A few friends have asked for some tips on boosting their immune system recently. Here are some tips:
Food
To start with, eating a nutrient-dense diet involving unrefined foods and including 1 cup of fruits plus at least 4 cups of vegetables per day is part of the basics of keeping your terrain healthy.
Cutting out refined sugars is also quite important as they suppress the immune system.
Adding spices to your cooking, such as turmeric, rosemary, and plenty of garlic and onion as well as ginger will bring on anti microbial benefits.
Drinking at least a litre of water per day helps eliminate toxins. Make sure your water is filtered as well as possible.
BODY
Moving your body with moderate exercise helps to boost your system.
We set up our Bellicon rebounder in the living room, and the kids and I jump regularly so it stimulates our lymphatic system, which in turn lowers inflammation, and boost our immune system.
Adequate sleep helps reset your brain, and lets your body detox on all levels. To help with your circadian cycles, wearing junk light blocking glasses can help, I personally wear TrueDark glasses a couple hours before going to bed.
Practicing meditation, tai chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, or any type of mindfulness or stress-relief technique. My kids and I are more inclined towards meditation, so that’s our way of chillin’ I use the Muse headband often, and I truly love it. It has an element of neuro-feedback that enhances my practice and enables me to go deeper.
SUPPLEMENTS
500-1000mg of vitamin C/day (I prefer Sodium ascorbate to ascorbic acid as it’s easier on the stomach, but ascorbic acid is just fine for most people)
About 2000IU Vitamin D/day
Probiotics help support a healthy gut. My favourites are MegaSporeBiotics, Hyperbiotics, and Seed (use code BARON15 for 15% off your first month).
Fish oil helps your body add good fats, my favourites are MegaOmega, Now Krill Oil, or any Krill oil that doesn’t have any preservatives or other unnecessary additives.
Mushroom extracts such as Reishi, Chaga, Shiitake (which you can cook as well), cordyceps have amazing properties to protect your immune system. I love Optimal Immune from Primal Herb as it’s easy to add to any beverage.
Andrographis is amazing at lowering lung pathologies, decreases viral load, and inflammatory cytokines expression induced by infection.
EXTERNAL HELP
Infrared Saunas are amazing to help with relaxation, detox, relieving sore muscles as well as joint pain, it improves circulation, and helps with sleep.
Lymphatic drainage, especially the Vodder method, helps boost the immune system, lower inflammation, and calms the nervous system. (if you’re in Montreal, the most amazing Lymphatic System specialist is Leila Azaiez in the Plateau)
This post is not intended to provide medical advice and any changes should be done in consultation with your healthcare provider.