How to Boost Your Immune System
Your immune system is your body's defense against infection and illness. If your immune system is weak, your chances of getting sick increase. The good news is - there are several things you can do right now to boost your immune system!
Exercise
Regular exercise keeps the body healthy. In addition to strengthening the body, exercise promotes the release endorphins, which reduce stress levels.
Manage Stress
Research shows that a person that is under excessive stress is more likely to get sick. Here’s what you can do - show up to your workout, implement daily breathing techniques, stretch, go for a walk, and make sure you are getting adequate and quality sleep. Add any number of mindfulness techniques like journaling and meditation.
Using Vitamin C to Fight Illness
From PubMed
Vitamin C contributes to immune defense by supporting various cellular functions of both the innate and adaptive immune system. Vitamin C supports epithelial barrier function against pathogens and promotes the oxidant scavenging activity of the skin, thereby potentially protecting against environmental oxidative stress. Vitamin C accumulates in phagocytic cells, such as neutrophils, and can enhance chemotaxis, phagocytosis, generation of reactive oxygen species, and ultimately microbial killing.
From Lynne Mctaggart:
“A raft of studies carried out in the 40s and 50s showed that very high dose vitamin C, particularly given intravenously, could stop the deadliest of infections, including polio. Dr. Frederick Klenner was one of the pioneering doctors in the 1940s who successfully cured many viral diseases, from flu and hepatitis, to viral pneumonia and even polio using very high doses of vitamin C, anywhere from 30,000 – 200,000 mg, given as divided dosages throughout the day with no ill effects.
More recently, a 1999 study of 700 students with cold and flu symptoms compared one group, which just received the usual cold and flu drugs, against another, which received hourly doses of 1 g of vitamin C. The researchers discovered that symptoms decreased by 85 percent in the group treated with vitamin C. As the researchers concluded: ‘Vitamin C in mega doses administered before or after the appearance of cold and flu symptoms relieved and prevented the symptoms in the test population compared with the control group.’”
Dr Downing and other physicians from the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine urged preventive supplementation to ‘prevent or minimize symptoms for future viral infection,’ including the coronavirus.
These Include:
Vitamin C: 3000 mg daily, in divided dosages
Vitamin D3: 2000 IUs daily (Start with 5000 IU/day for two weeks, then reduce to 2000 IU)
Magnesium: 400 mg daily (in citrate, malate, chelate, or chloride form)
Zinc: 20 mg daily
Selenium: 100 mcg (micrograms) daily
Stocking Your Wellness Chest via Amy Thiel
My Top Picks for My Personal Wellness Chest:
Top Herbals: All these guys are antimicrobial in a big way. And when I say anti-microbial I mean, anti-bacterial, anti -viral, anti-fungal. They have you covered.
Oregano Oil: One word, Potent. Packed with many compounds, such as thymol and carvacrol, that crush inflammation and promote healing internally and topically.
Olive Leaf Extract: The therapeutic benefits exceed help with cold and flu season. They are full of phytonutrients like oleuropein to help with things like ear infections and heart health.
Garlic: Stops bacteria in its tracks and it doesn’t stop there. I did the experiments in biology lab to prove it.
Top Homeopathics: These work with your body to relieve symptoms of illness. Substances become homeopathic remedies through a very specific process called “potentization,” which involves sequential dilution and succussion. They can be found in tincture or pellet form. There are more than 5,000 homeopathic remedies!
Oscillococcinum: Used to shorten the duration of a cold or if taken early enough to help prevent the cold from taking root.
Pulsatilla Nigricans: This one is for mucous membranes. So all that yuck in your nasal passages is no more.
Eupatorium Perfoliatum: For sneezing, dry-stuffy nose, hoarse cough.
Top Others: Don’t let the word “others” put them on the bottom of your shopping list. These guys pack a punch, all anti-microbials, to ward of the insidious germs of the season!
Grapefruit Seed Extract: Tablets and liquid for many uses. Can be especially good for parasites and stomach “bugs.”
Colloidal Silver: Can be used topically and for eyes infection, also can be used on skin rashes.
Breathing: Try the Wim Hof method to start. Helps oxygenate the blood to push pathogens out.
Top Vitamin and Minerals: Always a good idea to have them on continual repeat. We are often deficient even in the midst of non-cold season.
Vitamin C: Powerhouse antioxidant, bring any vagrant microbe to it’s doorstep and watch it wither. (Not all vit. C is the same)
Vitamin D: regulates the functions of over 200 genes and is essential for growth and development,i.e. health and wellness.
Zinc: Vital for the immune system, your T-cells will fight for you.
Last but not least: Wash Your Hands. This seems so simple, but often times can be overlooked. Though this is not an immune booster, it certainly supports a healthy immune system!