5 Immune Boosting Ways To Stay Healthy Over Winter

Need to ramp up that immune system this winter?

We all have a duty to support and nurture our immune systems all year round, but especially during Winter. By incorporating a few simple steps into your daily routine, you’ll really benefit from an improved natural immunity and not be held back by sniffles all winter! Many are susceptible to Winter colds and flu but with this immune boosting routine in place, you can ensure nothing hangs around for very long.

Here are 5 simple (and 100% natural) immune boosting strategies:

1. Get Adjusted.
Regular adjustment schedules are incredibly important for a properly functioning nervous system and overall health. Every system in our body including the immune system is coordinated and controlled by the nervous system. Our nervous system runs through the spine and it works with the immune system, allowing the body to adapt to various conditions and heal appropriately when required. Studies have proven that an adjustment causes an immediate immune boost. In fact, disease-fighting white blood cells increase significantly within minutes of a chiropractic adjustment.

2. Eating Colourful Whole Foods & Hydrate.
with the season! In season fruits and vegetables ensure you consume optimal antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to keep your body healthy. Winter produce includes avocados, mandarins, oranges, lemons, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, spinach, bananas, mushrooms, sweet potato, kiwi fruit, pumpkin and passionfruit. Focus on eating whole foods, and good quality sourced meats, along with healthy fats. Avoid processed foods and sugars are they suppress the immune system. Drinking enough quality water is also very important, despite the cold. Carry a bottle of filtered water with you always or and having access to clean water at work, at home, and at Health Shack will keep you hydrated and help flush out toxins.

3. Diffusing Essential Oils.
During Winter it can be too cold and wet to have fresh air running through your home, office, or school. Diffusing pure essential oils not only boosts your immune system but also cleans your space of airborne pathogens, giving your immune system a helping hand to get keep you well. Having our diffuser on at Health Shack benefits the whole community and our entire team. You can also diffuse over night to support restful sleep – the greatest healer of all!

4. High Quality Supplements.
We usually encourage the most natural way of consuming adequate vitamins and minerals through quality wholefoods and being outdoors. At some times of the year or with low quality supply, this is sometimes not possible. Vitamin D, attained through sun exposure, is a star nutrient and key player in immune function. Sufficient levels of Vitamin D reduce your risk of infectious disease by strengthening your immune system. Vitamin D turns on key peptides in your immune system that trigger a strong anti-microbial response, allowing you to quickly and effectively fight off invaders before they can develop into a full-blown infection.
70% - 80% of your immune tissue is situated in your digestive tract. Probiotics are foods that contain living bacteria, but the healthy kind that your body needs to be strong. By eating probiotic foods, you are essentially sending reinforcements to your immune system. Probiotics can bring bacteria into your gut, helping to restore the correct balance of bugs. Probiotics can be found in fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha and kefir or in quality probiotic supplements. Talk to your Health Shack chiropractor for recommendations on a good quality brand.

5. Playing Outdoors.
There’s nothing more energizing than getting outside in Winter. Fresh air in your lungs and the winter sun on your skin every day results in more energy and a better mood. Even when it’s cold and wet, just layer your coats, hats and welly boots, run around with the dogs on the beach, or explore the salt flats, or a national forest. You remember that rosy cheeked, clear-eyed glee from childhood? From splashing in muddy puddles and chasing a kite? The best medicine.

With these immune-boosting staples and 5 simple steps let’s nourish, replenish and restore, as we're designed to in the cooler months.

                                                                                                                                                                                               - Elena Kenny