15 Tips for Improving Your Immunity

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This post was written by: Susan Blue

As we are moving into the colder months of fall and into the winter season, the following will help your body adjust:

1. Drink ginger tea. Add a little honey and lemon to this healthful beverage. Stimulating and warming to your system.
2. Stay hydrated. Keep your cells plush with water. This helps move things through and out your system.
3. Drink hot water during the day. Yes, that is right, hot water with no tea or anything in it. It is warming and will help move mucous in the digestive tract. The less mucous, the less ground there is for a virus or bacteria to grow.
4. Breathe and breathe some more. Get out and walk in the fresh air. Take a breath class. The more oxygen in the blood, the better.
5. Laugh and laugh some more: See the humor in the stressful situations. Do fun things with your friends. Watch funny movies. Laughter stimulates your immune system and produces endorphins.
6. Dry brush your skin: Use a soft to medium natural bristle bathing brush to stimulate circulation and slough off dead cells. Do before you shower. Or dry brush, then wipe the body down with a damp cloth.
7. Steam baths or saunas for sweating: This will help remove toxins. If you are not pregnant or have a heart or liver condition, you can stimulate and strengthen your circulatory system by showering with cold water afterwards. This will also help you with temperature changes.
8. Hot Stone Massage: Need I say more?
9. Eat more leafy green veggies! Leafy greens have micro-nutrients that clean and rebuild the body. The fiber content will help move things out of the digestive tract.
10. Cayenne or capsicum is warming and stimulating. Add cayenne to the foods you cook. You can also get capsicum in capsule form and take it as a supplement with meals.
11. Essential Fatty Acids (Omega3 and Omega6): The dryer the weather, the more important they are. If you live in higher altitudes, they are crucial for your health and you will likely need 1/2 to 1 dose more than Federal Daily Requirement limit stated on supplemental labels. You can always eat more deep/cold water fish or eat more things with flax seed.
12. Vitamin C in fresh fruits or veggies such as cabbage; peppers, especially the red, yellow or orange; broccoli and tomato. You can always add a Vitamin C supplement during the cold and flue season.
13. Cleansing your system: Taking some time to let the digestive tract have a rest from hard to digest foods and foods high in chemical content (preservatives and pesticides) is very beneficial. A cleansing diet for 5 days to one week can be steamed vegetable, salads with brown rice or millet. Yes, even for breakfast! Have some organic chicken, wild salmon, or some nuts and seeds to meet the protein needs. Remember to drink plenty of water!
14. Detoxification will remove accumulations of toxins from your system. In the Eastern cultures, detoxes are done with seasonal changes. There are many publications on how to do it your own. If you have a medical issue, it is best to consult an Nutritionist, Naturopath or other Alternative Heath Practitioner to over see the process.
15. Get some sunshine daily. 25 minutes of sun will give you Vitamin D. It will also keep your outlook on life up.