As the days get shorter and colder, our environment is changing around us, and we have to be able to properly adapt to these changes. This will require us to make appropriate adjustments to get healthy or stay healthy. So how do you know if you are healthy to begin with?
Here are 7 signs that you are already struggling with your immunity:
- You are feeling tired and worn out all the time.
- You have digestive issues or irregularities in your gut.
- Your skin has slow healing ability.
- You are under a lot of stress or feel like you are dealing with more stress.
- You catch every bug or infection that comes along.
- You can’t shake a cold it feels like it hangs around forever.
- Headaches and brain fog are daily issues.
If these are things you are struggling with, now is the time to start making changes, not just for a better holiday season but for a better upcoming year. You know, the one with all the resolutions to accomplish the things you want to improve. The time to prepare yourself for a better year in 2023 is to get ready now instead of waiting until January 2 or 3. After all, we know these resolutions don’t start on the 1st.
So, what can you do to get started on a healthier path this holiday season?
- Clean your environment to reduce the load on your immune system.
- Clean surfaces with appropriate natural cleansers
- Get an air cleaner with Ozone to freshen the air and deal with Volatile organic compounds, viruses, bacteria, and mold.
- Clean out your refrigerator to keep food fresh and healthy. Your refrigerator shouldn’t be a petri dish for science fair projects.
- Improve your gut health.
- Increase your probiotics by eating a diet with prebiotics.
- Drink kombucha and kefir or eat foods high in probiotics, such as kimchi or sauerkraut.
- Eat a healthier diet and reduce the carbs and simple sugars that can increase our inflammation.
- If you have digestive issues, the fall and winter months are great for soups that are much easier to digest and can be great sources of immune-boosting herbs and minerals.
- Avoid a lot of overly processed foods as these will make life for your microbiota in your gut much more difficult.
- Improve sleep which is vital to your immune system and recovery.
- You should try to target around seven hours of sleep for a healthy night.
- Create a nightly regimen to prepare your body to relax and sleep, hot shower, stretching, and deep breathing exercises.
- Reduce screen time before bed, especially blue light, which will inhibit your ability to fall asleep.
- Get a pair of sleeping headphones to listen to sleep music that can stimulate alpha and delta waves to give you that deep sleep and REM sleep you need to repair the body and the mind.
- Supplement your health.
- Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant, meaning it can protect your body from toxins that cause inflammation in your body. Getting your intake of vitamin C on the regular is essential for good health because your body doesn’t produce it on its own. It also doesn’t store it to use later.
- Vitamin D can help prevent respiratory infections or reduce the severity of them, especially if you have a deficiency which is more common in the winter due to lack of sunlight.
- Vitamin E is one of the most effective nutrients for your immune function. That’s because it helps to keep your T-cells working at peak performance.
- Vitamin B6 plays major roles in producing white blood cells and T-cells. Those are the cells in your body that respond to fight off invaders like viruses and bacteria.
- Zinc is a vital mineral when it comes to the development of immune cells and the communication between the cells in the inflammatory response. Zinc deficiencies can lead to many respiratory tract infections.
- Selenium activates your immune system when there’s a threat. It also tells your immune system when to pump the brakes. That means it can keep you keeps your immune system from going overboard, protecting you from chronic inflammation and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and psoriasis.
- Echinacea is an immune supercharger and booster that stimulates and energizes the immune cells against viruses and bacteria.
- Elderberry is a classic anti-viral that increases white blood cells. It is especially known to fight off influenza viruses.
So, as we gather and close ourselves into tight spaces, increasing our risk of sharing every passing virus and bacteria, I encourage you to use an air cleaner or diffuse essential oils that can clean the air for you. Before we gorge ourselves on holiday foods and drink and being merry, remember everything in moderation. Make plans to limit yourself in this season and prepare for an amazing 2023.
If you are struggling with your immune system and would like our help to boost your health and vitality, call (316) 837-1273 for a complimentary consult with one of our doctors at Docere Life Center.