4 Tips to Boost Your Immune System for Winter.

Increasingly, many people are experiencing frequent illnesses, coughs, colds and flu-like symptoms, especially throughout the Winter months.  If this sounds familiar, the following simple tips will help your immune system to be as robust as possible, which could help prevent some of the illnesses or at least reduce their severity whilst generally helping you feel better, have more energy and be more productive.  This is a proactive approach: putting up the reinforcements before they are required.  Also, if you start feeling run-down, getting a full-blown cold or flu is not a foregone conclusion!

1) Eat Enough Protein

The more protein you get earlier in the day, the better your immune system will function.  Some experts claim the first 30g you eat each day supports detoxification, and the next 30g goes towards your immune system, yet many people won't get 60g in the whole day (it's roughly the equivalent of 2 chicken breasts and an egg).  In practice, ensure you include a good source of protein with each meal, plus snack on foods like nuts containing immune-boosting vitamins and minerals such as selenium.

2) Get More Sleep

Stress and fatigue can leave you vulnerable.  Most of us need 8+ hours per night to stay healthy.  Whilst you sleep, your body works magic to fight off infections and viruses and eliminate other nasty things we are exposed to during the day.  If 8 hours seems impossible, start with getting 15 minutes extra each night – even that tiny amount adds up to an additional night every month.

3) Supplement for Extra Protection

The balance of evidence tells us that a good multivitamin and mineral complex is a sensible idea.  Even if we are diligent with our food, getting optimum nutrients is difficult, so a “backup” makes sense.  Vitamin D supplementation is also recommended as daylight and sunshine become (even more!) scarce.  Some reports show optimal Vitamin D levels as the number one way to protect ourselves from the flu.  Zinc is well known to help with the immune system, but it is increasingly difficult to obtain through our usual diet. The other leading supplement to consider is a pro-biotic.  Probiotics help your digestive system extract nutrients from foods more effectively.  The quality of your supplements is far more important than the quantity.  Speak to us for advice; otherwise, it can be money down the drain … literally!

4) Don't Reach for Sugar if you Feel Run-down

When feeling run-down, an automatic response can be to reach for sugary foods to give you a quick boost.  If you can resist this, you will be doing yourself a big favour: viruses feed off sugar, so by avoiding it, you might stop developing a full-blown cold and likely shorten its duration.  If you do get a sugar craving, your body could want Vitamin C: good sources are many fruits (best eaten whole rather than juiced), green vegetables, tomatoes, peppers and chillis.

5) Think Positive

Ever heard anyone say on a Monday: “I've got a bit of a sore throat – I think I've got a cold coming.  I bet by tomorrow I'll be coughing; on Wednesday, I'll hardly be able to get out of bed!” Thinking that way will ensure that's precisely what happens.  Others who say to themselves: “I can't be ill” hardly ever are.  It might not work 100% of the time, but if you don't want to be one of those people who seem ill all the time, don't think like them!