Every August I used to prepare my immune system for the winter sick months. My family and I would take some sort of immune boosting herbs during that month to give our systems a big 'ol kickstart in order to give it the best shot it could to fight off invaders! Unfortunately in the past few years we've been getting busier and busier with A'del and some of those good habits from the past are badly needing a refresh! This August we've decided to revisit those great habits and we thought you might like to join us!
Since I'm behind the screen I'll go first with some suggestions we're going to try and incorporate that are known to boost the immune system!
*Immune boosting herbs
Every August our family would take about 3-4 weeks worth of Elderberry Defense from Nature's Sunshine Products. This little bottle is full of Elderberry, Echinacea, Willow Bark Extract, Royal Jelly Vitamin D3 and Olive leaf which is a great line up for building up the body to prepare it for flu season. I'll be taking a full bottle which should take about 4 weeks to finish. If you don't have Elderberry Defense you can use echinacea, elderberry, garlic, bee pollen or mushrooms to boost your immune system. Just try and get the best quality you can and stay with it for at least 3 weeks.
Exercise
Having a strong immune system starts with a strong body and exercise is one way to keep the body prepared. Moving the lymph is so important to moving invaders out of the body. I like to walk on the treadmill or do floor exercises, jump on a mini trampoline or do block therapy which are all fantastic ways to move the lymph. My hope is to be more faithful to exercise through this month!
Water
It's easy to forget isn't it! But the lymph system desperately needs not only exercise and movement but lots of water to move it through the system. Many years ago, and I think it still stands, I was told to drink half my body weight in ounces per day and if I exercise or sweat excessively add in a little more. I think this is a wise and conservative way to approach it. Drinking too much water, for some, can be detrimental to electrolyte and mineral balance so always check with your health care provider for any concerns you may have.
Food
When my body first started breaking down in my early 30's I went to a natural path who did live-blood cell analysis on me. This was so fascinating! He pricked my finger and squeezed out some blood to place on a slide. Then he looked at the blood through a microscope explaining to me what was going on. He looked at my red blood cells to see if there were plenty of them as well as being able to see parasites, yeast, even food particles....why were they in my finger? But he also looked at my white blood cells. He explained how these little blood cells that are the backbone of the immune system were reacting to what was being thrown at them. Were they strong and ready to fight for me? Apparently that day my white blood cells were in pretty good shape!
But he also explained that food makes a huge difference in the ability for white blood cells react. He said that he's examined the same person's blood before and after eating a hamburger, fries and milkshake. The white blood cells before were bouncy and moving in a proactive way. After eating the unhealthy meal those same white blood cells were frozen in place, stuck and unable to respond to invaders! And they stayed that way for at least 2-3 hours. This made an impression on me! So what we eat makes a difference in the immune system's ability to respond to attacks. Eating less sugar and less "garbage" foods can make a difference.
Getting locally grown produce from farmer's market also reaps great health benefits so we're going to try and make a bigger effort! Last weekend we picked up some fresh picked peaches and home grown tomatoes. Yum! We also like to drink a variety of herbal teas. Ginger tea with honey makes a great heat producing drink that can boost the immune system and I personally love it! Another thing I love to do is make Vitamix drinks. If you have a high powered blender you can make whole food green drinks that are great for boosting the immune system. Fresh ginger is a great addition which I love to add in along with green apples and lemon or lime. And don't forget fermented veggies and yogurts as they work on the gut to bring balance to the immune system.
And dare I forget to mention the cherry on top? Healthy lifestyles can bring about big changes in skin health! Healthy body, healthy skin!
So these are a few areas we're going to focus on and look forward to hearing from you guys too! Can't wait!
And please always check in with your health care provider before starting any new health or diet program. I am not a doctor:)
*all of these herbs are saved in our instagram highlights under “immune boost” with links to purchase them
