Combating coronovirus and other viruses and bacteria requires a more thoroughly designed strategic plan beyond sanitizer and hand washing.
Building an immune system that is able to withstand an onslaught of various contagions requires a collection of daily practices that go beyond a magic pill.
Ten Steps Towards an Empowered Immune System
1. PROPER HAND WASHING
Hand washing is the first line of defense however, in terms of boosting immunity, it is a superficial defense strategy. Do we need it, yes, but we don’t stop there. Proper hand washing requires water, soap and a clean drying cloth.
Wet your hands. Lather with soap and thoroughly scrub all surfaces of your hands and fingers for twenty seconds. Rinse under water. Dry with a clean towel. Voila!
Wash your hands before and after eating, before brushing your teeth, before and after going to the bathroom, before handling or caring for pets, after animal contact, before, during and after preparing food, before and after caring for someone who is not well, before and after grocery and retail shopping. You get the idea, wash your hands far more often than you probably are.
Our bodies reset, regenerate and heal while we are sleeping. Your immune system is going to suffer if your sleep is not optimal.
Create an evening routine and avoid screen time at least an hour (ideally two) before bedtime.
Avoid alcohol and heavy food before bedtime.
Create sleep ambiance in your bedroom. Use the bedroom for sleeping and not working or watching Netflix.
Use black out shades and turn off or obstruct all the little glowing lights from electronics.
3. DIGESTIVE HEALTH
Your digestive system is designed to protect you from foreign pathogens. The acidity in the stomach should be sufficient to burn and break down all entering pathogens. If you are getting sick regularly, be curious about the status of your digestive system.
Signs of digestive dysbiosis that would work against your immunity.
Pain in the area of your digestive organs
Resistant skin conditions
Resistant weight loss or gain
If you have a history of the above symptoms and/or are currently experiencing them, you may need to see a health care practitioner.
STOP taking PPIs (proton pump inhibitors). These products inhibit acid secretion but, in reality, you need a highly acidic environment in the stomach to support food breakdown and pathogen extermination. If you are struggling with acid reflux, you have insufficient acid not too much. PPIs also alter your unique microbiome (genetic material that composes bacteria, protozoa, viruses and fungi in the human body). A healthy microbiome supports your immune defenses.
Simple DIY strategies to support your digestive health today.
- Begin your day with 8-16oz of warm fresh squeezed lemon water and possibly a dash of raw apple cider vinegar. This supports pH balance which supports proper food and bacteria breakdown.
- Depending on the severity of acid reflux or challenges with food breakdown, you can consume one tablesphoon of raw apple cider vinegar in water 30 minutes before meals.
- Say a prayer of thanksgiving before eating. For real, praying before a meal, sends a signal to the brain to release digestive enzymes.
- Eat when you are hungry because hunger is a cue for your brain to prep the body and releases digestive enzymes.
- Chew your food thoroughly so that the stomach has less responsibility in the physical breakdown.
- Consume your meals slowly to avoid over eating which stresses the system.
- Breath slowly with mindfulness while you are eating.
If you practice these simple strategies, you will support your digestive system’s ability to properly breakdown and utilize food.
Honor the natural rhythm of your digestive system.
- Ingest (take in your food)
- Digest (breakdown the food)
- Rest (allow the body to recover).
Digestion is the greatest output of energy that your body performs. If you are an all day grazer, your body does not have proper breakdown and resting time. This is a drain on your system and leaves the body unnecessarily fatigued.
An adult body is 60% water. Water is the main chemical component of the body. Water not only supports the flow of blood and organ function, it is also your body’s primary conductor of energy. Water is imperative in keeping your life force flowing fluidly and fabulously. Your life force is your vitality. The Chinese call it your “chi,” in Sanskrit it is referred to as “ prana.” If your physical body is compromised, your vitality is at risk. Water has the power to improve your physical health and contributes to your the strength of your chi or prana.
A well hydrated body easily flushes toxins through the everyday normal processes of elimination through sweat, urine and poop. Keeping yourself hydrated supports the detoxification of your system so that you are less susceptible to viruses, bacterial overgrowth and germs.
Food is fuel and food is medicine. However, it’s not as simple as what we consume rather what our body can do with what we consume. My Functional Nutrition teacher and mentor, Andrea Nakayama, of Functional Nutrition Alliance says, “one person’s food is another person’s poison.” The internal terrain determines the unique differences in how food is broken down and utilized.
In general, a whole foods diet rich in vegetables, fruits and protein is the foundation for a healthy diet. Each time you eat, include a fat, fiber and a protein to ensure satiety so that you will not feel hungry shortly after eating. When we eat for satiety, we gain the ability to allow the body to rest in between meals.
