Episode 43: 10 Ways to Boost Your Health and Sanity Today
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Summary
Times are scary and uncertain at the moment, but now is not the time to focus on all the things we can't control. Now is the time to double down on the things we can: our health, our mindset, and our habits.
Which is why today I'm sharing 10 steps you can take to improve all 3, and give your immune system a boost in the process.
1. Exercise.
Fitness works on numerous fronts to help your immune system. It increases white blood cells, reduces the stress hormone cortisol, and it may help flush bacteria out of the lungs.
2. Replace fear with focus.
Do not spend your days glued to the tv, and scrolling through all the scary articles on social media. Rallying your fear and anxiety is just going to flood your system with cortisol and reduce your body's ability to fight the very thing you're afraid of. Instead, use this time to refocus. Make a list of all the things you say you'd do if you had more time and start doing them. Check in with your priorities and whether or not your life reflects them. Bring purpose to this time and you'll come out on the other side stronger and more resilient.
3. Load up on immune boosting super foods.
- Green tea: a lab study suggested that catechins, a type of polyphenol found in green tea, may kill influenza viruses. But do not add dairy because it binds to these polyphenols.
- Blueberries: The contain a type of antioxidant that can help reduce damage to cells and boost immune function
- Salmon: The omega-3 fatty acids are notorious for their inflammation-fighting qualities. And inflammation can weaken and disrupt immune function.
- Dark leafy greens: Besides being packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber, all incredibly important in lowering inflammation, and detoxing the body, dark leafy greens provide chemicals that help immune cells in the gut to function properly.
- Probiotics: These help build up your defenses by adding good bacteria to your gut and stimulating a range of antibodies and immune cells.
- Garlic: The compound allicin is shown to have antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. But in order for it to be effective you have to eat 2-3 raw cloves per day.
- Turmeric: The compound curcumin is a known, high potency antioxidant and anti-inflammatory and has been shown to be a beneficial immuno-modulator even in people with weakened immune systems.
- Lemon: Between its high levels of vitamin C, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory/antiviral/antibacterials properties, this should definitely be making its way into your diet.
- Bone broth: This is more of a long term immune booster in the sense that it can help heal your gut lining. How does this help your immunity? When your gut has sustained damage, it can lead to a weakened immune system. So bone broth can help 'plug that hole.'
- Apple cider vinegar: When it contains the 'mother' enzymes it contains probiotics and prebiotics and helps aid in digestion, all incredibly important for gut health which is where 70% of your immune system lives. It also has antimicrobial properties, it alkalizes the body, and it encourages detoxification through lymphatic drainage.
4. Laugh.
Joy and laughter can release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses. It causes the body to produce its own pain killers. And it increases endorphins and reduces cortisol.
5. Do NOT use food or alcohol as a coping mechanism.
Sugar, processed and artificial foods, trans fats and the like stress out your system, raise inflammation, and dampen the immune system. Dairy creates excess mucus in the body. And alcohol specifically increases vulnerability to lung infections.
Instead, try some coping mechanisms that don't cause more harm than good, like calling a therapist, journaling to process your anxieties, meditating, organizing, exercising, taking a bubble bath, etc.
6. Meditate.
7. Get enough rest.
Lack of sleep reduces infection fighting cells, antibodies, and proteins that are essential for targeting infection and inflammation in the body and signaling an immune response.
8. Stay hydrated.
Water helps carry oxygen to your cells which allows them to function properly while it also helps to carry immune-damaging toxins safely out of the body. Water also helps thin out mucus and increases the volume of lymphatic fluids that are essential for a healthy immune response.
9. Take a break from the news.
On the physiological side, the news and all of its depressing, well, news, is known to spike anxiety and stress leading to an increase in cortisol and a dampened immune system.
On the woo-woo side, energy attracts like energy and the more you focus on the thing you don't want, the more you attract that very thing to you.
10. Get outside if possible (remembering to stay 6 feet away from others), or consider supplementing with vitamin D3.
If you want to find out the bonus tip (I promise it's the most fun of them all), click above to listen to the episode!
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