Last updated on March 28th, 2023 at 04:03 pm
Immune system support has been a hot topic lately, and I understand it. Although, it is a bit concerning out there right now. Having a healthy awareness and being prepared is smart. However, if you are wondering how to boost your immune system, you have come to the right place. In short, these ten simple steps will profoundly benefit immune system health.
I thought it would be helpful to share some of my favorite tips for immune system support and have them all in one space for you to refer to as needed.
I will keep it simple here (the immune system is very complex, with many details), so we will focus on supporting healthy immune function for everyday living. However, you don’t have to do all the steps every single day. Instead, focus on incorporating some that naturally flow into your day. Today and tomorrow don’t have to be the same. The goal is to create daily practices supporting healthy immune function throughout the year.
Furthermore, it is also essential to understand that you cannot out-supplement or out-vaccinate chronic stress, a poor diet, or a troubled gut. In short, you don’t practice the foundations of healthy living, your potential for getting sick can increase dramatically.
10 Ways To Support And Boost Immune Function
1. Eat loads of nutrient-dense foods.
I did an entire post here on therapeutic foods for immune system support. Real food is always the first line of defense. The cliff notes:
Drink bone broth (chicken or beef) daily.
It contains a wealth of valuable nutrients that help strengthen immune system health and is known for its antiviral properties. I like to add a little pinch of sea salt for extra minerals. If you don’t want to drink the broth from a cup, you can always make a nice big pot of soup to serve alongside meals.
Avoid artificial sugars and reduce overall sugar intake.
This includes sweet treats, desserts, white flour, and highly processed and refined grain products. Make it yourself at home and use nutrient-dense real food ingredients. Studies have shown that refined sugars can cause inflammation and suppress or weaken immune function.
Remove or significantly reduce processed foods from your diet.
These processed foods will weaken your immune system. Hence, as always, it is best to stick with real whole foods.
Cook with healthy saturated fats.
Healthy, unprocessed saturated fats are super essential for energy production, healthy hormone formation, and healthy immune system support, not to mention all the other vital functions. These fats include grass-fed butter (did you know butter can help strengthen immune system health and suppress inflammation), and coconut oil has antiviral and antimicrobial properties that are great for keeping the immune system strong. Other healthy saturated fats for immune support include pastured ghee, lard, tallow, duck fat, and sustainable palm oil.
Eat the rainbow.
Lots of cooked vegetables and ripe in-season fruits. These plant foods are rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that support immune system health.
Eat foods rich in vitamin A.
Vitamin A, also known as retinol, is essential to the immune system. Therefore, it is a great nutrient to eat daily. Pastured eggs, grass-fed cultured dairy, raw milk, pastured meats and organ meats, wild seafood, and grass-fed butter are all good choices. You can also supplement with beef liver capsules or Rosita cod liver oil.
Add garlic, onions, ginger, oregano, and turmeric to your meals.
Add these herbs to your soups, vegetable dishes, or even dips and sauces. Garlic and onion offer a lovely broad spectrum of antimicrobial properties.
Make sure to eat cholesterol-rich foods.
Cholesterol is not the devil that it is made to be. Did you know cholesterol is vital to immune system health and can help protect against infections? Caviar, shellfish, organ meats (pastured beef liver), wild-caught sardines, pastured egg yolks, grass-fed butter, and ghee are all wonderful choices.
2. Add probiotic-rich foods to each meal.
Did you know 70-85% of your immune system lives in your gut? Crucial immune cells live in your gut, which are the very cells that decide what a friend and a foe are. One way to keep your gut happy is to eat probiotic-rich foods, such as sauerkraut, cultured plain yogurt, kombucha, beet kvass, and other fermented vegetables.
