Late summer days rolling into longer, cooler nights marks the beginning of the cold weather season. And if there’s one thing we’ve learned from the past few years, it’s how important a strong immune system is for staying healthy during cold and flu season.
Now is the time to take charge of your immune health by making healthy changes to your daily routine. Here’s how to boost your immune system and better prepare your body, mind, and spirit for the cooler months ahead.
8 Immune boosting tips to prepare you for fall
1. Eat Seasonally
Seventy percent of your immune system lives in your gut. So, it’s important that your digestive system and immune system live in harmony. In fact, if your gut microflora suddenly becomes unbalanced, it can change your immune responses. And that could leave you feeling fatigued, burnout, and susceptible to viruses.
Your best defense is boosting your immune system with the seasonal foods that nourish your gut, such as:
- Cruciferous vegetables like brussels sprouts, cabbage, and broccoli
- Pumpkin seeds
- Root vegetables like sweet potatoes, turnips, and winter squash
- Apples and pears
- Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kefir, kimchi, and pickles boost
2. Limit Refined Foods
Fall is the season of comfort food, but it’s important to go easy on the highly refined carbs like white bread and sweet baked goods. They’ll spike blood sugar and insulin level, and weaken your immune system.
In fact, foods that significantly raise blood sugar also increase inflammation. And while inflammation is a natural response in the body to things like foreign invaders or injury, when it goes unchecked for too long it can trigger long term problems. In addition, high blood sugar levels hinder the response of immune cells that help protect against infections.
3. Exercise Regularly
We really can’t say this enough. Exercise is the cornerstone of health. In fact, exercise is a valuable tool that helps your immune system fight against acute viral respiratory infections.
During and after exercise, your body produces a pro- and anti-inflammatory response. This lowers your chance of catching viral infections and can lessen the severity of symptoms.
4. Try Dry Brushing
If you’ve never dry-brushed your skin you may want to add it to your routine. Dry brushing unclogs pores while exfoliating. Unclogged pores make it easier for your body to sweat and eliminate toxins. It also helps detoxify your skin by increasing blood circulation and promoting lymphatic drainage. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system that helps protect your body from invaders and remove cellular waste.
The best time to dry brush is before a shower so that you can wash away any dead skin. Using a natural bristle brush, start at your feet and gently work your way up your body moving the brush in circular motion. Be sure to use light pressure and don’t stay in one area for too long to avoid causing irritation.
5. Get Quality Sleep
When you sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines. If you’re fighting an infection, inflammation, or even stress, cytokines need to increase. But when you’re sleep deprived, production decreases.
Not only that, those late nights also reduce infection-fighting antibodies and cells. And that means lack of quality sleep could literally be making you sick.
6. Practice Meditation
Meditation not only relieves stress but also has a positive effect on your immune system. Research from the University of Florida found that eight days of intense meditation dramatically altered the immune response.
And while you might not be able to incorporate “intense meditation” into your daily routine, practicing meditation daily may help reduce inflammation and even help ward off viruses.
7. Maintain Good Hygiene
Good hygiene is your first line of defense for keeping your immunity strong. Even the simple task of washing your hands before preparing food can stop germs from spreading.
Your immune system cells are continually at work gobbling up bacteria and blocking viruses. But maintaining proper hygiene is an excellent way to help your immune system function more efficiently, such as…
- Wash your hands regularly, especially before preparing meals, and after using the bathroom.
- Cough into your elbow rather than your hand and cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze.
- Avoid touching your face, nose, eyes, and mouth when out in public since this is one of the easiest ways to spread germs directly into your respiratory system.
8. Supplements To Support Immunity
Even with the above lifestyle changes to support immunity, sometimes it’s nice to give your immune system an extra boost with high-quality supplements. Here are a few immune-boosting supplements to consider:
- Mushrooms like Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake and Lion's Mane are loaded with immune boosting health benefits that can help you fend off stress and inflammation. They also boost brain function, hormones, and are filled with antioxidants.*
- Ashwagandha has been used for thousands of years to help improve sleep, stress, strength, inflammation, and many other benefits that help boost immunity.*
- Ginger root has antiviral properties that can help fend off viruses and even help lessen the severity of symptoms.*
- Turmeric contains a compound called curcumin that can help boost immunity, fights temporary inflammation, improves digestion, and helps soothe anxiety and stress.*
Support Your Immune System With Golden Superfood Bliss
Golden Superfood Bliss is a tasty elixir that contains superfoods, adaptogens, powerful spices, and ancient mushrooms to help boost immunity by supporting sleep, improving digestion, and soothing occasional stress and anxiety. *
Just one delicious scoop of Golden Superfood Bliss contains 12 powerful superfoods like:
- Turmeric and black pepper to help reduce temporary inflammation related to physical exercise, improve digestion, and dissolve.*
- Coconut Milk, MCT Oil, and Amla Fruit to help stimulate weight loss by "retraining" the body to burn more calories, and help you feel full longer.*
- Cinnamon to help improve your body’s ability to digest glucose and reduce your desire for sugary treats.*
- Ginger Root to help boost your metabolism by accelerating digestion.*
- Ashwagandha to help balance stress, reduce cortisol, and improve the quality of sleep.*
- Reishi, Shiitake, Maitake and Lion's Mane mushrooms to help with a healthy inflammatory response and to combat cravings.*
Give your immune system a boost this fall with a healthy diet, positive lifestyle changes, and a daily mug of Golden Superfood Bliss. Click the link below to get yours today!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.