5 Ways to Support Your Immune System This Winter

‘Tis the season for all the gross viruses and bugs! It can be overwhelming to think about all the gnarly germs out there, but the good news is, there is actually a lot you can do to protect yourself. While we can’t control our exposure to most things, what we can control is how our body handles the germs. When we are depleted in nutrients, stressed out, not sleeping, and eating inflammatory foods, we are MUCH more susceptible to getting sick. However, when our nutrient status is stellar, we are well-rested, managing stress, eating lots of balanced meals, our bodies are way more resilient. 

Today, we want to talk about five ways to support our immune system including specific nutrients to focus on, lifestyle strategies, supplement recommendations, and an amazing mini immune nutrition package offering we’ll share at the end! Okay, let’s jump in…

1. Protein
   1. Protein, protein protein, we know you are sick of hearing about it on social media. But truly, protein is KEY for solid immune function. Let’s chat about why:
      1. Protein is critical for helping your body create cells that fight infection. Protein also helps repair cells. When we have suboptimal protein intake, our bodies become more susceptible to viruses and bugs and less resilient when we do get sick, making recovery take much longer.
      2. How do we know how much protein to eat? These vary from individual to individual as well as your health goals so we always recommend working with someone to figure out a specific target.  But in general, we like to recommend 25-30 grams of protein at meals and 10-20 grams at snacks. 
      3. If you want a visual of what 25-30 grams of protein looks like, you can picture:
         1. 3-4 oz piece of chicken, fish, or steak
         2. ¾ cup ground turkey
         3. 1 cup cottage cheese or greek yogurt
         4. 1.5 cups tofu
         5. 1.5 cups lentil or chickpea pasta
2. Minerals
   1. All minerals are important for immune health, but specifically iron, zinc, and copper. 
   2. Zinc helps the body fight off bacteria and viruses, it is necessary for the development and function of specific types of immune cells, and is very anti-inflammatory. 
   3. Copper is an anti-fungal and anti-bacterial mineral. It is necessary for maintaining a healthy immune system and helps the body fight off infections.
   4. Iron is critical for regulating the immune system, developing immune cells like lymphocytes, and aiding in the immune response.
   5. Many people have suboptimal levels of minerals, and very often they are not checked in lab work. Minerals are depleted with stress, gut issues, and suboptimal dietary intake
   6. The BEST source of all these minerals is oysters which we love to recommend to our clients 🙂 
   7. For a plant-based source, try pumpkin seeds for zinc and sunflower seeds for copper!
3. Vitamin D
   1. 35-42% of the US population is deficient in Vitamin D.
   2. If you live in New England, like we do, you will likely require a Vitamin D supplement during the winter months. 
   3. Vitamin D is very hard to get through dietary intake, and most people have to supplement. We love recommending a D3/K2 supplement for our clients, as the Vitamin K2 helps Vitamin D absorption and allows your body to transport it to where it needs to go. 
   4. Vitamin D helps prevent infections, auto-immune disease, and acts as an immune modulator. 
4. Sleep
   1. Sleep is absolutely critical for the immune system and not getting enough sleep increases the risk of illness
   2. When we sleep, our body goes to work producing and repairing cells that are the building blocks of our immune systems. 
   3. Disruptions in sleep can lead to inflammation and can increase our susceptibility to viruses. 
   4. Research suggests that individuals who get less than 7 hours of sleep each night are 3x as likely to develop the common cold
   5. We always emphasize the importance of sleep to our clients and encourage everyone to aim for 7-9 hours per night. 
5. Support the Gut
   1. 70% of the immune system is in the gut, so obviously we want to prioritize strong gut health. 
   2. When our gut is balanced, we create beneficial microbes that help support the immune system. 
   3. When we have a healthy gut lining, we are able to decrease our susceptibility to infections and viruses. 
   4. We love to focus on the “3 P’s with our clients:
      1. Probiotics- through fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, miso, and sauerkraut, and supplementing when it makes sense
      2. Prebiotics- the food for the probiotics- think fiber!
      3. Polyphenols- colorful plant foods that feed the good bacteria

We definitely support supplements in our practice, when necessary, but we never recommend supplementing blindly! ALWAYS get labs done to make sure a supplement is warranted. 🙂

Introducing… The Mini Immune Package

While we usually work with most of our clients for several months at a time, sometimes you may not need all that and are just looking for a little boost in certain areas.  The Mini Immune Package is a great way to get a glimpse as to where your immune system currently stands and then get some help from us on how to best correct it, through food and/or supplement.

The details:

• Blood panel including key nutrients necessary to support immune function (Vitamin A, Vitamin D, copper, zinc, full iron panel, B12)
• Recorded video interpretation of the labs with detailed food + supplement protocol
• 1 week of email support
• 20% discount on recommended supplements. 

Price: $499. 

Email: Chloe@riversidenutrition.com or visit www.riversidenutrition.com 

Wishing you and your family a happy and HEALTHY holiday season.

Warmly,

Chloe + Emily