Boost your Immune System Naturally!
Cold and flu season is near and getting sick is never any fun. Let’s get proactive with my 4 Immune Boosting Tips to get you through this holiday season.
Elderberries: helps fight cold and flu by providing a high source of vitamin C, A, B6, potassium, iron, fiber and betacarotene. Also, it has antiviral properties and studies have suggested that it may shorten flu duration up to 3 days! Elderberries can be found in health food stores and can be used to make an elderberry syrup; take 1 tsp once daily during cold and flu season.
Ashwaghanda: primarily used as an adaptogen to help reduce the negative effects of stress. It helps lower our cortisol levels (stress hormone) which prevents it from suppressing our immune system. In addition to making us less susceptible to cold and flu, it can also aid in reducing anxiety, improving memory and relieving insomnia. You can add the powder to smoothies or oatmeals, or you can purchase the root and steep it in hot water and make tea.
Probiotics: we have billions of friendly bacteria living inside our gut that play an important role in our immune system. They provide front line defense against infectious disease, make many nutrients including B-complex vitamins, aid in the absorption of minerals, support a healthy metabolism and help break down foreign substances such as pesticides to rid them from our body. In addition to probiotics rich food such as Kefir, Kombucha, Sauerkraut and Kimchi, it’s highly beneficial to include a probiotic supplement as part of your daily routine. A few great brands are Genestra and Renew Life!
Vitamin D: Did you know that Vitamin D enables your body to produce well over 200 antimicrobial peptides which help fight off a wide range of infections? Aside from that, it also helps boost mood and energy which are especially important during the winter months when the days are shorter. To help boost your immune system, mood and energy, you can include foods such as egg yolks, sardines, pink salmon, and mackerel, as well as a Vitamin D supplement. Check out D-Mulsion by Genestra or Solray-D by Physica Energetics.
Visit your local health food store to find the items listed above and boost that immune system. Feel free to comment or contact me if you have any questions :)
Happy shopping!
Sabrina
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References
http://foodfacts.mercola.com/elderberries.html
https://examine.com/supplements/ashwagandha/
Lipski, E. Digestive Wellness 4th Edition
https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/04/why-this-vitamin-is-better-than-any-vaccine-and-improves-your-immune-system-by-35-times.aspx
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19895218
https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/health-conditions/depression/