The following good habits can go a long way towards strengthening your immune system against infections, and lowering your risk of chronic degenerative diseases.
Optimize your nutrition—the most foundational step toward vibrant health
• Manage your blood sugar—one of the most important actions you can take.
o Reduce or eliminate sugar and processed foods. “Sugar in all its forms is the root cause of our obesity epidemic and most of the chronic disease sucking the life out of our citizens and our economy — and, increasingly, the rest of the world. You name it, it’s caused by sugar: heart disease, cancer, dementia, type 2 diabetes, depression, and even acne, infertility and impotence.” –Mark Hyman, MD
o Eat 3 balanced, organic meals a day, including lots of colorful, organic non-starchy vegetables, high quality proteins, good fats, and appropriate servings of carbohydrates (e.g. colorful fruit, root vegetables) based on your activity level. Why organic? It reduces your body’s load of toxins, thus freeing up your immune system and liver for more important jobs!
• Increase the diversity of good bacteria in your gut to improve immunity.
o Try new vegetables and fruits—don’t eat the same ones over and over. This promotes diversity.
o Add some probiotic foods to your diet every day—fermented vegetables like sauerkraut and kimchi, miso, beet kvass, refrigerated pickles, coconut yogurt, and whole milk organic yogurt if tolerated.
• Reduce inflammatory foods; inflammation promotes disease and decreases immunity.
o If you have symptoms of inflammation (e.g. pain and fatigue), you may want to try avoiding the most common inflammatory foods: sugar and processed carbs, gluten, dairy, processed vegetable oils, and soy.
• Try to include nutrients that are critical for a strong immune system:
o Vitamin A—liver, cod liver oil, eggs, butter, whole milk. Liver from healthy grass-fed animals is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet! (Note: the carotenoids in foods like carrots are often difficult to convert to Vitamin A in our bodies, so it’s best to use animal sources. For a great article on Vitamin A, see https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/vitamin-a-mazing/)
o Vitamin D—from the sun, salmon, sardines, cod liver oil, or a supplement like Vitamin D/K2 by Thorne.
o Vitamin K2—butter, cheese, dark chicken meat from pastured animals, or a supplement (see above).
o Vitamin C—citrus fruits, berries and other fruits, vegetables, and sauerkraut. It’s difficult to get enough Vitamin C from food so I use organic, non-GMO, natural sources of supplemental Vitamin C like Camu Camu powder by Z!NT or Acerola Powder by Flora.
o Zinc—oysters, beef, crab, turkey, or a supplement like Zinc Picolinate by Allergy Research Group.
o I offer the above-mentioned supplements at 20% off for clients and friends on my online dispensary at https://wellevate.me/trish-trombly
Keep hydrated to promote good elimination of water-soluble toxins
• You need at least half your body weight in ounces of filtered water, every day.
• If you’re not flushing out toxins, your immune system has more to deal with and less energy for keeping you healthy.
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