020 - A Few of My Favorite Tips for Supporting Your Immune System

Hey, hey friends! Today we are going to be talking about ways to support our immune systems! 

We are now in that time of year where colds and flu germs are everywhere and it seems like most everyone has a sniffle or cough. Our family has already been hit with sickness this season, which is really what inspired me to talk about this today! There is no way to 100% guarantee that we won’t get sick, but there are a few simple things that we can do to support our bodies own defenses to hopefully reduce the chance of getting sick and then to help lessen the duration and severity of the illness when we do get it. 

Wash your hands

This one is rather obvious, but honestly, we overlook it a lot! I used to work in a hospital and one of the things that would measure is hand-washing practices and you would be appalled at how low that score was sometimes. We just get in a hurry and don’t think about all the surfaces we are touching before we eat a snack or touch our mouth and nose. 

Also, just a side-note here but studies have shown that using regular soap and water is just as effective at removing germs as using anti-bacterial soaps, and has the added benefit of not killing the good bacteria on your skin. Also, be careful of some of the hand-sanitizers out there. A lot of them contain harmful, endocrine system disrupting ingredients. I have a few favorites that don’t have any harmful ingredients because sometimes you don’t have access to soap and water, and need a hand sanitizer.

These are great options: Dr. Bonner’s Hand Sanitizing Spray, Honest Co Hand Sanitizing Spray, Branch Basics Mini Foaming Wash

Take a quality multivitamin

It’s common for us to have some nutrient gaps this time of year. Most of us find ourselves gravitating towards warmer, more comforting type foods rather than things like salads and fruits. And while we do need to make sure we are getting most of our nutrients from our food, it’s not a bad idea to add a quality multivitamin in as well to help your body function well!

Here are a few of my favorites: Mary Ruth Organics Liquid Multivitamin, Mary Ruth Organics Kids Multivitamin Gummies, Ancient Nutrition Immune Support Multivitamin, MegaFood Multivitamin for Women, MegaFood Multivitamin for Men

Take immune-boosting supplements

In addition to a multivitamin, there are other nutrients you can take to give your immune system a little extra boost. 

• Elderberry syrup is a powerhouse supplement! It has been shown to not only help defend your body against illness but also help your body heal more quickly when you do get sick. There are several great brands of syrup and gummies out there or you can make your own. Follow the recommended dosage daily for prevention and then increase your dosage accordingly during times of sickness.

A few great brands are: Mary Ruth’s Elderberry Syrup, Sambucol Elderberry Syrup, Sambucol Elderberry Gummies

• Vitamin D is so vital to good overall health, not just the immune system. If you are deficient (get tested), you may need to take a vitamin D supplement in addition to your multivitamin. If you live in a warmer climate, the best way to increase your levels is with sun exposure. Just be sure to use an app like D-minder to make sure you are doing so safely! Also, be sure to consult with your physician to have your levels tested before taking high dosages of Vitamin D.

Some great options: Klaire Labs Vitamin D3, Seeking Health Vitamin D, Seeking Health Liquid Vitamin D

• Vitamin C is commonly known for its immune-boosting properties. Also called ascorbic acid or sodium ascorbate (cut with baking soda to be less tart) can be taken daily during cold and flu season for prevention and also taken at an increased dosage during times of illness to shorten duration and severity. The dosage amounts here are dependent on the person, so start with the recommended dosage on the package and then you can increase a tiny amount until you reach your personal tolerance level (you will know because your tummy will start gurgling).

• Zinc is a mineral that a lot of people are deficient in. It is very beneficial to the body in that it supports the immune system, acts as an anti-inflammatory and helps promote growth and repair. 

• Probiotics are so important for good gut health, which in turn promotes good overall health! If you remember, most of the cells that make up your immune system are housed in your gut - so poor gut health = poor immune health! 

This one by Mary Ruth’s is my current favorite: Mary Ruth Organics Liquid Probiotic

*If this feels like a really overwhelming list, there are great supplements out there that have a combo of most of these ingredients. This one by Mary Ruth’s is my favorite!

Home Remedies

• Detox baths* are a favorite of mine and they help with many things like relaxation and better sleep, but most importantly, they help your body detox! And when you are sick, your body can use some support on getting those toxins out! Soaking in a detox bath for 20+ minutes can help promote healing and help to shorten the duration of your sickness. Plus, it will help you rest better! Just make sure you drink plenty of water while in the bath and at least 16oz or more after you get out. 

