Supporting your immunity

Imagine if in time, we could look back at this crisis and reflect on how we came together and supported one another. How we faced a huge challenge and came out the other side stronger than we were before. We looked at the situation as one, and for the greater good of all, rather than just for ourselves or our immediate community. While it’s hard not to focus our time and energy on the negatives of this very unfortunate situation, let’s also remember to look at the power our decisions can have and how we can work together.

If this is to be our finest hour, our time to shine and come together, we need to start by making some very simple changes. As a naturopath, I believe the best place to start is by looking closely at our diet and lifestyle and asking ourselves what we could be doing better. What could we do to strengthen our immune system and improve our health?

Our focus needs to shift towards strengthening the immune system. We can do this by ensuring the foods we consume are as wholesome, and nutritious as possible. Remember your body was designed to resist illness, to heal and to get you back on track, when given the right conditions. This innate ability is often forgotten about, but with the right conditions, it can protect us from illness.

There are a number of ways you can strengthen your immune system, to ensure the greatest chance of good health and I have briefly outlined a few relatively simple suggestions here to remind you of how you can optimise your health.

Diet

Diet is where we have the greatest opportunity to naturally provide the body with a wide range of vitamins and minerals, to support the immune system. Eating a wholesome variety of fresh, seasonal vegetables and fruits, quality protein sources and whole grains, will ensure the body has access to an abundance of key nutrients to keep you strong and healthy. Some of these include Zinc, B vitamins, Vitamin C and Selenium. There are many amazing organic fruit and vegetable options, which you can access from your local organic grocer, or organic online store. Alternatively, if you haven’t already done so, there is no better time than right now to start growing your own fruit and vegetables, to support you and your family for the long term.

Vitamin C is of particular importance as it is a powerful antioxidant which can help reduce the chance of a virus entering the body. Aim to increase Vitamin C rich fruit and vegetables, and focus on eating organic foods to avoid exposure to chemicals which place extra pressure on the body. Choose local produce where possible to avoid eating foods that may have travelled long distances and even from overseas. These foods will usually have less nutrient density, as they have been grown and harvested months or years ago, and then have added travel and storage time.

Lifestyle
Regular exercise is essential to good health, as it exposes the body to the natural elements, oxygenates the body and helps keep you connected to Mother Nature, and grounded. It also exposes the body to natural light, which is the best source of Vitamin D.

If you’re looking for inspiration for exercise at home, there are many online yoga courses or meditation applications to choose from.

Meditation offers a huge range of benefits for the nervous system, as it helps calm the mind and body, which is of great benefit through times of heightened stress, offering support for the nervous system and the immune system.

Tea
Herbal tea can offer a multitude of health benefits including keeping hydrated. Firstly, it is warm, so the body doesn’t need to work hard to bring it to the appropriate temperature, which saves you energy. Secondly, when you drink herbal tea, you not only receive the benefit of hydrating your body, but you also gain the therapeutic benefit of the individual ingredients.

At times like these, we need to look for herbs that have traditionally been used to improve circulation and strengthen the immune system, and help us cope with stress.

Lemongrass and Ginger supports circulation and encourages the flow of nutrients, keeping your vital force strong.

Turmeric Tea and Golden Spice are based on Turmeric, which offers warming and grounding properties to support healthy circulation, digestion and vitality.

Immunity tea has been designed to help support healthy immune function. Herbs specifically selected for this blend including echinacea root, ginger and rose hip, have traditionally been used to support and modulate immune function and support circulation.

Calming tea and Sleep tea are based on herbs which have traditionally been used to support your nervous system, helping you better cope with stress. For your convenience, we have created a separate page on our website that contains our recommendations for tea that can assist your immune system, you can view this here.

At Love Tea, the health and wellbeing of our customers and employees is our number one priority. We, along with many other small businesses will be closely monitoring the Government’s recommendations in regard to COVID-19. Currently, we are operating business as usual and we will keep you updated with any changes.

It is now more important than ever to make careful, considered decisions that can help improve and strengthen our health, the health of our families, our community, our nation, our world.

With Love,
Emma