anti-viral and inti-inflammatory properties. VITAMIN C is handy to have in the cupboard over the Winter months. When we’re unwell our immune cells demand nearly double the amount.
Something I frequently recommend in my own practice are BETA GLUCANS, a type of fiber found in the cell wall of specific yeasts. Beta glucans have been clinically proven to strengthen the immune system and are effective at reducing Upper Respiratory Tract Infections.
Over 70% of our immune system resides in the gut, once the beta glucan reaches the digestive system it gets swept up by an immune cell called a macrophage and ferried to different lymph organs throughout the body. Here it gets released into the care of neutrophils, our most abundant immune cell, which primes the immune system to be virus and bacteria ‘ready’.
VITAMIN D has received a lot of attention over the last 18 months. Studies link deficiency to coronavirus infection and more severe COVID-19 outcomes.
On 17th June 2020, Public Health England announced a review into the role of vitamin D in the prevention of COVID-19. Dr. Adrian Martineau, Clinical Professor of Respiratory Infection at Queen Mary University of London said:
“Vitamin D could almost be thought of as a designer drug for helping the body to handle viral respiratory infections…it boosts the ability of cells to kill and resist viruses and simultaneously dampens down harmful inflammation, which is one of the big problems with COVID.”
One of the first things to understand about vitamin D is that it’s not actually a vitamin. It has the chemical structure of a steroid hormone, similar in structure to our sex and adrenal hormones, and is made from cholesterol.
The majority is created from our skins unprotected exposure to sunlight. It hangs out near the skins surface where it starts out as vitamin D1, and once bathed in sunshine, turns into vitamin D2. From there its converted into D3 by a healthy liver.
We can get a small amount of D3 through our food chain including oily fish, egg yolk and beef liver and a little D2 from plant sources including mushrooms. D3 is the body’s preferred source and nearly every cell in the body has a vitamin D receptor, a clear measure of how important it is for health.
Many factors influence the level available to us including decreasing exposure to sunlight, compromised gut absorption and genetic differences in the body’s ability to both transport and uptake Vitamin D. The latter has been a game changer for me. Despite supplementing my levels only ever crawled into the ‘satisfactory range’ however, running a genetic panel revealed poor transport and receptor pathways meaning I needed to increase my daily dose.
Move More
Movement is one of the simplest ways to support the immune system. Being physically active encourages the release of a chemical messenger called Inter-leukin 7 which helps keep our thymus gland in shape. The thymus gland produces T cells, the immune systems ‘critical response team’, but as we age it gradually reduces in size. As well as improving the delivery of oxygenated blood and removal of metabolic waste, exercise slows this decline leaving our immune system better resourced.
Note. When working out more isn’t necessarily better. Exercising beyond your reserves places unwanted stress on your body which is counterproductive for your immune system.
Sleep and bedtime rituals
Sleep is fundamental to our emotional and physical health. There’s not a single organ system that doesn’t benefit from a good night and routinely sleeping less than 6 or 7 hours demolishes the immune system. Make bedtime rituals a thing including reducing tech in the evening, avoiding caffeine and alcohol and taking a bath with Epsom salt and a few drops of lavender oil.
Cold Water therapy
The benefits of cold-water therapy are vast and include supporting our lymphatic system to remove metabolic waste and an increase in white blood cells for better immunity.
Cold water swimming, more recently popularized by the Wim Hof movement, sees advocates immersing themselves in icy waters, however, the therapeutic benefits aren’t new.
As part of my naturopathic training, I visited the spa town of Bad Wörishofen in Germany where Father Sebastian Kneipp pioneered the ‘Water Cure Movement’. In the mid-19th century Kneipp used cold water to resolve his tuberculosis and continued helping others for the rest of his life. Today Bad Wörishofen offers cold water therapy in a clinical setting where patients receive treatment alongside more conventional interventions.
The hotel I stayed at fully embraced Kneipp’s teachings and offered a unique early morning call. I was advised to sleep with my door unlocked and in my birthday suit (highly suspect when taken out of context!) so I could receive constitutional treatment before dawn. I stood in the dark, blurring eyed, while I received a whole body ‘rub down’ with an ice-cold mitt, followed by an ice-cold compress enveloping my torso, and finishing with a piping hot version. Incredibly I went back to sleep. It took no time for my lymphatic system to upregulate and power through the cold wrap.
Constitutional hydrotherapy, where you alternate between hot and cold compresses, is an excellent way to support the immune system and can be given at the first signs of illness. If ice cold seas and compresses don’t appeal, then experiment with hot and cold showers. Start with a hot and then slowly switch to cold, alternating like this before finishing with cold. It’s an invigorating way to start the day.
Think what self-care you can bring into your day over the coming weeks, your immune system with thank you for it.