With the cold and flu season coming we were able to chat with Dr. Grover on immunity. He’s an expert in health and wellness and he’s sharing his tips on how to stay healthy and boost your immune system.
I want to begin by saying this is a suggested list of many components that can help support the immune system. This is not intended to be a checklist that can add more stress. While during the pandemic we all got used to hand sanitizers and aggressive hand washing. We feel that using regular soap and warm/hot water is best way to cleanse the hands. Overuse of anti-bacterial and alcohol based sanitizers can reduce the natural barriers of our skin and dry it out. More importantly, it can reduce the beneficial diversity in the skin’s microbiome. This is not formal medical advice and does not substitute consulting with your primary care physician/provider.
- 3-4 liters of water daily
- Hydration helps with detoxification, kidney optimization, and providing our cells the molecules they require to function at their best.
- Water also helps to stimulate flow through the lymphatic system which is a cornerstone of our immune system.
- If you have fluid retention/congestive heart failure/kidney disease please proceed with caution and do not drink as much fluid without consulting your treating physician.
- 7-8 hours of sleep per night
- This is one of the most restorative and pro defense building steps we can all take to improve our chances during this chaos.
- Tips and tricks to enhance sleep: Avoiding blue light from screens 1-2 hours before bed, keeping the bedroom at 68 degrees F or cooler, using blue light glasses if needed, avoiding caffeine after 12-1 PM, exposing the eyes and skin to daylight first thing in the morning for at least 15 minutes.
- Avoiding alcohol in excess of 2 drinks for a male or 1 drink for a females as this can interrupt our sleep cycles and impede our abilities to stay asleep.
- Diet:
- Focusing on foods high in vitamins C, A, and phytonutrients that support the immune system. Choose more leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower), peppers, sweet potatoes, and squashes. Aim for 2 servings of fruits and 8 or more servings of vegetables! A serving is half a cup.
- Berries such as blueberries are excellent antioxidants and are low glycemic. Choose from black-, blue-, straw-, or raspberries in your daily fruit consumption.
- Microbiome up-regulation: this can be done by having prebiotic foods (i.e. unsweetened yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and tempeh are just a few examples). If unable to intake these foods, a probiotic supplement can be taken. This will help improve the immune system overall.
- Mindfulness activities done daily:
- Split this up into a few minutes of simple deep breathing, meditation, alternate nostril breathing, or 4-7-8 breathing 3-4 times a day.
- Gratitude journaling- making a short daily list (written or not) of a few things we are thankful for will help keep the glass half full and our mindsets more optimistic. This can help reduce stress and create opportunities for growth during this trying time.
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/324417#benefits (4-7-8 breathing)
- 30 mins exercise or 7500-10,000 steps daily
- Excellent opportunity to utilize local/state parks, neighborhoods, and walking trails.
- As weather cools down, dress in layers to add warmth while being able to enjoy the winter wonderland of our great state. Use face coverings with scarfs or the like to warm air as we breath it in. This will help keep the airway moist and less prone to infections.
- Exercise helps with detoxification by improving lymphatic flow (which increases immunological factors to “clean up” our organ systems)
- Incorporating 3 days minimum of body weight resistance/weight training a week is a great way to increase our metabolism, improve sweating—>improve detoxification, and help us secrete natural endorphins and immune boosting hormones.
- Research has also shown physical activity improves sleep which thereby improves immunity!
- Look out for a separate story/post on ways to do this at home later!
- Saunas/ steam rooms are great to open our skins pores and sweat it out! This is our natural “detox” mechanism.
- Community:
- We are creatures of society and require human interaction to survive. Look at the Birminghambloomfield moms Instagram account for info on local activities to boost our weekends and social time with fun for the whole family. Consider joining sports teams or volunteer organizations, especially as the holidays roll around.
- Supplements/vitamins/herbs:
- Omega 3 supplements. Best to focus on getting from diet. Foods such as walnuts, flax seeds, hemp seeds, and fatty fish such as wild mackerel and salmon are great sources). If looking to supplement, focus on finding brands that have a ratio of 2:1 of EPA:DHA for anti-inflammatory effects and increasing immune function.
- Vitamin C- Numerous studies have shown this vitamin to be helpful to our immune systems. Look to foods such as citrus fruit, red peppers, broccoli, kale, and sweet potato first to get this powerful booster. Preparations such as “Emergen-C” can be helpful as well. If able to buy without sugar preferable.
- Vit D3 4000 IU daily (or at least 2000 IU daily).
- Multivitamin -preferably non gummies, as these carry extra sugar which can turn down our immune systems.
- Zinc lozenges – if patients have cough/cold symptoms or sore throat, these can be alleviating and improve immunity during any viral illness.
- Astragalus 500 mg per day – if patients are infected w/ a viral infection or at increased risk of being exposed to patients with COVID 19, Influenza type a or b, or any other potential virus.
- Turmeric/Curcumin with bioperine (black pepper) 500 mg at minimum – this is a work horse with both anti-inflammatory and anti-septic effects. Both properties are important during this crucial time.
- Berberine 500 mg three times a day or at least 1000 mg daily- great way to improve immune function, improve cholesterol metabolism, and maintain blood glucose levels.
- Quercetin, at least 500 (up to 1000 mg per day). Excellent anti-viral agent.
COMING SOON! Look out for IV drip and vitamin/anti-oxidant shot options coming shortly to our practice!
