Winter immunity
What steps can you take to help prevent you from getting ill this winter? It may be more simple than you thought…
Staying healthy during winter is a challenge, but vitamin D3 is known to improve our 25(OH)D (vitamin D) blood serum levels and it has been directly linked to our ability to prevent illness. During winter, even if we get direct sunlight here in the UK, we won’t be getting the UV rays we need to improve blood serum levels, so it is recommended by Public Health England to supplement at least 400iU or 10Ug a day over winter to help immunity. This number is increased for those of us who exercise, and it’s worth getting a blood test to see where your levels are. If they’re <75nmol/L supplementing with 2000-4000iU a day can be recommended.
Another factor in the fight against illness is within our saliva, an antibody called IgA, which helps defend against bacteria and viruses. Adding citrus juice to water can increase saliva production, potentially combating infection.
My favourite aids are zinc lozenges! There is a huge wealth of information out now with three meta-analysis papers confirming the efficacy of using zinc lozenges to reduce the incidence and/ or duration of the common cold and upper respiratory tract infections when taken at the first sign. These should be sucked on for 20 to 30 minutes every two to three hours with the lozenge containing 10 to 18mg ionized zinc
Finally, if we’re dieting too hard over winter we’re going to see reductions in recovery, an increase in inflammation and cortisol, which opens us up to infection. Be smart with your deficit and ensure you’re achieving maintenance calories to support a healthy immune system.