Last week, I was suppose to be in San Francisco for Beautycounter’s Leadership conference, but last minute it was cancelled because of the growing threats surround Coronavirus. It was a totally understandable, and smart decision, but also a major bummer.
I ended up visiting my sister in Atlanta instead, yes, I realize any travel can still be risky, but I’d been focusing on boosting my own immune system and took extra steps, like washing my hands 3x between security and boarding my flight, because it’s better to be safe than sorry.
While there’s nothing we can do to protect ourselves completely, we can definitely take some steps on our own to naturally boost our immune systems and give us a better chance at staying healthy.
Here’s my best tips for how to boost your immune system naturally:
How to Boost your Immune System
Get Plenty of Sleep
Sleep is arguably the best thing we can do for our health. While we’re sleeping, our body goes into repair mode and works on healing and repairing itself.
If you struggle with sleep, read this post on my best sleep tips that took me from sleeping terribly, to sleeping through the night regularly. Taking CBD oil at night was a huge help in getting my sleep back in check. Use code FOXANDSHE for 15% off your first order at Equilibria!
Eat Well
We typically try and eat healthy, but I splurged a bit this past weekend while out of town! Now that I’m home, it’s back to lots of fruits and vegetables and sustainably-raised protein—ButcherBox (get $30 off your first box) is our go-to.
Two of my favorite easy, veggie-heavy meals are a big salad with a bunch of different ingredients and textures, and a quinoa bowl with roasted veggies and chickpeas. Both are filling and leave you feeling energized and light!
Cut out processed, refined foods to reduce inflammation in your gut and throughout your body which will in-turn improve your gut-health and boost your energy.
Exercise
Getting regular exercise is one of the BEST things you can do to keep your body healthy and happy. If you already have a good workout routine in place, then good for you! Admittedly, my routine has been out of whack these past few days, but I’ve been making it a point to at least get out for a walk every single day.
I also love strength-training, barre and my Melissa Wood Health workouts. Here’s my pregnancy workout routine if you’re interested.
Improve Gut-Health
Your immune system starts in your gut! If you don’t have good gut health, you’ll have a weaker immune system. I should know. About 2 years ago, my gut-health was a mess and I was getting sick every month for about a week.
To give yourself a jump start, try a 7-day sugar detox. I’m actually planning on doing one next week! Too much sugar can feed the bad bacteria in your gut, making things worse. Add a good prebiotic and probiotic to your diet as well.
I start my morning with a green smoothie that includes a scoop of gut-healing collagen peptides and a scoop of prebiotic fiber. Then I take this probiotic that’s got 15 billion CFU (colony forming units), most probiotics you can get at the store are only 2 billion CFU and just don’t do much for me.
If you’re feeling REALLY out of balance, I suggest taking this probiotic for a month (1 bottle is 30 days). It has 60 billion CFU! I actually took this several months back and feel like it did an amazing job of resetting my gut!
Take Immune-Boosting Supplements
I’m a big believer in holistic wellness, meaning you need to approach staying healthy from multiple angles. Supplements to boost immune system are great, but you shouldn’t solely rely on these alone. They can be a great extra boost though! A few that we’ve been relying on are Elderberry gummies, Vitamin C & Ningxia!
Elderberry Benefits
Elderberry gummies or elderberry syrup are another great, natural immune-boosting supplement. Elderberries are packed with antioxidants and vitamins. They can help calm inflammation in the body as well as reduce stress.
This is the brand that our family uses and loves—they taste great too! I haven’t tried giving these to Owen yet, and actually think that elderberry syrup might be easier for small kids.
Vitamin C Benefits
One of Vitamin C’s best benefits is that it can boost your immune system. You can take a supplement or load up on fresh citrus! That’s my favorite way to get it in. We just got a big box of oranges and grapefruits and I’ve been making everyone in our family eat one a day.
Ningxia Benefits
If you aren’t familiar with Ningxia, it’s an antioxidant drink from Young Living made primarily from wolf berries. It’s packed with the same amount of antioxidants that you’d get from 4lbs. of carrots, 8 oranges or 2 cups of blueberries in just a single ounce. We’ve been drinking 2oz. a day each, even Owen! He now requests “red juice,” ha! You can find it on Amazon, but it’s really over-priced. You can get 2 bottles for $73 if you’re a member or $96 as a non-member, join here!
Get Fresh Air
When I was on the plane and walking around the airport, I couldn’t help but think about how gross the recycled, stagnant air was. It made me think about the inside of our homes too. We don’t open the doors or windows much in winter, so I’m sure it was getting a little stagnant in here too.
We had a nice day on Sunday, so I opened the doors and windows for a bit to let some fresh air blow through the house. If weather permits, definitely make it a point to get outside in nature and breathe some fresh air!
Avoid Germs
Lastly, but an obvious one is to avoid germs as much as we can. Clearly we can’t do this perfectly, but by pay attention to what you’re touching—especially in public places.
When I was on the plane train, I pulled my sleeves down to hold the handle with my hand covered, and as soon as I could, I washed my hands!
Wash your Hands
When you wash your hands, make sure to use soap and warm water and scrub lightly for at least 30 seconds. I’ve been washing my hands so much and they’re definitely drier. I keep this hand cream on the side of our sink too!
Hand-Sanitizer
Keep hand sanitizer in your bag when you’re in a pinch. It’s great for when you’re on the go with kids too. I have heard a lot of places are sold out right now, so if you can’t find any, just wash your hands!
Wipe Door Handles & Light Switches
Think about how often you touch these things without washing your hands. I went through the whole house and sprayed non-toxic cleaner on everything (be careful when wiping light switches because they’re electric). I felt so much better afterwards.
Don’t Touch your Face
Much easier said than done. Did you know that on average we touch our faces 23 times per hour? I can guarantee you’re not washing your hands between each of those either!
Lastly, I think it’s best to not overreact! Yes, things like this are scary, but I personally think that all the surrounding media around it makes it so much worse. Be smart and take care of yourself—you can do a lot to keep yourself healthy and trust that your body knows what it’s doing!
What precautions have you taken to keep yourself and family healthy?
BTW, 5 fresh juice recipes for clear skin, and my favorite non-toxic cleaning products.
