7 Easy Ways to Naturally Support Immune System Function
With the COVID19 pandemic AND the coming onset of cold and flu season, paying attention to our immune system and boosting its function is more important than ever.
From wearing face masks, practicing social distancing, getting rest and eating right, to taking immune boosting supplements and herbs, taking measures to prevent and overcome internal and external assaults to our body is consuming everyone’s attention.
So let’s take a look at how the human immune system functions.
What is the immune system, and how does it work?
Immunity at large is an automatic function mediated by many of the body's most sensitive and versatile systems, such as the nervous system.
How does the nervous system interact with the immune system?
The nervous system acts as a sensory radar, detecting incoming threats and orchestrating sophisticated responses – like sneezing when the invader is airborne, or coughing when it has entered the bronchial tree or the lungs.
There's also the mucous membrane, which excretes profuse amounts of mucous in an effort to entrap, as well as deliver antibodies to further eradicate invading antigens.
The largest component of your immune system: your skin
Perhaps one of the most important sensors is our integument or skin, which covers our entire physical body.
Skin is the largest component of the immune system and can respond in various ways to respond to potential invaders, such as itching and swelling. Our largest internal immune barrier is the gut, which is continually under assault mainly by what we eat and drink.
With so many routes of compromise it’s easy to see why immunity has to be automatic in function, controlled primarily by the nervous system and backed up by our other immune responses. Immune function is interactive and dynamic, constantly reacting to its environment, which is loaded with organisms and particulate matter, and what we’ve ingested. While immune function is primarily automatic, here’s 7 easy ways to help your immune system do its work naturally:
7 Easy Ways to Naturally Support Immune System Function
1. Eat easy to digest and un-altered foods
Avoid offending foods that are known to irritate you and your immune system, such as genetically engineered and altered foods. Try to consume mainly organic foods and natural substances.
2. Keep nasal passages clear for optimal function
Keep your nasal passages, pharynx and throat clean by using a nasal wash or neti pot daily. We recommend doing so at least once per day. If using a neti pot, place a half teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of baking soda into water in the pot. Tip your head to the side over a basin and let the solution flow into one nostril at a time, letting the solution drain out of the other nostril. Then repeat on the other side with the other nostril.
3. Add fully mineralized salt to your diet
Use natural, fully mineralized salt. Salt is nature's purifier and naturally inhibits the growth of many organisms, bacteria and/or viruses. Include a pinch or third of a teaspoon onto your food or in a glass of water periodically throughout the day. We do not recommend using table salt, however. Fully mineralized salt is more compatible with body chemistry function and supplies much-needed minerals and nutrients to the body. Given its mineral content, fully mineralized salt tends to be either gray or colored (like red, pink, black). White salt – whether from the land or sea – does not have the same amount of minerals.
4. Stay warm as temperatures shift
Maintain proper body temperature. This is tantamount to our health and well-being. If we get too cold, the immune system reacts by secreting mucus, or shivering to generate heat, or sneezing to excrete offending organisms which are always present. If we’re too warm, we go to another extreme by excreting the salts that are a natural barrier against most organism overgrowth in the system.
5. Eat raw honey
Eat raw honey. Raw honey is a known anti-microbial agent. It is very effective in the short-term bolstering of the immune system. Raw honey can help minimize some organisms’ overgrowth.
6. Drink a ton of water (more than you think)
Stay properly hydrated. If you see that your skin is dry, then internally you don’t have enough water in your system to keep the blood flowing smoothly and systems operating effectively, including elimination. Elimination also contributes to the immune function of our guts.
7. Get more than enough rest
Adequate rest is critical for healthy body function. But rest doesn't just mean sleep -- rest can include any activity where your nervous system is relaxed and your body is not registering stress.
8. Add immune-supporting herbs into your daily routines
Herbs and plants are natural healers that grow with the seasons and are available to support healthy immune functioning all year round. When evaluating which herbs to pick, it’s important to understand that herbal medicine should treat the root issue of immune system weakness, not just symptoms like allergies or illness. Supporting your immune system is a full-body job. If you’d like pre-formulated options, we have 30+ years of experience and have developed tried and tested formulas that support healthy immune function from the root.
Want some help finding the right herbs?
Fall Special: Immune Boosting Formulas - 15% off (thru November 15)
- Immune System Cellular Regeneration – assists your body’s immune system by providing key nutrients to improve the functioning of the spleen, thymus gland and liver.
- Immune System Optimizer - helps the body naturally fight fatigue and low energy associated with viral overload and toxic medications by working at the organ and glandular level to assist in higher output and better quality auto-immune agents
- Endocrine System Nutrients - supports the glands of the endocrine system, primarily the thymus, adrenals and pituitary. Good to use during seasonal transitions.
- Thyroid Plus - supports the thyroid gland and increases energy, metabolism and improving circulation. Good to use during seasonal transitions, as the thyroid gland is responsible for the body’s adaptation to changing seasons.
Keep your Fall/Winter Health Kit stocked with our effective and easy to use encapsulated formulas: