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As we navigate the current landscape amidst the pandemic, and we are constantly bombarded with conflicting and constantly changing information, it’s especially important to ditch the misinformation about your immune system.
RESEARCH: There is no time like the present to focus on your immune system, especially when the present involves the COVID-19 pandemic. APCO Worldwide surveyed Americans asking, “Which, if any, of your lifestyle choices do you think have a direct impact on your immunity?” The most common responses included eating healthy and exercising regularly.
However, 9 percent of people surveyed believed they could not do anything to boost their immune-system. Because people have long been misguided by immune system myths of magic supplements and superfoods, we want to set you straight. When your life does not depend on it, there are a lot of things you can be doing that will have little to no impact, but will cost you quite some money, especially the superfood craze.
We just gave a workshop with over 20 Immune Boosting tools that will give you the best protection you can have, based on guiding 60,000 Chinese students through the pandemic.
It may prevent you from vampires, but sadly garlic won’t even prevent you from the common cold. There are a few lab studies that show that garlic extract can partially inhibit the replication of the virus in cells.” However, “there is no real evidence that garlic will prevent or stop viral infections in our bodies, especially not the new COVID-19. If you like garlic nobody will stop you, go ahead and indulge.
When we feel stressed out, it is easier to catch a cold and cough, have a runny or stuffy nose, or headache. Many people think that a compromised immune system is linked to these areas. That is far from the truth, the immune system runs from our thymus, adrenals, bone marrow and even our digestive system. Multiple systems are integrated into the immune system, our gut and microbiome (intestines) are all important parts, as well as the lymphatic system.”
Doctors often prescribe the purchase of an over-the-counter nasal irrigation product to eradicate sinus infections or congestion—which seems to make sense since we know viruses can enter through our nose and mouth. Viruses will frequently lodge in areas deeper in the nose, such as the adenoids, where they cannot be reached with simply washing the nose.
What we do recommend with COVID-19 is to put tea-tree oil, colloidal silver, peppermint and eucalyptus in a diffuser every hour and take some deep breaths to clear your lungs at the first signs of trouble or preventative.
While we may think having some sugar in our diet is no big deal, it actually depletes cells in our body that fight off bacteria and stimulates yeast forming in the gut that can deplete your immune power. A 12-ounce soda suppresses (42 grams of sugar) immunity by 30 percent for 3 hours. If sugar is a big part of your diet, you could be diminishing your immune system all day. It also promotes inflammation in joints and other areas of your body. Imagine what happens when you are drinking a LARGE soda in the cinema.
Certain supplements like elderberry, astragalus, and echinacea do boost your immune system to a certain extent, but taking them all the time makes no sense and their power is diminished because the body becomes resistant to them. What you want is to NOT be deficient in vitamins and minerals. If you lack vitamins and minerals, your immune system is weaker than it should be.
Sleep impacts every system in your body—[from] the brain, heart, and lungs, to metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance. Sleep deprivation is the sure way to weaken your immune system. While you sleep, your immune system releases cytokines that need to increase when your body is fighting infection, inflammation, or stress. Sleep deprivation decreases your body’s production of cytokines, thereby making you more vulnerable to illness.
When we are stressed, our body produces more cortisol instead of producing immune-supportive hormones, like estradiol, testosterone, and progesterone. Cortisol is linked to anxiety, hypertension, heart disease, premature ageing, stroke, and much more. Stress decreases our white blood (immune) cells count, which help fight off infection, thereby putting you more at risk for viruses.
We know exercise is good for our bodies, but some people become addicted to cross fit and marathons, and take it to the extreme. What’s better is to know how to balance your exercise with your general state of being. If you aren’t feeling well, but think you need to push through a workout, this can actually increase your risk of infection by 3-6 times. On the other hand, studies have shown that 20-40 minutes of moderate activity reduces the risk of upper respiratory infections by 50 percent. So if you are not feeling up to it, try a lighter workout. You have more days in a year, and you are in for the long run, don’t force yourself.
The immune system is heavily reliant on other systems throughout our body, especially the digestive system. “Research proves that between 70 percent and 80 percent of the immune system is in the gut—protecting us from disease by responding to and eliminating any foreign bacteria that they see as a threat,” says Stefan Weitz, CEO and co-founder of Jetson. The quality of your immune system is codependent on your gut health. As Weitz explains, “The gut and immune system are kind of like roommates—when one is being messy, the whole house becomes messy. They’ve got to work together to keep things under control.”
Taking it easy certainly helps when you lead a busy life and are on the go all the time, and you drink caffeine to boost your energy and keep pushing through. That, in the long run, will deplete your health. The big missing link we see right now is that many people are talking about meditation and taking time out, but no one is really engaging the most powerful of all, the one God given power that we all have: Visualization and Self-hypnosis.
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