This might seem like a weird time of year to bring up anything to do with boosting your immune system, but let’s be honest, it doesn’t seem to matter what time of year it is these days – people are getting sick all year round!

It’s frustrating, annoying, and affects your social life. I mean, seriously.

So I thought I’d save you the trouble of getting sick by explaining a bit about the immune system and some simple ways you can boost it.

What is the Immune System?

The immune system is your body’s defense system against infections, diseases, and inflammation (etc.).

Your immune response attacks invaders and neutralizes toxins. This is really important! In fact, it’s a crucial part of your overall health.

If your immune system isn’t attacking and neutralizing the bad guys – you’re going to get sick, period.

It’s this simple – your immune system is critical to your health and an important system to take care of properly. 

How You’re Messing Up Your Immune System (and How to Boost it!)

There are a few ways you could be messing up your immune system. So let’s talk about them, and I’ll give you ways to boost it instead.

1. You’re eating too many processed foods

By doing this, you’re inviting invaders and toxins into your body, giving your immune system extra work – and that’s just not necessary.

You’re also more likely to create a nutrient deficiency because you’re eating nutrient-void foods, which tend to pull important nutrients away from your body.

The most common nutrient deficiencies that affect the immune system are: vitamin D, vitamin B12, and zinc.

If you’re worried your immune system is down due to nutrient deficiencies, set up a consultation with me and we’ll get to work!

Immune Boosting Tip: Increase your fruits and vegetables to pull in more nutrient dense foods and to help boost your immune system back up.

2. You don’t drink enough water

Water is really important for your immune system because your mucous contains immune cells, which is helpful in defending against viruses.

When you’re dehydrated, you don’t produce as much mucous – thus creating a bit of a problem, wouldn’t you say?

Also, water helps with circulation, keeping nutrients and invaders moving through the body.

And when your immune system is killing stuff off, what’s the use if you aren’t eliminating these toxins out of your body? Water is critical for proper elimination both through urine and your bowel movements. Drink up!

Immune Boosting Tip: Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of water each day.

3. You’re not caring for your gut

I’ve spoken a lot about gut health, and the fact is, the gut is the hub of your body! If it’s not in tip top shape, then nothing else will be either. I explain more about the gut here.

One way we throw off our gut is with an imbalance in our gut bacteria.

You can fix this with therapeutic doses of probiotics, as given by your Nutritionist.

For instance, 1 billion CFU (colony forming units) is needed to see a measurable effect from probiotics. But a Nutritionist may give you upwards of 10 billion CFU – depending on your individual needs.

Giving a therapeutic dose allows you to consume more than a serving of food would provide. So, though food is helpful in keeping nutritional homeostasis, therapeutic doses of supplements may be necessary to correct an imbalance or deficiency.

Also, taking a probiotic gets it into the bloodstream quicker than consuming it through foods – which again, is important when there is an imbalance that needs to be corrected quickly.

But please, do not self-prescribe because there is such thing as “too much of a good thing”!

Immune Boosting Tip: Take a good quality probiotic. Hit me up to book a consultation with me for a personal protocol.

So, now that we understand the importance of the immune system, try some immune-boosting recipes like this Yam Toast 3-Ways.

I want to make sure you stay healthy all Spring and Summer long!