Immune Support & Resiliency

How do you support people with immune health and resiliency at Collective Health Center?

When it comes to immune support, there are so many different methods and techniques that you can do to help your immune system fight off any and all unwanted viruses. In this mid-pandemic life we are living right now, immune support and resiliency is more important than ever before for ourselves and those around us. While Immune SUPPORT are the things that we can do to help our immune system, Immune RESILIENCY are the things that our internal body is already doing to help our immune system. Immune resiliency happens when our immune system fights off illness or bacteria within our bodies without us having any reactions to it – your body is fighting off a cold and you never knew you even had it! How amazing is that?

If you follow me on social media, you’ll see that I dedicated the month of January 2022 to Immune Support information. One thing that I love to bring to my patients through my practice is the use of botanicals and herbs for medicinal purposes. With Immune Support, specifically, there are so many wonderful botanicals that we use daily that can help us rebuild and strengthen our immune system, most of which we don’t even realize are doing that!

My favorite herb of late is the tulsi, or holy basil. It is such a wonderful herb for the times we are in as it is calming, yet also boosting. Tulsi is an adaptogen with stress supportive properties as well as antimicrobial and immunomodulatory properties that help our immune system. Personally, I try to drink one cup of tea with tulsi leaves in it on most days and it really makes my soul and body so, so happy! While there is no one specific herb that can help with our immune support and resilience, I love to make combinations of different botanicals and herbs that work uniquely with my patient’s lifestyle and specific situation. As a category, adaptogen herbs, or herbs that help the body adapt to stress play a pretty big role in my practice for this specific topic.

While there are so many ways we’ve been told (especially as of lately) to keep our bodies resilient and healthy, here are some logical, well-researched, and great reminders of the things that we can control in our surroundings that can help us have a stronger immune system and healthier lifestyles!

1.       Do not smoke. While smoking is the number one cause of cancer, we also see it causing other negative effects to our bodies such as our lungs. Within my practice, I have seen an uptick in smoking with the legalization of marijuana in Virginia.
2.       Exercise regularly. By keeping our body active and fit, we are helping our immune system to stay on top of its game whenever illness may rear its head.
3.       Wash your hands frequently. This is something we have heard so many times amid this pandemic, it’s a little alarming to have been told this so frequently. The minimum amount of time required for good handwashing techniques is 20 seconds. Sing your favorite song’s chorus to help you make sure you’re getting the full 20 seconds in and scrubbing down well! My go-to song is the chorus of Jolene by Dolly Parton! 
4.       Eat a balanced, nutritious diet. We’ve all been told to eat our veggies at some point in our lives and it truly does make a world of difference! Some additional items to keep on hand for immune support are foods containing Vitamin C and Zinc. I see a lot of patients with deficiencies in these two elements so I often have patients supplement with some type of multimineral that will provide a reasonable amount for supportive vitamins.
5.       Maintain supportive social relationships. This may seem like a random tip but having social relationships that help support you can bring you peace and happiness that will help keep your body active and alert to any stressors that may come around. Stress is a defining factor to causing common colds and viruses to enter our systems, by keeping supportive relationships around us we are eliminating that element from our bodies to keep us functioning. Plus there are a lot of positives to physical touch with our bodies – just a 20 second hug can release endorphins and help us feel more at ease.
6.       Reduce exposure to people with colds. A no-brainer, right? You’d think so but if the pandemic has shown us anything, there is a lot of cognitive dissonance going around between what is right and wrong. If you have been recently ill or are worn down, please take care to protect yourself and others around you. Don’t go out of your way to be around large groups of people, especially if you or someone in your home was recently ill. Resting at home while sick is important for restoration and resiliency. Society placing some priority around the importance of rest and restoration is one thing I hope sticks from the pandemic.
7.       Take advantage of the herb at your disposal. Sipping herbal teas and soups help to thin nasal mucous and certain herbs provide preventative effects. There truly is nothing better than a hot herbal tea and soup when you’re feeling the symptoms of a cold or the flu.
8.       Warming socks. The power of water is truly something amazing! Warming socks is an old naturopathic approach to bolstering the immune system using contrast hydrotherapy, which might sound woo-woo to some, but it works so well that even my banker husband uses this hydrotherapy method to support his immune health when he is run down. This is a great practice to help combat sickness as soon as you feel it come into your home. The steps: 

• • Warm up your feet for 5-10 minutes by soaking them in warm water.
  • Take a pair of knee-high cotton socks and soak them in cold water, wring them out thoroughly.
  • Place the cold wet socks over your warm feet and then cover those wet socks with thick wool socks.
  • Go to bed, cover up, and avoid getting chilled!