Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Give your body a health Phix..
Food for thought as leading nutritionist chats about his immune-boosting wonder product
It’s the time of year when we are all looking to protect and boost our immune system — and now it’s more important than ever with Covid not showing any signs of easing any time soon. While we spend most of January recovering from the effects of the Christmas party season, a lot of our money goes on “quick-fixes”.
But what most of us fail to remember is the old saying, ‘let food be thy medicine’ because the fact is, we are what we eat and if we eat more healthily, we will be more healthy.
And no one knows this better than nutritional expert Dr Conor Kerley.
Having originally hoped to pursue a career as a professional basketball player, his dream was cut short in 2003 when, at the age of 15, he received a shocking Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.
His health went on to take another turn when he also discovered he had allergic asthma. However, he found he was able to keep his symptoms at bay after adhering to a plant-based diet.
It was then he decided to dedicate his life to nutritional research in a bid to highlight just how important food is to stay healthy.
Dr Kerley, from Dundalk in Co Louth, said, “I was a typical boy, into sport and then I got very sick, I had to learn to walk and talk again – it was a very scary time. I spent NYE 2002 in a brain scanner and deteriorated from there.
“Eventually I was diagnosed with MS – a chronic disease of the central nervous system which can affect every part of the body.
“From then my plans changed to becoming interested in health and nutrition and I went on to complete my clinical doctorate at UCD.”
It was while working in Australia carrying out high blood pressure research he had an “epiphany” and decided to start his company.
Dr Kerley added, “I asked myself, ‘Why don’t I use my research to set up a company to really help a lot of people – not just the ones in my clinic?’ Then in April 2020, Covid arrived in Ireland, which completely changed everything.
“I focused on immunity because back then nobody knew how long Covid would be around and also the fact that immunity is a huge issue in winter, not to mention my own history with MS as an auto-immune disease.
“So I worked really hard and we brought our product Immune Phix, which is a daily immune supplement powder designed to be added to any food or drink, to market in November 2020.
“It is suitable for adults and children, is 100% plant based so suitable for vegans and vegetarians, is gluten free and doesn’t contain any artificial ingredients.
“You can put it into smoothies/yoghurt/ cereal or use it as a drink as it contains berries and tastes quite pleasant.
“It’s an easy way of getting a lot of nutrition which is really important at this time of year.”
Immune Phix is unique in the fact it contains only food ingredients, as opposed to chemicals, and it combines key vitamins and minerals which work together as opposed to just throwing all vitamins and minerals in the mix, which a lot of companies do.
Dr Kerley says, “We know nutrition can work against each other so this isn’t good practice.
“We put an emphasis on whole plant foods like elderberries, strawberries, matcha green tea and Irish mushrooms.”
He also gave his advice on easy ways to maintain our health throughout the tough winter months and keep our immune system in top condition. Dr Kerley said: “My first piece of advice is try to be physically active – that doesn’t mean going to the gym or running a marathon – it can be a walk with friends, a swim, playing with kids, gardening – it is also great for our mental health.
“Sleep is also so important, I used to work in a sleep lab and we know that even just one night of disrupted sleep can adversely affect the immune system but it is one of the first things that gets neglected due to our busy lives.
“We tend to go to bed late and set the alarm early, which is the exact opposite of what we should be doing.
“In terms of nutrition, I would encourage people to try to eat a variety of fruit and veg at all meals like berries at breakfast, veg soup at lunch, stir fry with evening meal but at every meal, variety being really important. If I had to pick one fruit it would be berries and one veg I would pick greens like broccoli, kale, cabbage, spinach. I would also advise a Vitamin D supplement. In Ireland we don’t get enough sun so I would advise taking that with a meal as that has shown to be important.
“Eat a varied diet including fibre, it is a nonnutrient so it is not essential, but it is really beneficial and you can only find it in plant-based foods such as legumes, beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts, seeds and wholegrains, this is really going to boost your immune system.
“The Irish diet also contains too much meat – particularly red and processed meat – so eat less at each meal or have a couple of days which are meat free, and this is really achievable for anyone at any age without compromising their nutritional intake.
“We hear about meat being high in protein but there is protein in beans and nuts and meat substitutes.
“Iron is another one we hear about with meat, but there is lot of iron in plant-based foods as well and the final one is Vitamin B12 so if anyone cuts out meat altogether they have to be a little concerned about lacking this vitamin but it is found in fortified soy milk, supplements etc so it is very easy to get around that issue.
“Reducing our meat intake is good for our body weight and can help curb things like cancer and heart disease. It is also really good for our environment and our pocket and that’s without talking about animal welfare.”