Tips to strengthen your immune system

At the moment there is no vaccine for the Corona virus, we have to rely on our immune system, this is the one thing we can have control of in the crazy time.

Here are some simple things we can easily do to increase our ability to cope and fight Covid-19 if we do get infected:

• Get plenty of sleep
• Eat nourishing food – lots of antioxidant rich vegies and include plenty of protein for strength
• Get some activity – a brisk walk in fresh air
• Destress – partake in an activity you know calms you – painting, gardening, crosswords…if you’ve no ideas try a free meditation video from YouTube 
• Along with eating nourishing food, supplement with immune boosting supplements – the main nutrients (but by no means the only) Vitamin C, Zinc, vitamin D
• Keep hydrated – if you find it hard to drink water (me!!!) try herbal teas, mineral water, soups

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This is one of my staple FreshStart Cleanse recipes – soup is sooo good to have handy when you just haven’t got things organised for a meal. It’s really just all the goodness (antioxidants, minerals, protein) of a chicken & vegie soup with extra immune boosting ingredients like garlic, ginger, turmeric, bone broth and herbs etc. This soup hydrates and it WILL help your immune system…. and yes – hot liquid just might help kill off a few more baddies as a bonus??

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Key Vitamins

Here is  one  study that explains what Vitamin C does:

“Vitamin C stimulates neutrophil migration to the site of infection, enhances phagocytosis and oxidant generation, and microbial killing. At the same time, it protects host tissue from excessive damage by enhancing neutrophil apoptosis and clearance by macrophages, and decreasing neutrophil necrosis and NETosis. Thus, it is apparent that vitamin C is necessary for the immune system to mount and sustain an adequate response against pathogens, whilst avoiding excessive damage to the host.

Vitamin C appears to be able to both prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections by enhancing various immune cell functions. Prophylactic prevention of infection requires dietary vitamin C intakes that provide at least adequate, if not saturating plasma levels (i.e., 100–200 mg/day), which optimize cell and tissue levels. In contrast, treatment of established infections requires significantly higher (gram) doses of the vitamin to compensate for the increased metabolic demand.”

and one on Zinc 

“…zinc can be considered as a gatekeeper of the immune system, since the adequate function of virtually all immune cells is highly zinc-dependent….”

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It can be confusing choosing a good supplement. If you would like some help on what vitamins I would recommend for you personally please don’t hesitate to contact me and we can have a chat. 

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