The best way to stay strong and vital during these colder winter months is to support our immune system, with five great recommendations inspired by Dr John Douillard and his three ‘Ninjas for immunity’ and the Harvard Medical School.

Adopt healthy-living strategies   –   Your first line of defence is to create a healthy lifestyle. Following general good-health guidelines is the best step you can take toward keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of the body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and supported by healthy-living strategies .  We have all heard the usual rules for healthy living, don’t smoke, have an optimistic mindset, eat a natural, unprocessed diet.  Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight and take measures to control your blood pressure.  Get adequate sleep and if you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation. Take steps to avoid infection, even as simple as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.  It may sound simple but together these changes to your lifestyle can make a big difference.

Avoid Sugar     –     I’ll bet you didn’t know that sugar has a direct and dramatic effect on your immune system for hours after you eat it.  According to Health Services at Columbia University, when you eat 100 grams of sugar, about as much sugar as you find in a 1 litre bottle of soda, your white blood cells are 40 percent less effective at killing germs. This can cripple your immune system for up to 5 hours after eating sugar.

Sugar impacts your white blood cells by directly competing with Vitamin C for space in those cells. It’s been discovered that white blood cells need Vitamin C to destroy bacteria and viruses.  The more sugar in your system, the less Vitamin C can get into your white blood cells. Sugar does not help your immune system fight infection at all, resulting in a weakened defences from infections.

More Sun equals Less Colds     –     People who get less sun exposure are twice as likely to get a cough, and three times as likely to get a runny nose, compared to those with the most sun exposure.  One study found that athletes who were exposed to adequate sun exposure had 50% fewer respiratory issues.  In another amazing study, kids who frequently got sick were given vitamin D3 daily for 6 weeks and tracked for six months.  During the six months after the vitamin D3 supplementation, there was a complete disappearance of any immune issues.

So what makes Vitamin D3 so critical?   Research has found the exact mechanism to explain how vitamin D3 boosts our immunity and winter protection.  Vitamin D3 activates immune boosting proteins that are in charge of our immunity. Without adequate sunlight, the immune system lies dormant.  Vitamin D3 regulates or balances, cytokine production. Without vitamin D3, the immune system’s T cells cannot go into battle and fight against an infection.  Put simply, if the immune system had a gas tank, the gas would be vitamin D3.

Support Digestive Strength     –     Many kinds of digestive imbalances contribute to a compromised immune system.  Any irritation or discomfort in the gut may affect the function of our gut bacteria that are responsible for assimilation of nutrients, immunity, and the removal of toxins.

Dr John recommends turmeric  to enhance digestive function, support healthy villi and increase bile and lymphatic flow.  Turmeric taken with black pepper – a common pairing in curries – increases its absorption by an astonishing 2000%, with no adverse effects!

Turmeric is an amazing herb that we all should be using for digestion and immunity.  Here’s why:

• Turmeric supports gallbladder function and bile flow. Bile flow in the gut is the intestines’ first immune responder against infection.
• Turmeric enhances the health of the inner skin of the stomach and intestinal villi where the immune system is most powerful.
• Turmeric boosts production of glutathione and super oxide dismutase (SOD), which support healthy detox and immunity.
• Turmeric, like vitamin D3, regulates cytokines that cause lymphatic congestion and a sluggish immune response.

Manage Stress     –     Stress is believed to be enemy number one for our health mostly because of its immune compromising impact. When we feel stressed, the adrenals are forced to produce an excess of stress-fighting hormones. These hormones are degenerative and compromise our immune systems.