*Detox baths can be made by adding 1-2 cups pure Epsom salt, ½ cup apple cider vinegar, ½ cup baking soda, and a few drops of essential oils, (lavender is my fav) to a hot bath. 

• Apple Cider Vinegar has numerous health benefits. Studies have shown that ACV has antimicrobial properties, which means that it can kill bacteria and viruses that make us sick; and it is also anti-inflammatory. So not only can it help kill harmful bugs, it can help our bodies recover more quickly and reduce the symptoms of being sick. There are several ways to administer ACV but a couple of my favorites are: dilute 1:1 with water and gargle - this is especially helpful if you have a sore throat or a lot of mucus build-up;  make a fire cider with hot water, ACV, honey, ginger, and cinnamon - this helps so much with sore throats and swollen glands. 

• Honey + garlic are both strong antimicrobials and anti-inflammatories. I’m not going to try to sugar-coat this - this is gross! BUT when you are really sick and desperate, you don’t care as much! :) When you start to feel like you are getting sick, take a spoonful of honey (manuka has the most healing properties) mixed with a minced clove of garlic. I did this last year when I had the flu and I feel like it really helped to shorten the duration. I was only down about 3 days versus the usual 5-7.

• Last but definitely not least is Bone Broth! Y’all know how much I love bone broth! It is just so beneficial to your gut health and rebuilding the intestinal wall - which only helps to support your overall immune system! I think it’s a great idea to drink a cup regularly throughout the winter, or at the very least cook with it instead of regular chicken stock. And it makes for such a warm, comforting drink when you are sick - especially if you get a GI bug and can’t tolerate many other things. 

Sleep and hydrate!

Again, this one is common sense yet we so often just don’t do it! When you start to feel like you are getting sick, take as much as you can off your schedule and rest. I know that isn’t always possible, and honestly, it’s not something that we like to do, but if you can get some quality sleep in the beginning stages of getting sick, it will help your body defend itself much more quickly. I know that a lot of times we don’t want to miss work or whatever social events we have going on, but when we choose to just keep pushing our bodies and trying to manage the symptoms (which by the way is your body’s way of  trying to fight the sickness), we end making it so much harder on ourselves, not to mention we expose other people to whatever germs we have. I know it isn’t always possible to just cancel everything and stay home, but it’s worth doing as much of that as you can!

*Bonus tip - Be mindful of your sugar intake!

I know it’s so difficult this time of year because there are sweets everywhere we go (I’m sure there is absolutely no correlation between that and the increase in sickness during the holiday months! Wink, wink!). Obviously, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t eat any sugar, but just as a reminder - excess glucose in the body will feed the bad bacteria you are hoping to get rid of as well as raise your inflammation levels, which will make you feel worse. So if you’re hoping to avoid sickness or you are already feeling sick, be mindful of how much sugar you are having! 

And hopefully, this goes without saying, but listen to your body and if you feel like you need to see a physician or if you’re symptoms are continuing to get worse instead of better, please go see your doctor! 

Stay well, my friends! 

*Disclosure: Amazon links found in my posts are affiliate links, so I will earn a small commission when you purchase using those links. Thank you for your help in supporting the podcast!

018 - How I Supported My Body Through Insulin Resistance

Hi friends! In last week’s episode we talked about ways to keep our blood sugar levels stable and why that is something that we need to be paying attention to (If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, hit pause and go do that real quick, so that we are all on the same page!). In that episode, I mention Insulin Resistance as something that can cause blood sugar imbalance, and that it is becoming more and more common.

Insulin Resistance occurs when our cells are no longer sensitive to insulin. Insulin is a hormone produced by the beta cells in our pancreas to help allow our cells to utilize glucose. In last week’s episode, I gave the analogy of insulin being like a key that opens the door for glucose to go into our cells - and in someone with Insulin Resistance, it’s like that key just stops working. 

There are a few different theories as to why this happens. Sometimes it can be due to an overproduction of insulin caused by a continual release of glucose into the bloodstream. This is often, but not always, due to lifestyle and dietary choices. When we eat mostly carbohydrates - especially simple carbohydrates that break down very quickly into glucose - then our pancreas is continually releasing insulin as well. When this happens chronically, over time our cells simply become so desensitized to the glucose, that they stop functioning properly and can’t utilize the glucose as they should. Therefore we end up with high levels of both glucose and insulin in the bloodstream and our cells don’t get the energy that they need to function well.