Avoid sugar due to it’s inflammatory properties. If you have underlying health conditions, an anti-inflammatory diet is preferred. Eliminate grains, dairy, corn, sugar, soy and alcohol.
5. ORAL HYGIENE
This is easily by-passed in importance regarding immunity. Your mouth is the front door of your immune system and it should be well guarded.
The mouth has it’s own microbial ecosystem designed to protect you from foreign pathogens and initiate the digestive process.
Flossing, tongue scraping and brushing are wise daily habits that support immunity.
6. STRESS MANAGEMENT
My experience is that no one wants to talk about stress management. It’s not sexy. It feels like a downer conversation but stress is all up in your immune system’s business. Stress creates inflammation and inflammation is an immune response.
How do you manage stress?
If you aren’t managing it well, let’s talk because I can support you with 100% effective tools that are simple and will have a direct impact on your health and well-being.
When it comes to stress, learning how to modulate your breath is where we start.
The Four Qualities of a Healthy Breath
You’ll notice an overall calming of your nervous system when you purpose your breath to have these four qualities.
My all time favorite stress management tool comes from the HeartMath® Institute. HeartMath has scientifically proven that by utilizing their breathing techniques you can reduce the impact of stress on your system.
The techniques begins with this simple tool.
Heart Focused Breathing: Focus your attention on your heart and imagine the inhale and exhale to flow to and from the area of your heart.
HeartMath breathing techniques harmonize your heart rate variability which will decrease blood pressure and anxiety and improve resilience physiologically and emotionally.
Movement is the body’s opportunity to physically and energetically discharge stress and toxins and build resilience through strengthening it’s structure.
Muscle tone (especially abdominal muscles) assists with digestion by moving the food along the digestive system and breaking down the food in the stomach.
I think we over think the idea of “working out.” There are times in life when we don’t have time for a regular workout schedule but movement can be as simple as choosing to walk instead of driving, standing up while working instead of sitting down, full body shake outs, twenty reps of five different strength training exercises.
The body reads vigorous exercise as stress so IF you are under a significant amount of stress, the movement your system needs may be a down shifted version of what you expect of yourself.
Kaiut Yoga and Restorative Yoga are excellent modalities to alleviate the impact of a stress and bring balance to the mind body system which will positively impact your immunity.
8. TAP INTO NATURE’S REMEDIES
This could be an entire blog post so let me try to simplify with a list.
- Take a walk outside or go forest bathing if you live near trees. Forest bathing has proven to reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, reduces heart rate and blood pressure, speeds recovery time from illness, boosts activity of natural kller cells that fight infections and cancer.
- Elderberry or sambucus nigra. Flulike symptoms cleared four days faster for those taking 15ml 4xday of elderberry syrup than those taking a placebo. Elderberry contains anti-oxidants, tannins, vitamins A, B and C and flavanoids.
- Oregano oil has antiviral properties. You can take oregano oil as a capsule; combine with a carrier oil and rub into your palms, the soles of your feet and ear lobes; inhale; diffuse.
- Mushrooms contain a substance called beta-D-glucan, which supports the immune system. Common mushrooms are shitake, chaga, reishi, maitake. You can take them as a tea, tincture, powder, capsule or food.
- The herbal world is abundant in nature’s remedies. echinacea, goldenseal, turmeric, garlic, cloves, oregano. I recommend you find a local herbalist for an immune boosting formula. Herbs can be taken as tea, tincture, oil, capsule.
- Monolaurin: a plant based antiviral supplement made from lauric acid and glycerin. It is used to effectively treat a variety of strains of herpes, HIV and measles. You can read more about monolaurin supplements on these two sites.
9. POWER UP WITH VITAMINS AND MINERALS THAT HAVE IMMUNE BOOSTING QUALITIES ESPECIALLY WHEN TRAVELING AND AS SOON AS YOU FEEL YOURSELF GETTING SICK.
Vitamin A, C, D, E, zinc, selenium
10. DANA’S IMMUNE BOOSTING TONICS
10 oz of warm water
Fresh squeezed juice from one lemon
1 pressed garlic clove
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
Freshly grated ginger (finger tip size)
Raw honey 1 TBL
- SHIELD is my proprietary blend of essential oils with antiviral and antibacterial properties. If you would like to purchase a bottle, please contact me here.
I understand that the unknowns of Coronavirus are stress-inducing, but each one of us can take charge of our health so that we are less vulnerable to these super viruses and bacterias. We must remain calm and do what we can to self protect and build the foundations of a healthy immunity from the inside out.
I am here in service to you, your vitality and longevity so that you can fulfill your mission in life and enjoy the people you love.