5 Ways to Naturally Boost Your Immune System
It’s cold and flu (and COVID) season which means there’s a lot of different bugs going around right now! Did you know that your body is exposed to millions of different types of bacteria and viruses on any given day? They aren’t all bad and even the bad guys can help our body to become stronger. What we need is plentiful amounts of good bacteria and about an 85% good to 15% bad bacteria ratio for optimal health. When the bad guys start to out number the good guys we can get sick.
Over half of your immune system is in your gut! Throughout your stomach, intestines, and colon your immune system is hard at work filtering out toxins and bacteria and trying to keep a strong army of good guys ready to fight off invaders. The question is, what can you do to help your immune system be a good bacteria making machine? Here are 5 all-natural ways to boost your immune system.
Take a Probiotic.
Some people take probiotics daily or only when they are starting to feel sick. Why are probiotics so good for your immune system? They help repopulate the good bacteria in your gut which we know is needed to fight off the bad pathogens your body interacts with every day. Not all probiotics are created equal, and they are expensive so you want to make sure you buy the right kinds! Probiotics need to be able to survive the trip to your intestines to actually be effective. My absolute favorite probiotic is MegaSporebiotic by Microbiome Labs.
This Probiotic is one that I personally use and have felt the most change within the shortest amount of time! To read more about their company and what makes their products superior click here.
2. Eat plenty of Fruits and Vegetables (AKA FIBER!)
Remember the good bacteria we are trying to get more of for our immune system? Well, it eats fiber. It needs fiber to stay alive! Try to aim for 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day. There are so many easy ways to add spinach, kale, or other favorite leafy greens to your meals. For example, you could add leafy greens to your morning smoothie (you won’t taste it promise!), or your sandwiches, tacos, soups, salads, stir-fries, wraps, or omelets. Snack on carrots or peppers to get your veggies in and eat fresh berries to satisfy your sweet tooth.
3. Add in Garlic, Ginger, Tumeric, and other disease-fighting herbs and spices!
Garlic is known to have naturally occurring anti-bacterial properties that actually keep the bad guys at bay and protect the good bacteria! Turmeric has amazing anti-inflammatory properties and can activate your immune system. Ginger is another one of my favorites which promotes digestive enzymes that help our good gut bacteria. Try adding at least 1tsp of these to your next meal! I love adding ginger and garlic to stir-fries and garlic and turmeric to any Mexican dish I make.
4. Remove refined sugars and replace them with naturally occurring ones
The first thing I do when I start to feel a sickness coming on is reduce my sugar intake to almost none. Why? Sugar feeds the bad bacteria in your gut and kills the good guys. Even naturally-occurring sugars like coconut sugar, maple syrup, and agave should be eaten in moderation, especially when you’re sick. If you can’t cut out sugar all together at least switch out the artificial sweeteners and refined sugars for ones that are natural like the ones listed above.
5. Increase Vitamin C Intake
Okay, we’ve all heard this one before! But what you probably haven’t heard is those emergency vitamin c packets is NOT what I am talking about here. Not only are those packed with sugar, which we just learned is not great for our immune system, but the vitamin C in those packets are synthetically made instead of using whole foods like the ones in my favorite brand of vitamin C from Truvani. If you look on the back of most Vitamin C products you’ll see it is Vitamin C from ascorbic acid (synthetic, GMO, ingredients)
