Building up your immune system
Want help building up your immune system?
Feeling tired and run down?
Not looking forward to the cold and dark winter months?
Now that the nights are drawing in and winter is just around the corner is a good time to take stock of your diet and building up your immune system before the winter coughs and colds take hold.
Ways of building up your immune system
Living by the seasons is the Traditional Chinese Medicine way. Winter is seen as a time for slowing down, reflecting on your health and replenishing energy.
Out with the cold foods such as salad, in with stews filled with nourishing vegetables such as squashes, winter greens, root vegetables and mushrooms. Enjoy these seasoned with garlic, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Why not try adding roasted nuts, especially walnuts and chestnuts.
On the food front garlic contains the active ingredient allicin which helps fight infection. Whilst ”studies have shown that mushrooms increase the production and activity of white blood cells, making them more aggressive. This is a good thing when you have an infection” Douglas Schar, Director of the Institute of Herbal Medicine Washington DC.
Supplementing with vitamins and minerals, such as zinc, Vitamin C and Vitamin D can also be helpful for builing up your immune system.
- zinc plays an important role in the proper functioning of the immune system
- Vitamin C helps prevent colds and flu as well as relieving symptoms
- Vitamin D -the sunshine vitamin can be tricky to acquire naturally in winter as the best source of it is from the sun. This can be in short supply over the winter months.
Getting a good nights sleep is also very helpful see my blog post on struggling to sleep
Acupuncture is another way of building up the immune system. Ask me about seasonal acupuncture treatments, which help the body to adapt to the changing seasons.
