Winter is back, everyone seems to be sniffling and coughing, and we're tempted to hibernate until the winter has passed. With our 2-years Covid experience, this is obviously not what something we want... Keeping your immune system strong is the best solution, so we prepared a short list of easy and natural ways to boost your immunity.
Maintain a healthy lifestyle
We all know the feeling of wanting to curl up under the duvet until the cold snap ends, but keeping yourself fit and active over the winter helps to boost your immune system. A study undertaken by the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that the fitter a person is, the less prone they are catching a nasty cold or flu when the weather worsens. Sleep is also a major element to pay attention to. Many studies have substantiated the claim that lack of sleep can increase your chances of getting sick. During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines, which you need to increase when you have an infection or inflammation, or when you're under stress. So make sure you get your minimum 7 or 8 hours or sleep a night.
Take care of your body
Toxins are harmful chemicals which get into our bodies through food, water and the environment. We process them through our liver and kidneys and then eliminate them in the form of sweat. You can sweat out those harmful toxins in a sauna, or even better is Bikram yoga. This abdominal-intensive, body-bending, fast-paced hatha yoga is all carried out in 40 degree heat: the perfect way to sweat out all the bad stuff. Also, water helps to flush out harmful toxins in your body, including those winter germs. By keeping your body well-hydrated you can make sure that it can fight any harmful viruses and stave off colds for longer.
Nourish yourself with magic food & spices
- Ginger is rich in many properties and a great preventative and treatment for many symptoms. Packed with antioxidants, ginger will strengthen your immune system and leave you ready to fight winter. For the perfect brew, peel your ginger and cut it into thin slices: use as many or as few slices to suit your taste, but 5 is a good rule-of-thumb. Place your ginger into a mug and pour boiled water in and let it brew for a few minutes. Add a dash of honey for a sweeter flavour and a few drops of lemon juice for a dose of vitamin C. Just be careful when you drink it, because ginger is also a proven aphrodisiac!
- The aniseed tasting spice Star Anise is also an antiviral powerhouse because of its shikimic acid content. Include it in your tea or just with boiled water. For a potent combination, make an infusion with crushed fresh ginger, star anise and sweeten with a little raw honey.
- It is widely accepted that garlic has anti-viral properties, and raw garlic is the most potent. If you can face it, mix crushed garlic with raw honey and have a couple of teaspoons every day. Note that we recommend raw honey which can be purchased from your health shop, as it is also antiviral and also has high levels of anti oxidants. Raw honey is not heated and pasteurized like the honey you buy from supermarkets, so it maintains its natural goodness.
- Include the herb oregano in your cooking, as it is known to be effective for respiratory issues and for colds and flu. Oregano oil has a compound called carvacrol which is largely responsible for its anti-viral properties as well as rosmarinic acid and thymol. Both of these act as powerful antioxidants that have been closely linked to reducing oxidative stress in the body, which helps improve your immune health. You can buy it as a herbal supplement for higher doses and also diffuse the oil as a way of releasing mucus.
- Vitamin D is produced from sunlight by your body, which is why it’s affectionately known as the ‘sunshine vitamin’. With the days getting shorter and daylight hours dwindling, winter is a hard time for us to get all the Vitamin D we need. With Vitamin D, your body has the ability to generate antimicrobial peptides, or in layman’s terms that’s the component needed for battling infections. When it’s not possible to get Vitamin D through sunshine, and you don’t want to take supplements, many foods offer a great alternative. Try fatty fish, like salmon, cheese, fortified milk and fortified foods like cereal.
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