Nutrition to Boost Your Immune System
There is no magic pill for immunity, but there are simple changes we can make to our nutrition to help our body’s natural immune system works it’s magic. Whether you are afraid right now or not, all we can do is focus on our health, both physically and mentally.
The good news? We have an immune system! And we can take measures to support it. Whether you want to try to avoid getting sick, get through being sick with grace, or stay strong and healthy for your family or athletic goals, these simple changes can go a long way.
Keep Your Calories Up!
Times of stress are not the time for crash diets, cleanses, or starving yourself. If you are used to eating out, this may be a challenge. It all begins with an idea. We all need to get creative and enjoy cooking from home. It’s especially important for your immune system and for your overall feelings of wellbeing to make sure you are eating enough. Calculate how many calories you need just to maintain your current weight. It can even be beneficial to eat 100-200 calories over. If you are not sure have to calculate this, shoot me an e-mail and I will help you figure it out.
Make sure you are filling up on nourishing whole foods, quality meats, fruits, and vegetables. If you are in prep for a competition or loosing weight currently for an athletic goal, make sure you are supporting yourself and prioritizing everything else on this list! Being in a deficit naturally depletes our immune response and decreases our ability to recover from training. If you can, it might be a better time to just try to maintain instead of loose and focus on keeping that muscle.
Increase your Protein and Your Carbohydrate Consumption
Increasing our protein consumption can help us maintain lean muscle mass. Now that we are forced to change our workouts for the time being, we may not have access to the normal weights we’re used to lifting. Increasing or making sure we hitting our protein goals can help keep all of our hard earned muscle.
Increasing our carbohydrates can help us support our adrenals and lower cortisol levels in times of stress. However, sugar and processed carbs can have the opposite effect. So stick with sweet potatoes, carrots, beets, rice, oats, and other whole grains. Sometimes adding a bit of extra white rice or sweet potato around the most active part of you day can help improve recovery, balance hormones, and help reduce the amount of cortisol out body produces. This tip is more for women than men, as our progesterone and estrogen balance is impacted from lower carb diets. But increasing whole food carbs, and adding a little honey, or oats around bedtime can help us weather the storm if your anxiety and fear start rising.
Avoid the Following
These foods have a negative effect on our immune system:
Sugar, Processed foods and flour products, Trans fats and industrial oils, food allergies or sensitivities, alcohol, pesticides and pollutants.
Wash your fruit and veg, stick with quality oils like olive, coconut, nuts/seeds, nut butters, avocados, and pastured ghee. Switch out your carbohydrates with whatever you have stocked in your pantry, but try to avoid sugar and processed foods. It’s not the time to stock up on ice cream (though we may have bought a pint or two!).
Add in the Following:
These foods can help boost the immune system:
Colorful carbohydrates: root vegetables and tumors like sweet potato, carrots, beets, and colorful fruits like peppers, leafy greens, broccoli, and mushrooms!
Fermented foods: kefir, yogurt, miso, sauerkraut, and kombucha.
Herbal (listed below) teas, and green tea
Healthy fats: avocado, olives, nuts and seeds.
Add in garlic, leafy greens, berries, citrus fruits, miso, bone broth, and spices like turmeric and ginger.
Overall, warming foods, soups, and stews. Think fall flavors!
Herbs, Herbs, and Supplements
Echinacea
Astragalus,
Tulsi/holy basil
Chamomile
Ginger
Elderberry
Reishi mushroom
Zinc
B-vitamins
Vitamin D and C
Magnesium
Get Moderate Exercise Daily
Prolonged periods of resistance and endurance training reduces the immune response and increases the likelihood of catching a viral infection. It’s tempting to feel like we’re not getting enough training if we’re forced out of the gym. But, moderate training will help maintain your muscle mass and keep you healthy. Overdoing the cardio or intensity could put you at risk of getting sick and really haunting your progress. But, moderate training will help you maintain your muscle mass and keep you healthy. Stay on plan. Trust your coach. Use what you have and don’t over compensate. Use this extra time for rest and nourishing with healthy food and you might even benefit from this time!
Prioritize Recovery
I know you have heard it a million times, but I mean it. Get enough sleep. Get sunshine everyday (bonus vitamin D for the immune system!), and practice stress reduction, meditation, gratitude, and relaxation daily. Everyone says it because it works. And who can complain about a little extra sun bathing or Netflix and chill time?