With all the little ones running around the office, we are often asked how we stay healthy during Fall and Winter. Here are the top five ways that we stay healthy during these seasons that you can implement today.
1. Get good quality rest
Not getting enough sleep at night triggers a wide range of consequences and inflammatory reactions within the body. While you’re sleeping, your body and brain don’t just shut down. Housekeeping functions by all your internal organs are hard at work, affecting the immune system, breathing, stress levels, and mood.
Results from more than 300 studies suggest that adults need about 8 hours of sleep/night (with a minimum of 7 hours) to protect their health. School-aged children need anywhere from 9-11 hours. Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep per night.
Bonus Tip: Make sure your room is as dark as possible (his and hers eye masks, anyone?) Go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day. Eat no later than two hours before bed. Get to sleep before midnight! Every hour of sleep before midnight is worth two after midnight.
2. Add elderberry syrup to your medicine cabinet
Elderberries continue to be one of the most medicinal herbs in the world, dating back to Hippocrates describing them as his “medicine chest” for their incredible anti-viral properties. These dark purple berries promote longevity and treat ailments, such as decreasing cold and flu symptoms and inflammation while improving chronic fatigue, allergies, and constipation.
Elderberry syrup is the ultimate immune booster – high in vitamins A, B, and C.
Bonus Tip: Take elderberry syrup within the first 48 hours of onset of symptoms to reduce the duration and severity of your symptoms!
3. Include leafy greens in meals
There are many powerful immune boosting foods. Kale, spinach, and swiss chard are a few of our favorites because they all contain high levels of vitamin C, K and folate, which are immune boosting essentials. In addition to the high level of nutrients, leafy greens also help to detoxify the body, which is crucial for our health.
Bonus tip: The darker the leaf, the more antioxidants it has!
4. Take a Vitamin D3 supplement
According to one study, a deficiency in Vitamin D3 has been shown to be associated with increased susceptibility to infection. Our primary source of Vitamin D is the sun. Therefore, in these colder months when we see less of the sunshine, it is crucial to supplement with Vitamin D. Sufficient Vitamin D levels strength the immune system and decrease the risk of diseases by turning on key peptides in the immune system that trigger a strong anti-microbial response. This allows us to quickly fight off invaders before they ever have the chance of being full-blow infections.
One research study in 2010 followed 430 kids over the course of a cold and flu season. It concluded that the kids that were taking a vitamin D supplement were 42% less likely to get the flu.
Bonus tip: Take your vitamin D supplement with 5g of fat (i.e. coconut oil, avocado, peanut butter, etc.) to absorb it best.
5. Schedule an adjustment with your chiropractor
Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medicine Institute conducted a three year study looking at the immune systems of the following patient types: people receiving chiropractic adjustments, people affected with chronic illnesses, and the general public not under chiropractic care.
Patients receiving chiropractic adjustments had a 200% boosted immune system compared to those who were not under chiropractic care.
When you get adjusted by a chiropractor, your brain is able to communicate with your body more efficiently. Proper communication between the brain and the body allows your body to kick out invaders faster and boost your immune system.
Bonus tip: Get adjusted even when you’re not feeling well! Sometimes people don’t want to come in because they aren’t feeling well, but its actually an important time to get adjusted so your immune system is boosted and you can get back to feeling better as soon as possible.
So next time you or your child starts to feel under the weather, check out this list again. There are simple things that you can do right now to boost your immune system.
What’s your go-to trick for warding off cold and flu season? Let us know!