Nutrition for Immune Support & Boosts

But first the basics…..

SLEEP! Nutrition and food is my best topic and rant but I'm still starting with getting those quality zzzzs! Do what you can to protect a bedtime routine, poor quality or lack of sleep compromises your immune function. It also makes us more likely to make poor food and drink choices, feel unable to cope with stress, and move less. Prioritise and protect it!

Another to touch on first is stress management. Similarly to sleep, high or chronic stress depletes immune function leaving you more vulnerable to viruses, and more likely to suffer with symptoms for a longer period of time. The body has limited resources to put towards functions, if it is constantly dealing with elevated stress then other important jobs for the organs and cells, such as defending against viral or bacterial threats, will not be optimised or battle ready.

I wanted to highlight some specific nutrients and supplements which are good all round immunity boosters, the key players if you will, with deficiencies in these nutrients being linked to lowered immune function.

1. Vitamin D (we all know this...the sunshine vitamin - get outside, but it is November in the UK so it’s a miracle if we got enough right now!)

   • Food sources; oily fish like salmon, egg yolks, mushrooms - but we need the extra boost via supplements too in winter.

2. Vitamin A.

   • Food sources: Liver is an incredible food source of this, and baisicaly a natural multivitamin itself if you ask me! Oily fish/cod liver oil, egg yolks, orange and yellow veggies like sweet potato & carrots

3. Vitamin C

   • Food sources: citrus fruits, broccoli, leafy greens (note: lots lost in heat of cooking, if you have cold/flu symptoms higher dose via supplements likely useful)

4. Zinc

   • Food sources: good quality free range meat, seeds such as pumpkin, seafood, beans and pulses (if supplementing best to find a zinc picolinate, and some contain copper too which is good for mineral balance)

5. Selenium

   • Food sources: Again oily fish, brazil nuts, you only need 2-3 a day to get in a good dose of this too!

6. Pro-biotics

   • Food sources: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, kefir, yogurt, apple cider vinegar (I have an article on my top 5

Some tops foods to include where you can....

• Garlic

• Ginger

• Lemon

• Turmeric

• Leafy greens

• And a wide variety of veg and fruits (think vitamins, minerals, and fibre for gut health)

• Fermented foods

• Oily fish

• Liver

• Other healthy fats like coconut oil

*Extra tip.....

Get some fresh air and sunshine on your face if possible, it's about a lot more than just vitamin D!