Tag: immune system

Your Immune System

On By Cultivate WellnessIn disease, family, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, supplement, wellnessLeave a comment

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Flu season is rampant this year, with a strain that isn’t well matched to the vaccine (current estimates place it at about a 10-30% match). While getting the flu vaccine is at the top of my family’s to-do list every fall (here is a good overview on why we believe in the flu vaccine), there are other things we do to support our immune system, like eating healthy foods, getting exercise, and supplementing with Vitamin D. I also take a daily zinc supplement (read here about why zinc is important).

There can be many reasons for why our immune system isn’t functioning at optimal levels, including drinking too much alcohol, having high stress levels, and eating too many refined carbs/sugars. While getting sick from common viruses like colds and enterovirus (aka: stomach flu) is quite normal, if you find yourself getting sick often, it’s worth it to get checked out for underlying causes.

Even though I know all the things to do in order to keep my immune system in good shape, I still get sick a couple of times a year. We can’t always nip our stress in the bud as quickly as we would like, or it’s the holidays and we are partaking in more rich food and alcohol than we normally do (not to mention our exercise routines tend to go out the window in November and December). Keep this handy info page taped to your fridge or mirror to remind yourself of all the ways that you can naturally help your immune system be stronger.  And remember, this information should never take the place of a discussion with your doctor or trusted health professional, and never start a supplement without first talking to your medical professional.

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Vitamin C Smoothie (Great For Your Immune System)

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, health, Health and wellness, holiday, Nutrition, Recipes, thanksgiving1 Comment

Vitamin C Smoothie (Immune system)

This week is bound to be super busy and possibly stressful, especially those of us who celebrate Thanksgiving. With increased levels of stress come increased rates of cold and flu. If you’re traveling by airplane, consider your risk even higher (one study published in the Wall Street Journal showed a 20% increased risk). And if you’re visiting family and there are many of you staying in the same house, usually someone ends up sharing germs, too. So how do we navigate the holiday season without succumbing to feeling miserable? One thing we can do is make sure we are feeding ourselves with nourishing and immune boosting foods. Foods high in Vitamin C pack an antioxidant punch, which helps lower your risk of getting sick. Vitamin C also helps regenerate other antioxidants in your body. Fiber is another important nutrient, as it helps lower inflammation. And yogurt, which is a probiotic rich food, helps keep our gut flora in check. Because about 80% of our immune system resides in our guts, we want to make sure it’s always balanced and healthy.

For the past week I’ve been having a green smoothie every day for breakfast. It starts my day off on the right foot and by the time I’m finished drinking it I’ve already had at least three servings of antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables. This helps keep me healthy and sets me up for wanting to continue eating healthy throughout the day. Since I know I’ll be enjoying a lot of my favorite foods at Thanksgiving, this is a good way to ensure I’m getting proper nutrition leading up to the long weekend.

Try this Vitamin C smoothie and let me know what you think. Feel free to customize it for your own needs (swap out spinach for kale, for instance).

Enjoy!

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Your Immune System — Carrot Ginger Turmeric Soup

A Few Of My Favorite Things 2017

THANKSGIVING

Your Immune System — Carrot Ginger Turmeric Soup

On By Cultivate WellnessIn breakfast, Cooking, diet, disease, Health and wellness, holiday, Nutrition, Recipes2 Comments

We’re in it, people. It’s cold and flu season and everywhere you go someone has a cough, the sniffles, a sore throat, or worse. How do we keep ourselves healthy and energetic all season long? One approach is through our food choices. Excess sugar, processed carbs and too much alcohol will suppress our body’s ability to fight off infection (which is a shame because aren’t the holidays MOSTLY ABOUT SUGAR, CARBS AND COCKTAILS?!?!). I’m not advocating giving up your favorite holiday treats, because part of what keeps us healthy is not being stressed out. Also spending time enjoying ourselves with people we love is pretty high up on the list for immune-boosting activities, and if we are hyper focused on every little thing we put in our mouths, we will ruin it for ourselves and those around us.

