How to Keep Your Immune System Healthy + Strong.

Well, I am going to be hiding out at home for the next few weeks….and so I am going to be writing lots of blog posts! Yay! To start, I wanted to share some strategies to support your immune system and how I support my own body! Let’s get started!

Limit Processed Foods, Gluten, and Sugar.

I can say this over and over. You must limit sugar and other processed foods with not healthy ingredients. For example, I start to feel achy and sick from eating Chinese food. This is due to MSG, gluten, and other ingredients that cause my heart rate to increase. Eating food that doesn’t work with your body will lower your immune system because your body has an increased immune response to this type of food. I highly encourage limiting these foods because it will help keep your immune system strong and you will feel better overall.  You can read more about the foundation of nutrition habits here.

Support the Gut Health.

What you eat matters so much because your gut health is 80% of your immune system. I always say real food first, because if you eat crappy food, all the vitamin C and bone broth can only do so much. Besides eating real organic foods, you can drink bone broth, take collagen, and eat fermented foods.

If you don’t have access to any to these, focus on 2 things. First, chew your food thoroughly to support complete digestion. And second, eat sitting at a table with minimal stress. These two habits will help digestion and will limit your food sensitivities in the long run. You can read more about leaky gut here.

Hydrate Up!

When it comes to hydration, I recommend filtered water with added minerals. You can drink all the water, but it might not be staying in your cells. Minerals are so important and so critical to an energized, hydrated, and healing body.  And filtered water is ideal because unfortunately tap water is filled with heavy metals which slow the body down and cause disease as they build up in the body. In the meantime, if you don’t have a water filter, I suggest buying bottled mineral water. And to support the body with healthy mineral balance and vitamin C, I recommend Go Ultima which is an electrolyte powder. (Much healthier and tastier than Gatorade) I have only tried the lemonade flavor, which is my favorite, but they have many other flavors if that one doesn’t sound appealing. 

In my own life, I have a reverse osmosis water filter system under my sink that adds the minerals back in. But I also regularly mix in Go Ultima for additional electrolyte support. I notice a big difference in my hydration.

What Supplements Support the Immune System?

Probiotics

Gut health is the number one priority and because of this I highly recommend a probiotic.  The probiotic company that I trust is Just Thrive or Megaspore. These are both soil-based probiotics that work and you won’t be wasting your money*.

*Health is never one size fits all so the majority of people do well with a probiotic, but that doesn’t mean 100%. If you know or want to know for sure what to do, you need to do lab testing. Lab testing can provide more clues on what your body needs versus just a standard approach. Please reach out and apply here if you are interested in this type of testing. 😊

Vitamin C

The next supplement I recommend is Vitamin C!  Vitamin C is critical to fighting off sickness and keeping the immune system strong. Of course, you should start with foods like oranges, lemons, kiwi, broccoli, red peppers, pineapple, sweet potatoes, and more!! Luckily, you cannot overdose vitamin C as any excess will just flush out of your urine. I recommend taking Vitamin C buffered l-absorbate powder that contains a balance of minerals. You can start out just taking ½ tsp to support the immune system and build up.

Zinc

Zinc is another key immune-boosting supplement. I recommend this supplement here and taking no more than 30mg of zinc for a short period. You do not want to regularly take zinc without doing an HTMA test otherwise your mineral levels can go out of balance.   

These are the foundational supplements that I recommend and take personally. Now there are so many natural immune boosters that you can take through food. These will help but I see as something you can add on if you have the resources beyond the steps I listed above.

Natural Food and Herbal Immune Boosters

Garlic

I recommend using fresh garlic in all your meals! Garlic is a natural immune booster and antibiotic. If you really want to get crazy, you can just swallow a bunch of cloves too. I think cooking is the most practical and easy way to regularly consume.

Ginger

This is another herb I recommend keeping on hand. Not only do I use in cooking meals for flavor, but you can easily make a ginger tea. Just add ginger to water and let boil. Drink as a tea and add in your own tea! Ginger supports digestive by soothing it and can reduce inflammation in the body.

