Common perceptions of the flu season paint the picture that people are at the mercy of it. Luckily, there are countless natural practices to raise resiliency and increase the immune abilities of the body with no side effects. Our human bodies are privy to self repair and immune resiliency, so it is natural that we enjoy these practices regularly.

If you’re looking to stay safe from internal and external concerns of this modern world, it is a good idea to begin with nurturing the natural foundations that our bodies require for optimal health. We discourage the use of negative thinking that limits our acceptance of our bodies natural healing mechanisms that are always occurring. The body wants to heal and regularly employs itself to do so. When we offer the right conditions, the body can heal the most quickly. We can do this any time of year, and flu season certainly reminds us of these necessities.

Check out these 5 tips to stay healthy and resilient during the cold and flu seasons, in no particular order:

1) Grounding a.k.a. Earthing

Touching the ground or a tree rooted into the ground provides astonishing health benefits. An article published in the NIH’s Natural Library of Medicine indicates that the effects of earthing even go beyond reduction of pain and improvements in sleep. Studies show grounding to effectively shift the body from a sympathetic state to a parasympathetic state, which helps remove stress and therefore lightens the load on suppressed immune systems. This nervous system shift is the environment change that allows the body to repair and rejuvenate, instead of continue to fight stress and anxiety which is known to weaken the immune system. [1]

2) Sun Exposure

Cynthia Aranow, MD, says “Vitamin D can modulate the innate and adaptive immune responses. Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased autoimmunity as well as an increased susceptibility to infection.” Sun exposure, even as little as 15 minutes a day, increases Vitamin D in the body, which has a direct correlation to the body’s immune response. There is no doubt that the sun is a healing force. When chemicals are used on the skin regularly or when using non-natural sunscreens, the sun’s reaction to those chemicals on top of your skin is often the problem itself. First look into what ingredients you are putting on and in your body and clean it up, then absorb as much sun as your body asks for! [2]

3) Breathing Patterns

The way you breath affects the quality and resiliency of your immune system. If you’re breathing shallowly or only through your mouth, you increase the levels of stress your body deals with and you lower your immune response. Breathing through the nose with emphasis to breathe into the belly helps the body to relax and regulate itself, therefore lowering your stress levels and raising your immune response. The more oxygen our body receives and absorbs, the more resilient we are. Don’t get caught up in poor breathing patterns that diminish your quality of life and increase your likelihood to need more serious repair, a.k.a. getting sick.

4) Food Quality

The quality of food we eat may be alarmingly more important than the quantity. So many people focus on how much food they eat over the holidays, but the reality is that the amount of poor ingredients in the food is a huge contributor to getting sick. Even if we eat high quality and authentic foods in large quantities, the body still has to process the extra food it didn’t need. Imagine adding on top of that a high toxicity load for the body to process. No wonder people may feel extra sick around this time of year!

5) Sleep Quality

A sleep researcher at the University of Colorado, Dr. Kenneth Wright, Jr. said “Everything from blood vessels to the immune system uses sleep as a time for repair.” Imagine that! We really can focus on improving our sleep quality and increase our immune system’s ability to remain resilient in such unknown times as these. If our bodies do not have the chance to repair properly each night, it is no wonder they would need extra catch up rest when faced with other immune system stressors.

There is no doubt that these modern times reflect a dyer need to improve our immune system function. We trust in falling back on age-old, scientifically backed methods that are natural, safe, effective and do not pose side effects at regular doses. It’s very difficult to experience side effects from touching the earth, getting a decent amount of sun exposure, breathing effectively, eating high quality food ingredients, and getting rejuvenating sleep, but it is very easy to experience the immunological benefits of these things!

The easiest solution to enhancing your immunity lies within the simple, natural, and foundational aspects of living that seem to have been culturally lost in the modernization of our environment. It is your birthright to take charge of your health and build your resiliency from the ground up, so that you can remain healthy all year long without relying on external products that have unhealthy side effects. You can choose wisely between a wide variety of additional tools and supplements that pose no risk and provide scientifically backed results by simply conducting a small amount of research into specific products that solve specific problems.

References:

1 M. Nathaniel Mead, Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth’s Surface Electrons, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/

2 Cynthia Aranow, MD, Investigator, Vitamin D and the Immune System, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3166406/