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Immunity is on everyone’s mind since the start of last year. Since we continue to live amid uncertain times and evolving conditions, the one thing we do have some control over is our health practices.  Now more than ever, we want to keep our bodies healthy and strong to not only fight infections, but also boost our energy, resilience and longevity. Read on for small simple things we can start doing in our everyday lives that will have positive effects on our heath and immunity. Health starts from within and everything we put in our mouth, the way we move, and how we sleep either programs our bodies for health or for disease. A little dramatic, but hopefully it got your attention.

Food is a great way to support your immunity, specifically herbs. Echinacea is one herb that enjoys a lot of positive research. It’s known for boosting the immune system, and helps fight off colds and bacteria. Sage is known to break up mucus and acts as an antiseptic. Studies find that when you combine sage and echinacea they work to reduce inflammation and irritation, also really helpful with managing a sore throat. Another powerful herb and spice duo you can use is ginger and cayenne pepper. Try combining ginger and cayenne pepper in a tea with lemon juice. Earthy ginger and punchy cayenne pepper make a fantastic elixir that helps protect the body against viruses and illnesses. This combination is an affordable way to boost your health and is super accessible and inexpensive since ginger and cayenne can be purchased almost anywhere for a small sum. Eating and drinking your vitamins means upping your vitamin C intake. Forget those sickly sour tablets you grew up munching on, the best way to get your vitamin C is through your fruits and veggies. All sorts of fruits, greens and veggies are packed with vitamin C, but lemon and the juice of lemon deserves a special mention as being particularly potent in this water-soluble vitamin. If you’re having a hard time sourcing fresh organic fruit, frozen fruit is a good alternative. Frozen fruits are flash frozen at the moment of peak ripeness and have been shown to retain just as much of their nutrients as fresh fruit. Try whipping up a smoothie with frozen pineapple or frozen peaches to knock your vitamin C levels up a few notches in a really yummy way.

It may be a mineral, but Zinc has been proven to boost your immune system really effectively. That means loading up on pumpkin seeds, grapefruit, cucumber and fennel. Whip up a salad featuring these powerhouse ingredients or snack on any one of them when feeling peckish.

There is a strong connection between probiotics and immunity. Lifestyle factors such as stress, chemicals in food products, pollutants in the environment, and even eating too many animal products and processed foods can all negatively alter our gut microbiome. We want to support the delicate configuration of the billions of bacteria in our gut by incorporating probiotic rich foods to fight inflammation and prevent a weakened immune system. Fermented veggies may come to mind and you’d be right. Sauerkraut, fermented cabbage, is a wildly popular dish in many cultures. The Korean version, Kimchi is perfect if you prefer your cabbage a little spicy with a kick. When we culture veggies, the natural sugars of the veggies start to ferment and create healthy bacteria as well as enzymes. The enzymes will help anything else you eat digest better so enjoy a few bites of fermented veggies before your main meal for an amazing health and immunity boost. Raw apple cider vinegar is another top probiotic rich food. A 2018 study showed that raw apple cider vinegar was able to boost immunity and fight off harmful bacteria in the gut by repopulating it with good bacteria and boosting the efficacy of digestive enzymes. Throw it in your salad dressings and replace other denatured vinegars that don’t add much to your health. Lastly, for the soda lovers, swap your cola for a kombucha, you won’t know the difference but your body will. Kombucha is packed full of probiotics that add to the transient good bacteria in the gut, just like the fermented veggies.

Hydrating is just as important as loading up on vitamins and minerals. Being adequately hydrated allows your body to flush out waste and toxins. Make sure you get your recommended daily water intake of eight to ten glasses per day. You’ll need to add to that amount if you’re leading a more active lifestyle. Make sure to include fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet as they contain up to 80% water which means we’re also hydrating our cells as we chew. Make fun variations of water by adding berries, cucumber or mint leaves and you’ve got yourself a spa day experience for a fraction of the price.

Eliminating toxins to support your immunity includes sweating. If you can, incorporate half an hour of activity into your day. Even walking at a fast pace, or tuning in to a home workout via YouTube meets the requirements for a better mood and better health. If you have access to a sauna whether it’s an infrared sauna, or traditional steam one, fifteen minutes will help your body to release toxins that could be accumulating in your system. Another practice to support elimination and detoxing is dry skin brushing before you shower.

For the super lazy and uninspired, there is nothing easier than taking a supplement, right? Get yourself high quality probiotics, since most of your immunity is based in your gut, it’s a really important step in strengthening your whole system.  As mentioned, an imbalanced gut bacterium hinders immunity, health and can show up on your skin, hair and digestion. Even if you’re incorporating probiotic rich foods in your diet, those are beneficial, but unlike probiotics they are transient, not resident forming. The cleaner your body, the less space and hold there is for foreign pathogens, viruses and bacteria. Magnesium supplements help to increase waste elimination. If you aren’t going to the loo daily for a bowel movement, chances are you’re holding on to some excess waste. Finally, include some digestive enzymes to maximize the absorption of all the nutrients you’re getting via the fresh organic foods mentioned above. You want to get the most immunity you can from what you eat.

Sleep affects us in so many ways, and it’s linked to boosting not only our immune system, but also our happiness, health and beauty. Not to mention that when we sleep, we fortify also our mood so we are less reactive to outside events that may cause stress, for example a pandemic. You’ll feel heathy and strong when you hit your target of seven to eight hours of shut eye per night, not to mention reducing your risk for a myriad of illnesses and degenerative diseases.

Your health is your wealth more than ever in these uncertain times. Not only for yourself, but also for your loved ones. You want to be coming at life from a peak condition, so you’re better placed to take on the adversities and also to enjoy your years for as long as possible. Because life is beautiful and full of gifts that surround us every day.