3. Make sure your digestion is in shape.
You are what you eat, but more importantly, you are what you absorb. Suppose your digestion isn’t working as it should. In that case, you won’t be able to assimilate all the essential nutrients your body needs to thrive. You can learn more about digestion here and here. Digestive function is one of the cornerstones of health and w
4. Stay hydrated.
Bio-available water is the body’s most important “nutrient” because it helps transport other nutrients and hormones into cells, regulates body temperature, and improves oxygen delivery into cells. Always remember the hydration equation: you should consume half your body weight in ounces (so if you weigh 150 pounds, you should drink about 75 ounces of water daily.) You can learn more about hydration here. It is also important to mention that chlorine is a disinfectant that kills bacteria and is added to most drinking water (tap water). Since the center of your immune system lies in the gut, keeping it as healthy as possible is super important to keep your immune function strong. The chlorine can damage the good bacteria in your gut, making you more susceptible to inflammation, allergies, and autoimmune disease. Several options to remedy this problem exist with at-home filtration, like an under-the-sink RO system or even a whole-house filtration system.
Ensure that your water contains minerals, so I like adding a pinch of sea salt to my cup of water for mineral balance.
5. Find ways to reduce your stress.
A stressed-out body is a body that can’t easily fight off illness or infection and definitely can’t heal swiftly. When the body is in chronic sympathetic mode (aka fight-or-flight mode), it will shut down anything that it sees as non-essential to deal with what it perceives as an emergency. The Immune system, digestion, the endocrine system – these all get put to the side until the body feels safe again and the threat is gone. Anything you can do to help reduce stress and to relax the body can be beneficial in supporting the immune system. I like to carve out intentional time for the things I find de-stressing and enjoyable, like yoga, coloring, sitting out in the sunshine, and reading.
6. Make sleep a top priority.
Sleep is essential for the body to rest, restore, repair, heal, and detoxify. It is also critical to a healthy immune system. If you are currently struggling with sleep, click here to read some of my tips for getting a good night’s sleep. I also highly recommend reading this book.
7. Incorporate exercise into your day, but not too much.
Gentle daily movement is a great way to reduce stress and increase the lymphatic system’s circulation. The lymphatic system helps the body rapidly eliminate toxins, including viruses and bacteria. Dry brushing, rebounding, a vibrating plate, an infrared sauna, walking outside, and yoga/stretching are great ways to stimulate the lymphatic system. It is important to note that when you aren’t feeling well, the risk of suppressing your immune function rises the harder your train.
8. Take a magnesium salt bath.
When we are stressed (being sick is a stressor and an overload of artificial sugar), the first mineral the body grabs and burns through is magnesium. Replenishing the body with magnesium in a magnesium flakes bath or consuming more magnesium-rich foods {dried figs, cultured dairy, dark chocolate, etc.} can be very helpful. I love the idea of magnesium baths because it forces you to slow down and relax. All you need to do is add 1-2 cups of magnesium flakes to a warm bath and soak for 20-30 minutes. This lotion is also a great option to increase magnesium levels topically. I always recommend getting various kinds of magnesium when supplementing – I love Smidge Morning and Evening Magnesium (available on my Fullscript dispensary) and this liquid form.
9. Reduce EMF exposure whenever possible.
It is impossible to escape all the artificial EMFs, but taking intentional steps to limit exposure can be very helpful. Some simple things you can do, are turn your wifi off at home when you are sleeping (we use a timer plug), don’t sleep or sit right next to your router, invest in EMF protection gear like a Blushield cube, and reduce the time you spend on electronics. Why? Well, EMFs disturb immune function through the stimulation of various allergic and inflammatory responses. To learn more about the effects of EMFs on the body, you can read peer-reviewed studies here or watch the documentary “Generation Zapped.“
10. Go outside every day.
There are several reasons why you should be doing this every single day:
- Fresh air can reduce the body’s stress response and support the immune system.
- Grounding, aka earthing, is a therapeutic practice that occurs when we do activities in which our skin comes into contact with the ground. Our bodies become electrically connected to the earth through the surface electrons. Grounding can support overall health, and the part I love the most- it’s free!
- Sunshine helps regulate our circadian rhythm, calms the nervous system, which helps to keep the immune system strong, and helps the body produce vitamin D.
As you can see, supporting your immune system isn’t some magical mystery – it is simple and inexpensive. All you need to do is cultivate some of these tips into daily practices and see how you begin to thrive and feel well.
Disclaimer: This post is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and is for educational purposes only.
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