by Dr. Kristen Bovee, Peninsula Naturopathic Clinic –
It’s hard to believe it’s that time again when holidays are over, the days get shorter and we are back to work and school. As we head indoors it’s also the time that cold and flu viruses take advantage of our close contact. The following highlight areas we can support during the cold and flu season to keep our immunity strong.
Manage stress. Your adrenal glands, or stress organs, support you by giving you energy, modulating your blood sugar, cortisol levels, sex hormones, minerals and balancing your immune system. Under chronic stress, elevated levels of cortisol can suppress the immune system, making your body susceptible to infection. In order to reduce cortisol, we need to manage our stress response. Lifestyle habits such as eating regularly, drinking enough water, getting enough sleep and keeping a regular exercise routine are some basic ways of achieving this. However, this is easier said than done. Some other effective ways of reducing cortisol include: the supplementation of magnesium, B vitamins, phosphatidylserine, ashwaganda, yoga, meditation and massage therapy.
Take your vitamins. Taking supportives to reduce cortisol is one way of keeping immunity strong, but there are nutrients that we generally don’t get enough of that can make our immune system struggle. Vitamin D, our sunshine vitamin, is very difficult to get during the winter months. It binds to receptors on cell walls causing them to produce powerful proteins that help the immune system respond. Optimal dose for the winter from Canadian guidelines is about 2000IU daily, but it can be more if you are known to be deficient. Zinc is also a crucial nutrient that is needed by our immune system. It plays a central role in immune cell development as well as how the immune cells respond to infection. It is a cofactor to many immune-related enzyme systems. Zinc lozenges are an enjoyable and effective way of getting a little extra in your system. I suggest keeping them on the counter at home or in your car or bag for a quick immune boost.
Get enough sleep. Getting enough sleep can be difficult when under stress. Poor quality sleep or not getting enough hours depresses our immune system, slows down body tissue repair, speeds up aging and makes us less able to cope with stress. To support sleep, try a botanical nervine combination containing scullcap, passionflower and lemonbalm. Exercise during the day can help with regulating sleep by reducing anxiety and by breaking down adrenaline. Having good sleep habits will enable your body to maintain a balanced sleep and wake cycle and allowing your body to repair itself and fight infection while at rest.
It’s important to keep your immunity strong throughout the year, but the fall season is particularly important since this is when our exposure seems to go up and stress levels can rise. Sometimes despite doing all these things (or not being able to do enough), our immune system still stays weak. This is when your naturopathic doctor can support you further by assessing your diet and digestion, recommending other safe natural medicines, and administering immune-boosting intravenous nutrients or injections formulated just for you to get your system on track.
