Immune Tips for Fall

Immune Support Reminders

Get More Sleep; Eat Fewer Carbs  I learned a lot from LIghts Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival by T.S. Wiley a few years ago, including the fact that our bodies seek alignment with nature and the changing seasons.  To minimize winter weight gain and light-related depression, this is the time of year to to start cutting back on carbs and gradually work toward getting… 9-9 1/2 hours sleep by Halloween. How in this busy world can you do that??  By going to bed earlier (hey…a bit less screen time for most of us).

Shift Your Diet to more soups and stews, meat on the bone (see Cate Shanahan, M.D.’s book, Deep Nutrition, on this), bone broths (details below) and more of the 3 Musketeers for your immune system daily: garlic, onions and ginger. See my Soups and Stews blog post for ideas, and recipes in my book, Take Back Your Body.

Organic bone broths not only improve your immune defenses, but also help you get healthy again fast when you do pick up a cold or flu.  Add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar and a pinch of cayenne for optimal benefits.  See the Weston A. Price non-profit site for more information about the incredible benefits and historic uses of bone broths, as well as how to make them.

Move your body often, including 23-minutes or more of daily Essentrics®. Wifi streaming, DVD’s, free episodes of Classical Stretch on PBS and live classes give you options.  Sign up for my free newsletter to be up on my latest schedule, which is listed here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wash Your Hands often with hot water and regular soap (including after handling a menu).  I don’t recommend anti-bacterial soap which contributes to the growth of superbugs.

Immune Support Don’ts

Don’t Touch your face in public (and wash hands often)

Minimize sugar, processed grains, vegetable oils and anything in a box.  Drinking one soda lowers immune function by 50% for up to 4 hours. Try 50/50 honey and apple cider vinegar to curb cravings.

Don’t stay stuck in negative thoughts and fear. It’s been shown to lower immune response and most of what we are afraid of never happens and robs us of the present moment. Practice gratitude instead.