 Another cause of Insulin Resistance, that research is showing as more and more prominent, is that chronically high levels of inflammation in the body actually cause damage to the insulin receptors on the cells. So, in this case, it’s not so much that the cells are desensitized and can’t respond to the insulin, it’s that they are actually damaged and can’t respond to the insulin. Although this is a different root cause, it results in the same issue of high levels of glucose and insulin in the bloodstream.

As we know, inflammation in the body is caused by so many different things - inflammatory foods like sugar, artificial and highly processed foods, food colorings and dyes, infections in the body, dysbiosis in the gut, chronic stress, lack of sleep, and so much more. Now research is showing that having high levels of this inflammation is actually doing damage to our bodies on a cellular level.

I actually experienced this myself several years ago when I went looking for answers to my hormone imbalance issues. My labs came back that I had both Insulin Resistance and PCOS. It really surprised both me and my physician, because I didn’t really have any of the other symptoms that, at that time, were thought to accompany IR and PCOS, but as I would come to find out later, my body was very inflamed. I had really poor gut health - dysbiosis and leaky gut, a candida overgrowth, endometriosis (which is an inflammatory disease), years of low-level chronic stress, and a long history of not eating well or really caring for my body well at all. I just didn’t know what I didn’t know! And for me personally, my genetics mixed with all of those things created a perfect storm for IR and then a cascade of hormone imbalance as a result. Thankfully, both insulin resistance and chronic inflammation are things that can be positively affected by lifestyle change, and with the blessing of my physician, that’s exactly what I did. She asked me to come back in 6 months to recheck my levels and thankfully, my insulin levels were back within the normal range and my cycles had also returned to normal intervals, as well. 

If you are struggling with Insulin Resistance or suspect that something is imbalanced with your blood sugar levels or hormones, I strongly encourage you to work with a physician and get some lab work done. Depending on your practitioner, you may need to specifically request that they check your insulin levels, as that isn’t always part of routine lab work. 

As far as how to manage, and possibly reverse Insulin Resistance with lifestyle changes, all of the tips that I shared in last week’s episode apply here as well. Things like eating balanced meals at regular intervals, regular exercise, getting quality sleep, and managing and reducing your stress levels will all help to stabilize the amount of glucose in your bloodstream and lower inflammation. 

There are a few specific recommendations that I would add for someone looking to manage IR though. Your key focus is going to be on reducing inflammation in your body and helping your body to become sensitive to insulin again. This is very important so that you don’t progress further into prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes. 

Be sure to always have a protein and fat with every meal and snack and try to reduce your intake of carbohydrates overall. 

Some people call this a low-carb diet. There are also paleo and keto diets that are similar in nature, but overall I’m just talking about when you look at your plate, or the portions of what you are eating, having carbs only account for about 30-40% of your food.

Eliminate simple, processed carbs altogether.

You need carbs, but you do not need simple carbs full of inflammation-raising ingredients. Stick to high fiber veggies, some nutrient-rich root veggies like sweet potatoes, and whole forms of non-gluten grains like brown rice or quinoa. 

Engage in strength-training exercises at least 2x per week.

We’re not talking about anything crazy here, but research has shown that doing bodyweight and added weight exercises helps to increase our cell’s sensitivity to insulin. You can click here to find a few of my favorite online strength training workouts to do at home or there are tons of classes at your local gym if you’d rather have some personal instruction and work out with other people. 

Add anti-inflammatory herbs and supplements to your diet.

• Make sure you are taking a good whole-food vitamin to fill in any nutrient gaps.

• Supplement with extra vitamin D and magnesium, if needed. Both can help to increase insulin sensitivity. 

• Cook with turmeric, ginger, and garlic which can all help to lower inflammation levels and they’re delicious! You can also get or make teas with inflammation lowering ingredients, too!

Work with a professional for more support.

While Insulin Resistance can be reversible, it isn’t always easy. It takes concentrated effort and some research, but it is so worth it! If you feel like it’s too overwhelming for you or you would just like personalized support as you make changes to your lifestyle, reach out to someone that can help. This is something that personally I am passionate about and have done a lot of research on, so I would love to work with you one-on-one if you feel you need more support. Click here to schedule a free 30-min initial session with me!

I hope that you have learned something from my story that is encouraging to you and that these tips help you see that there are things you can do to help heal your body!