How To Build A Super Strong Immune System

So I learnt something new a few weeks ago!

Did you know that there is such a thing as National Sickie Day?!

This is the day of the year that is most likely for people to take a sick day and it has been put down to a combination of post holiday blues, cold and flu season, and higher stress levels from the financial impact of Christmas.

If you, like many of my clients, view sick days as frustrating and getting in the way of being productive at work or giving you a larger work load to come back to once you’re well again, I thought I’d talk today about how to boost your immunity, reduce sick days and therefore boost your productivity!

Here are 7 things that will help build your immune system OVER TIME if done consistently. They are by no means a quick fix or mean you will never catch a cold again, but they will set you up with a nice strong immune system!

1.Exercise Regularly - Regular exercise has been shown to help strengthen your immune system. There is however such a thing as getting too much of a good thing with over training leading to a lowered immune system. Driving our sympathetic nervous system up too high can also work against our immune system and so the type of exercise and how much stress we are loading ourselves with particularly if we are already suffering chronic stress should be considered.

2.Sleep! - Getting the bare minimum of 7 hours sleep per night but also having a steady sleep routine and good sleep quality is super important for immunity. Coffee and alcohol levels should be considered when looking at improving sleep quality as well as cut off points before we sleep. For more on improving you sleep if your levels aren’t where they should be check out this  ARTICLE HERE !

3.Nutrition - A diet with lots of variety and primarily made up of whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, protein, and healthy fats goes a long way in terms of boosting immunity.

Fiber has been shown to have a positive impact on you immune system by boosting the variety and beneficial bacteria in the gut. To help check your current levels, it is recommended that women have around 30g per day and men 40g per day.

Deficiencies in vitamins and minerals can lower immunity and so a blood test to stay on top of this would be sensible to see you current levels and change diet or supplement to  boost your levels. In particular Vitamin C,D and Zinc play are key role in a healthy immune system.

4.Alcohol - The exact mechanism for this is unclear but we know that higher levels of alcohol are associated with a poor immune system. So use the recommended units of 14 per week as a guide to keep your intake in check.

5.Body Composition - If you are overweight or obese, losing weight and being in a calorie deficit has actually been shown to boost your immune system. If you are just carrying a little bit more weight and you want to lose some body fat, your immune system shouldn’t be too greatly impacted by dieting as long as you go fairly steady.

Too great a deficit can lower your immune system so if you do get ill, reducing the severity of a deficit would probably be sensible. And if you want the strongest immune system, being too lean can have a negative effect on immunity so no lower than 8-9% for men and 14-15% for women.

6.Protein Intake -Protein is the building block of antibodies! This means that people who are protein-deficient are more susceptible to infectious disease. Aim for a serving with every meal as a starting point but ideally I would recommend 1.5-2g per KG for women and 2g per KG for men.

7.Stress - Stress hormones like cortisol can actually weaken our immune system, so prioritising getting in enough time each week where we ramp up our parasympathetic nervous system and lower our fight or flight side is key for adequate stress management. Think about activities that take your mind away from work or day to day tasks and leave you feeling relaxed such as walks, nature, yoga, relaxing with friends, puzzles etc.

I hope that has given you a few tips you can start to implement to make sure you can fight off the bugs all year round without sickness getting in the way of life!

I hope you have a great week!

Lizzie

The One Percent Club

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