For most kids, a new school year means new clothes, new teachers, and new crushes. For parents, it signals another year of combatting runny noses, fevers, and sore throats. So what’s in your arsenal for keeping absences down and boosting immunity? By now, we all know Vitamin C, EmergenC, and fresh squeezed orange juice represent a strong line of defense. But are these familiar remedies really going to keep you and your family at your best this season?
Below are my top ten recommendations for staying healthy and fighting through illness.
Zinc is my number one immune boosting nutrient when it comes to the cold and flu season. Zinc can be found in a number of whole foods, but is most concentrated in oysters, spinach, meat and pumpkin seeds.
Selenium, like zinc, is closely tied to the immune system and is readily available in a variety of foods, particularly in Brazil Nuts. Just 3-4 nuts is all that’s needed to meet your recommended daily intake.
Glutamine helps individuals repair the gut, which, it turns out, is the primary location of the immune system! Glutamine can be found in meat and dairy such as cottage cheese, as well as in plant sources like spinach and beans. Glutamine can also be found in the supplement form, L-Glutamine.
Herbal Tea – specifically Licorice Root, Slippery Elm Bark and Marshmallow Root – help to coat and sooth sore throats. My favorite brand is Traditional Medicinals Organic Throat Coat.
Sodium (Sea Salt in this case) is loaded with healthful minerals. It helps to support the adrenals, which are especially under stress this time of year. Note: be sure to get the bulk of your sodium intake through sea salt, as opposed to packaged foods.
Bone Broth is jam-packed with minerals that do a body good. What’s more, it’s easy to make and incorporate into your day. Enjoy consuming it solo as a warm, soothing drink or use it to steam/sauté a meal for the family. Check out an awesome DIY recipe here.
Liver – yes, liver – is one of the newer ‘super foods’ replete with essential vitamins. And if you’re intimidated by the aroma of liver & onions, try grounding it down and mixing it into meal dishes and sauces. Alternatively, you can take liver pills.
Water accounts for 80 % of the human body, yet a shocking 75% of Americans suffer from dehydration each day. Ensuring that you get enough water to keep your system in tip-top shape – not to mention to help detox any of the bad guys menacing your internal workings – is essential.
Epsom Salt baths are not only relaxing (something your body desperately needs when it’s fighting for its health) but they also deliver magnesium, a key mineral in soothing achy muscles.
Rest is fundamental to staying healthy, yet is habitually neglected by those burdened with busy schedules. Your body, though, does the majority of its repair and recovery while you’re sleeping, so if you’re burning both ends of the candle, the odds of warding-off illness are not in your favor. When you’re feeling down & out take some extra time for yourself. Not only will you feel better, but your friends will thank you for not getting them sick, too!
