Healthy Lifestyle: 6 SIMPLE WAYS TO SUPPORT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

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Healthy Living

A healthy lifestyle can sometimes seem elusive, yet there are many easy steps that you likely already do! Becoming aware of choices and activities around sleep, activity, fluid intake, and diet can all impact you in a positive manner if take the time to be mindful.

So what can you do to increase your health and wellness without too much effort?

Let's find out together!

Sleep: Sleep is so incredibly critical to body healing and restoration. Sleep is key to cellular healing, soft tissue restoration, mental health, and mind and body recharge. So how can we get the best sleep possible?

• Keep good sleep hygiene. Create a bed time and a routine around going to sleep.
• Turn off electronics 1 to 2 hours prior to bed time. The light of electronics can disrupt your circadian rhythm and the production of melatonin (the neurotransmitter that makes you feel sleepy)
• Make certain your room is clean, quiet and dark - make it an inviting place for sleep and relaxation.

​Activity: Like sleep, activity is one of those things that is foundational to health. Did you know that activity helps with detoxification and immunity? Your lymphatic system which moves lymphatic fluid (a part of cellular detoxification and metabolic waste) does not have a pump system like your circulatory system. Activity and motion is what moves your lymph, through the use of large skeletal muscles. When you walk, run, bike, or move, your body is moving lymph which keeps toxins and metabolic waste from lingering in your body.

• According to your abilities, move, walk, or exercise at least 30 minutes daily
• Do an activity that brings you joy!
• Be consistent, start small and start with something that is fun! Dance in your living room, walk in a field, do yoga, or get outside to garden - all of these simple activities can help maintain health.

​Hydration: We've all heard this, adults should drink 6 to 8 glasses of water daily, or more with intense activity. But why is this so important? Your body is over 80% water and your cellular, metabolic, digestive, cardiovascular, lymphatic...basically all of your systems depend on the presence of water. Without proper hydration your body cannot function properly. Digestion is impaired, healing slows, and even your mental health can be altered if you are not taking care to drink enough water.

• Set a reminder on your phone to have a glass of water every 1 to 2 hours while you are awake.
• Herbal teas count! If you don't like the taste of water, try making it into your favorite all natural herbal tea without sweeteners.
• Bring enough water with you for the day and just sip throughout.

​Eat Well: We have all heard this, but what does it mean to eat well? Eating well means that we eat a variety of fruits and vegetables (eat the rainbow of fruit and vegetable colors), eat seasonal, and that we do not eat too many processed/boxed foods, refined sugars, fast foods, or foods with an extreme excess of chemicals. Try some of these tips to eat well!

• The Chemical Label Tip - if you read the label and see more chemicals than whole ingredients, don't eat it!
• Eat a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Remember to have a variety of colors and textures, an seasonal produce is always less expensive than those that have traveled far and also has more living nutrients.
• Stay away from those refined sugars, soft drinks, and boxed or pre-packaged foods. More home cooked meals are always a better option when possible.

​Vitamin D: Did you know that your body makes vitamin D?! Your body is an incredible self maintaining partnership of systems. When you go outside, your skin makes its own vitamin D from vitamin D receptors which convert sunlight into a form of D that we can use and absorb. Due to our more modern lifestyle vitamin D insufficiency affects almost 50% of the population worldwide. An estimated 1 billion people worldwide, across all ethnicities and age groups, have a vitamin D deficiency (VDD) (Reference). Yet vitamin D is so crucial to our general health and immune system. So how do we get enough?

• During sunny days and good weather, spend 15 minutes in the sunshine or dappled shade. The more skin exposure available the better.
• Supplement with a liquid vitamin D. A liquid form that you can drop dose on or under your tongue will be better than a capsule and tablet because it is more readily absorbed.
• Eat foods rich in natural D such as fatty fish (salmon, arctic char, cod, herring, mahi-mahi, or mackerel) .

Vitamin C: Vitamin C, also known as Ascorbic Acid is an important essential nutrient that we must obtain from our diet. It is only found in fruit and vegetable foods and is highest in fresh, uncooked foods. Because it is stored in the watery part of fruits and vegetables, it is easily destroyed with cooking. It is known to stimulate our immune systems, is anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and has also been shown in studies to help relieve pain from chronic health issues. So how do we get enough vitamin C?

• Get enough fruits and vegetables daily and don't forget to eat a variety!
• Eat some of your produce raw in order to get adequate intake.
• Some of the best foods for high vitamin C are: Bell peppers, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Cantaloupe, all Citrus fruits, Kiwi, Strawberries, and Tomatoes or Tomato juice.

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Thank you to volunteers Petra Sovcov for the text, and Cody Selker, for the great graphics!