However, what I would like to encourage is making the majority of your food choices healthy ones. So, when you are cooking/eating at home, which should be most of the time, make those meals impactful. Start every day with a healthy breakfast because it helps keep the rest of the day on track (click here, here, here or here for great breakfast choices). For lunch, choose something like a big salad with good quality proteins like chicken and chickpeas, and choose olive oil and vinegar dressing. Or, make a huge batch of soup on Sunday and eat it all week long. I love the hearty lentil soup I make all winter.

You want high quality protein, you want good sources of fiber and fat (the good kind, like olive oil, those found in nuts, coconut oil, and organic and grass fed meats). And pile on the vegetables and fruits. The more antioxidants you eat the better. They will reduce inflammation which will help fight off cold and flu bugs. They also contain natural antiviral and antibacterial agents.

Check out this recipe for Carrot Ginger Turmeric soup. Carrots are very high in vitamin A which is essential for a healthy immune system. Ginger and turmeric contain powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. It’s warming and soothing for the coldest days and will keep you nourished.

Stay tuned for more immune boosting recipes and information!

*If you don’t like coconut oil or are allergic, feel free to sub with olive oil.

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The Importance of Zinc

On By Cultivate WellnessIn Cooking, diet, disease, eating, health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, supplement, wellness2 Comments

Zinc is a trace mineral which acts as an antioxidant in our bodies. It plays a role in cell division, cell growth, wound healing, and the breakdown of carbohydrates. Since our bodies don’t make zinc, we need to get it through our diet or supplementation.

Why is zinc important? Because it’s an antioxidant there are many benefits to getting enough zinc. I’ve outlined some of them in the handy infographic below.

My doctor recommended taking no more than 50 mg of elemental zinc to boost my immune system. You would be hard pressed to get that much zinc from diet alone. 

What happens when you don’t get enough zinc? Lots of stuff can occur, such as low fertility, low immune system, depression/anxiety, and decreased wound healing, for starters. 

Read and print out this handy guide on zinc for more information.

***I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on t.v. Please ask your doctor or qualified medical professional before starting any supplements!

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Nutrition Niblet of the Week

On By Cultivate WellnessIn health, Health and wellness, Nutrition, wellnessLeave a comment

peas and carrots in a flower

This week in my Nutrition Consultant program, we are learning about the digestive system.  There are a lot of buzzwords: villi, microvilli, brush border, bolus, chyme.  The digestive system isn’t sexy and fun, to be sure.  But it’s very important to know how your digestive system works, because about 80% of your immune system resides in your gut.  If your digestion is off or you aren’t feeding it the things it needs, then your immune system could be less than optimal.

Since I want to keep these tidbits easy and quick to digest (see what I did there?), I’m going to focus on one thing today.  If there’s only one thing you change in how/what you eat, it should be S L O W I N G   D O W N.  Digestion starts before you even put a piece of food in your mouth — it actually starts in the brain.  When you anticipate eating, your brain starts sending signals to your body to prepare.  That’s why when you see something delicious, your mouth waters.  It’s amazing what your body is capable of doing when you get out of its way.

When you eat too quickly and under stressful circumstances, you don’t allow for proper digestion. If you, however, chew your food slowly and thoughtfully, then the saliva is able to break down the food the way it’s supposed to before it starts its journey through the rest of your digestive system.

Chew your food slowly, and chew a bunch of times before you swallow.  Eat in peace.  Don’t gulp.  Lose your stress for a few minutes so your body isn’t in fight or flight mode.  When you do this, you allow your digestive system to work the way it was meant to, digesting the food in the proper way at each stop (mouth, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, etc).  When you eat in a hurry or under stress, or in the car or standing up or in front of the t.v. (we’ve all done it) then the food isn’t being digested properly, the nutrients aren’t being absorbed appropriately, and you can end up with chronic indigestion, food sensitivities, and a sub optimal immune system.

More information to come, but for today, just try to slow down when you eat. Be mindful and give a little thanks.  And let me know how it works for you!