Elderberry

Now you probably, won’t have this on hand. But if you want to try something new, I recommend purchasing or making your own elderberry syrup. Elderberry has been shown to boost the immune system. I have read that if you have COVID-19, you should avoid elderberry as it can exasperate the symptoms. Do your own research, make your own decision. I recommend only taking before getting sick or if you don’t have COVID-19.

Raw Manuka Honey

Raw Manuka honey has the most benefits, but raw local honey can be just as beneficial! (and more affordable) The honey has natural healing properties and can be easily mixed into your ginger tea. It is a natural antibiotic and immune supporter.

Mushrooms

I recommend eating a wide variety of mushrooms like Reishi, Shiitake, and Maitake. They can be so healing for the body and have anti-viral and anti-cancer properties. This isn’t my first recommendation because personally I don’t react the best to mushrooms especially in excess.  It is something I eat here and there versus daily. There are great mushroom teas and coffees out there, but I will always vote for cooking and eating the real thing.  Even though I limit my intake of mushrooms, they are amazing, so I cannot skip adding them to the list.

Non-Food Ways to Boost the Immune System.

Using Non-Toxic Cleaning Products

All-Purpose Cleaner

One of the biggest ways to support your body all the time is removing and limiting toxins. And of course, supporting the immune system is no different! I have a list here where I share my non-toxic favorite resources.
First, I suggest starting with your cleaning products like an all-purpose cleaner. I do not recommend Lysol!! I love love love Thieves Cleaner by Young Living. The smell doesn’t make me nauseous or burn my eyes. I truly feel like I have a clean and healthy home.

Laundry Detergent

Next, look at your laundry detergent. Your skin comes into contact with your bedsheets and clothes so a safe laundry detergent is critical. I recommend BioKleen, doTerra, young living, Branch basics, Norwex. If you are curious about how your detergent rates, go here and search for your brand. Even if it claims to be a “safe” brand, it might not be!

Hand Soaps

Third, review your hand soap and your dish soap. These are other cleaning products that you regularly use. Using safer products does make an impact. Ultimately, it helps your liver which helps your body do whatever it needs to do to heal. 😊

Sweat it Out.

If you have access to a sauna, take advantage of it! Sweat helps to release toxins from the lymphatic system which is one way your body cleans out the crap! And if you don’t have access to one or want to avoid public places, do a work out at home and encourage your body to sweat it out! Sweat is detoxing the body so you want to do it daily if possible!

Essential Oils for Immunity.

Essential Oils can be so healing and soothing. They are one part of a healing and immune-boosting protocol. No, they won’t be the magic pill, but you can use them in so many ways. You can read more about essential oils here, but here are a few I recommend to help boost the immune system.

Thieves/On Guard – This essential oil is a blend for supporting the immune system and is a great oil to add a few drops into your cleaner.

Oregano – Oregano is a natural antibiotic and anti-viral. You can take a few drops internally in a capsule. Many people report feeling much better faster and reducing the cold’s length of time.

Frankincense– This is a powerful essential oil that reduces stress, boosts the immune system, and may fight cancer. And it smells amazing! It is one of my favorite oils by far!

Lab Testing

I am adding this tip at the end because I know many people don’t have the resources to afford to test. But I HIGHLY recommend doing a food sensitivity test if you struggle with a low immune system. Food intolerances can make you feel like crap, give headaches, body pain, allergies and so much more. When you know what foods make you weak, you can strategically avoid them to heal your body and feel your strongest self! After taking my test back in 2018, I eliminated many foods I was regularly eating like coconut, chocolate, and cauliflower. I felt so good and I had so much energy! If you want to learn more about food intolerances and testing for them – check out this post here. If you are interested in doing a food intolerance test, you can reach out to me here!

Wow! That was a long informative post. I hope you learned something new to implement today. If you did, I would love for you to share in a comment below. And if you loved this post and want to help someone boost their immune system naturally, share this post with them! 🙂

xoxo
Chelsea J