Nutrition

Strengthening your immunity

Strengthening your immunity

Idon’t think there’s been a time in modern history when a strong immune system has been more important. With the recent worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, and as New Zealand moves into winter, I thought I’d give you my top five immune-supporting diet, lifestyle and nutrition strategies.

1. Stressed? Breathe… Stress, particularly chronic stress can have significant impacts on our immune system’s capabilities.

Think of stress as an unnecessary workload for the immune system. We need to keep the immune system on the task at hand – keeping us healthy. Focusing on reducing your stress levels could be one of the best ways to support your immune system.

One way to do this is to focus on breathing into your tummy, otherwise known as diaphragmatic breathing, it tells your nervous system you are safe and moves you away from the ‘fight and flight’ sympathetic nervous system.

2. Keep your body moving… The benefits of regular exercise are significant, supporting all areas of our wellness from mental health, to supporting better sleep and our immune system.

Moving our body daily helps to flush the lymphatic fluid, which we can think of as the filter for our immune system. Pumping our muscles will flush the lymph fluid around the body.

Research suggests sticking to moderate exercise periods (30 minutes) rather than longer or more intense sessions, which can actually become too much of a stress and lower immune response.

3. Get your sleep in… Sleep is essential for our mental and physical wellbeing and is considered an important modulator of the immune response. A lack of sleep weakens the immune response, increasing susceptibility to infection. Shorter sleep durations are associated with higher instances of the common cold, so get your sleep!

I recommend heading to bed by around 10pm, looking to be asleep by 10:30pm.

4. Focus on the wholefoods… Not only do wholefoods provide you with the essential nutrients you need, but some estimates state that up to 80 per cent of your immune system is located in your gut. So whatever serves your gut health, also serves your immunity.

Wholefoods are rich in essential vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals, which provide our immune system with co-factors required for optimal function.

They also feed the good bacteria in our gut, which produce beneficial metabolites. These beneficial metabolites have functions all over the body but one thing they do is keep our immune system in check.

We know that processed, refined foods are damaging to the gut lining, and inflammatory. On the other hand, opting for fresh, wholefoods supports the health of our gut, and in turn, boosts our immune system.

Shop primarily around the outside of the supermarket, focusing on a high consumption of fruits and vegetables.

5. Boost your nutrient intake… Adequate nutrient levels are essential for a strong immune system. Here are a few key vitamins, minerals and nutrients that particularly support the immune system:

· Zinc – look out for a zinc supplement with 25mg of zinc in the zinc picolinate form.

· Vitamin D – sardines are one of the best food sources. If supplementing ensure it’s with vitamin D3 as it’s the most available form for your body.

· Vitamin C – focus on fresh fruit, citrus and kiwifruit and if supplementing vitamin C look for one with a 2:1 ratio of bioflavonoids – the bioflavonoids help recycle the vitamin C once in your body.

· Selenium – eat three to five brazil nuts a day to keep supplies up, or take a high-quality multivitamin with 150mcg of selenium.