How To Strengthen Your Immune System: Natural Ways To Boost Immunity

Author: Caren Wigmore ND

It’s a timely moment to talk about immune function and how to strengthen your immune system.

Thankfully we have some wonderful tools in our nutrition kits to boost our immunity too:

• Humble Vit C – Interesting this is currently being used in an IV form in 3 separate trials in china for Covid-19.  Why would they be so interested in it? Vitamin C plays a key role in the production of the anti-viral immune response in the early phase of viral infections:  it up-regulates Natural killer (NK) cell activity, supports the production of interferons, necessary for cells to initiate protective defences, supports T & B lymphocytes, necessary for cell-mediated immune responses and early phase response to infective pathogens.
• Power-punching Zinc – Zinc plays an important role in viral infections specifically by interfering with the replication of RNA viruses. It also boosts our immune fighting B cells and T lymphocytes.
• Shitake Mushrooms would be a great addition to any home-cooked meal:  one study found just having two dried shitake mushrooms a day for 4 weeks doubled certain immune parameters.
• Specific probiotics support the upper respiratory system and reduce the frequency, severity and duration of colds and influenza:  Look for Lactobacillus plantarum HEAL9, Lactobacillus paracasei 8700:2 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG®)

So what can you do in terms of lifestyle?

• Avoid crowded spaces
• Hold off on the hand shaking and great people with a sparkly smile for the next period
• Get fussy with hand washing and sterilizing surfaces (usually Naturopaths suggest we over sterilise our environments: for this window: get good at it)
• Get a good night’s sleep
• Moderate exercise – it boosts immune function
• Eat wholefoods, reduce sugar intake – “sugar puts your white blood (immune) cells into a temporary coma”  If you were ever contemplating it now is the time to say NO! to soft drinks, lollies and processed sugar snacks like doughnuts:  Rather enjoy fresh fruit and vegetables bursting with Vitamin C: capsicum, kiwi fruit, locally grown fresh citrus, and berries.

Beyond this the team of Degree Qualified Naturopaths and Nutritionists are ready to tailor suggestions on how to strengthen your immune system:  if you have any concerns we are here to help you. We are also now offering acute immune consultations to help all our patients support their immune health.

As I write this it’s a rainy afternoon and I’ve just jumped off a very busy bus and the thing that stuck in my mind was SURFACES:  what we know about COVID-19 is that it is easily transferable in confined spaces, (bus, train, those who have close working proximities)  The National Institute of Health, Princeton University found that the viable virus could be detected up to three hours later in the air, up to four hours on copper, up to 24 hours on cardboard (think home deliveries) and up to two to three days on plastic and stainless steel (think shopping trolleys, stabilising rails on busses, trains, staircases, taps etc).

The take-home of this information is back to the good old basics we’ve always known but can become complacent:  wash your hands before you put them anywhere near your face.  Before you eat, before you scratch away that itch, before you hold your phone centimetres from your mouth and nose.