In this video, we go over a checklist for how to keep your immune system balanced and healthy moving into 2021. As someone living with an auto-immune disease...

As someone living with an auto-immune disease, I understand the basic importance of immune health. Not to mention, my previous job as a Senior Research Associate in an immuno-therapy lab opened my eyes to some of the extremely complicated and fascinating nuances of the immune system. In my case of autoimmunity, IBD / Ulcerative Colitis, you could argue that my immune system is functioning in overdrive. On the flip side, there are many people whose immune systems need a jump start. Both situations can quietly lead to cancers and other life-threatening diseases, so it’s worth taking seriously even when you don’t feel like it.

One of my immunology mentors explained the immune system by using a simple metaphor. She related the immune system to the ancient concept of yin and yang, or finding a balance between light and dark. She explained that, similarly, the immune system is constantly balancing between autoimmunity and cancer. In her metaphor, our immune system is finding a balance between operating extremely well (in which case it destroys itself — hello autoimmunity); or our immune system is not operating well enough (hello rapidly dividing cancerous cells). In either case, the disease and malfunction within our body can be linked to a malfunctioning immune system.

No matter which way your immune system tilts and to what degree, the key is to always maintain a healthy balance, which like any health goal is primarily achievable through diet, exercise, and daily habits. So, let’s commit to making our immune systems a priority, and get started today with a plan for making 2021 your healthiest year yet.

Nutrition (Eating for Immune Health)

Nutrition that supports the immune system

The majority of nutritional advice recommends following a Mediterranean diet, which is extremely rich in veggies, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, and healthy fats.

It’s time to get started on your 2021 meal prep. The majority of nutritional advice recommends following a Mediterranean diet, which is extremely rich in veggies, fruits, nuts, legumes, fish, and healthy fats. I couldn’t agree more because this diet is a great way to support & aid immune health, while still full of the variety that keeps life interesting.

Whealthy tip: avoid foods that are highly processed, high in fat, high in sugar and foods with excess salt. Foods with these qualities cause inflammation and will have a negative impact on your immune health. Consider every day that you choose not to indulge in these guys a win for your body.

What the Gut? - Prebiotics & Probiotics

Frequently consuming probiotics and prebiotics as part of our daily eating habits is a major key to maintaining a healthy immune system.

Over 70% of our immune system is located in the gut. This makes gut health the most important factor for a healthy immune system. The gut microbiota regulates innate and adaptive immune homeostasis. When fed properly, beneficial changes in gut health can be seen in as little as 24 hours.

Vitamins & supplements that support immune health

There are no shortages of articles on supplements that boost your immunity. Some of the articles list up to 20 vitamins and supplements to boost immune health. Listed below are the vitamins & supplements I plan on taking to keep my immune health in check for 2021. Keep in mind, the best way to get these vitamins is through food since it’s the most natural way for your digestive system to absorb them. <CLICK HERE > But supplements work too! It’s really about whatever is going to help you consistently and realistically get the vitamins you need.

Vitamin D - good for immune activation without over-activation

Vitamin D helps our immune system easily respond to its environment. Similar to a thermostat, it lets our immune system know when to turn on or to turn off. Vitamin D is a potent immunomodulatory agent which acts on the immune response in highly specific ways. In addition, vitamin D3/K2 is a personal favorite because it helps battle depression.

Vitamin C - prevent respiratory and systemic infections

Vitamin C is a vitamin we are mostly familiar with to prevent sickness, as it’s been shown to effectively prevent respiratory and systematic infections.

Vitamin A - gut-specific immune boost

Like vitamin D, Vitamin A targets the immune response in highly specific ways. Vitamin A is essential to activating cells in the gut which eliminates harmful invaders.

Vitamin E - enhance immune function and reduce the risk of infection

Vitamin E is mostly found in immune cells making it one of the most effective nutrients known to modulate immune function. While vitamin E deficiency is rare, supplementation with Vitamin E has been shown to quickly enhance the function of the immune system and reduce the risk of infection.

Glutamine - energy boost for the immune system

Glutamine provides a majorly important energy source during immune responses, so it’s definitely one you don’t want to miss out on. Glutamine is a major component of — you guessed it — bone broth. One cup is an easy and delicious way to provide the energy your body needs each day.

Zinc

Zinc is another widely accepted supplement shown to support the immune system. Even a mild deficiency in zinc has been shown to create widespread defects in immune health.

Selenium - optimize the gut-brain connection

One of the less famous key players on this list, Selenium supports optimal immune function by making sure the gut-brain connection is working.

If you found this list helpful you may also enjoy my 5 supplements to support immune health. This list provides a few more supplements to effectively reduce inflammation to give your immune system an extra boost.

Get moving to support your immune system

One of the most important free things for our immune system is to get moving at a moderate pace for at least 30 min/day. Physical activity strengthens the immune system helping our bodies respond to viral infection.

Whealthy tip: Avoid over-training. I’ve learned the hard way that there is a thing as too much exercise. A good rule is to adjust our exercise intensity based on our levels daily of stress, and make sure you’re giving your body the daily stretching it needs to recover.

Sleep to improve immune function

Sleep is the time when the body and the immune system communicate — allowing our immune system to learn and respond to what is happening in the body.

Stress (Interval vs External Stress)

Internal Stress

Internal stress, caused by day-to-day living, is another major issue for our immune systems that is too often ignored. We are stressed so often that chronic stress in our culture is considered normal. But the body doesn’t see it as normal, and it prevents the body and the immune system from communicating efficiently, ultimately leading to an impaired immune system.

External Stress

External stress is caused by many factors, some of which are under our control. External stress comes in the form of food, physical activity, toxins, metabolic disorders, frequency of infections, and inflammation. High levels of physical stress can compromise the immune system leading to disease and fatal conditions.

Whealthy stress tips: A good rule is to constantly adjust our exercise intensity based on our daily stress demands. Physical activity provides external stress while life provides internal stress. It is important not to compound these levels of stress ultimately doing more harm than good.

Causes of a “weak” immune system

What is a “weak” immune system?

A weak immune system is one that can’t distinguish between self and foreign.

Our immune system alerts our body when and where there are threats and exactly what to do about them. A weakened immune system is one that cannot effectively communicate with our body and exhibits s two responses we want to avoid:, it is either overactive (as is the case in auto-immunity) or underactive (as is the cancer case).

Nature vs Nurture... & Age

Nature

Our DNA is always at risk of malfunctioning. A “naturally weak” immune system is unable to recognize and repair these malfunctions. In the case of nature, there is not much we can do to completely “fix” our systems besides put our faith in science & medicine to help course correct. However, more often than not the state of our immune system is based on a combination of the body we’re born with, and what we choose to do with it.

Nurture

This is where you can take action. The immune system can be greatly strengthened or weakened by the above choices we make each day). The good news is that we have control over these things, giving our immune systems the best chances to function properly.

Aging

Age is also an important naturally occurring factor in immune health. With age comes age-dependent complications causing a weakened immune system, as it has a harder time communicating with our body. This can lead to immune malfunctions such as chronic systemic inflammation. So while it’s important at every age to prioritize our health, it’s important to remember that risks increase with time.

Understand Your Immune Health Quick and Easy

Understand where your immune health is right now by following the 2 P’s, Poo & Past.

Poo

As I mentioned earlier, a staggering 70% of our immune system is located in the gut, making our digestive process a major indicator of how our immune system is functioning. This is why emerging science is placing extreme emphasis on stool quality. There are on-going clinical trials transplanting stool samples from healthy individuals into unhealthy individuals. The goal is to repopulate the gut of unhealthy individuals with beneficial bacteria. Sounds disgusting but the results are promising! Don’t worry if you are not looking to get a stool transplant. You can still determine how well your immune system is working by answering this simple question. What is the average quality of your poo?

2. Past

Another easy tell-tale sign to see how well your immune system is doing is by looking at your past. How often do you get sick and how quickly do you recover? What are your daily habits like? How well do you sleep? What are your stress levels?

To simplify this assessment, we made a free immune health assessment to help you answer all these questions and more.

Covid-19 Tips

Did you think I was going to get through a whole article about immune health in 2021 without addressing the ongoing global pandemic?

Wear a mask and social distance - not sure this needs to be said but wear your mask
Wash your hands like it’s your job - again not sure this needs to be said; thoroughly wash your hands when you go from outside to inside
Keep your hands and objects out of your mouth, eyes, and nose - I know it can be tempting to adjust your mask and give your itchy eye a quick rub. But our mouth, eyes, and nose are the easiest places for germs to enter our bodies
Clean your phone and objects you frequently touch
Take off your shoes when entering a house - germs are easily tracked inside from our shoes. I hope this practice sticks around even after the pandemic comes to an end.

#NoShoesInTheHouse2021

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