How to boost your immune system

With winter lingering around the corner and scientists predicting one of the worst flu seasons on record, mixed with the increase in covid cases; now really is the perfect time to naturally boost your immune system. With a few simple tips and tricks you and your family could fight off any unwanted bugs and illnesses.

Nutrition

What you eat plays a much bigger role in keeping your immune system healthy than most people think. Our immune system depends and relies on a balanced mix of vitamins and minerals to function at maximum capacity. Vegetable staples such as spinach and broccoli are high in vitamin C, this helps improve our immune system’s defences. While parsnips, onions and cauliflowers are high in allicin which is a natural anti-inflammatory and has antioxidant properties. These all help support and boost our immunity. 

The great news is you can buy a variety of these vegetables cheaply, especially if they are frozen, and they still provide the same superpowers but just help that budget go a little further.

We all know that our food habits change throughout the year. A salad is always more appealing during the summer and a hearty roast definitely tops the charts on a cold winter sunday. Summer sees us out socialising more or walking down the beach of an evening whilst on holiday; Winter (for me at least) is more like trips back and forth to the fridge all night hoping something sugary and delicious has appeared. Try to stock the fridge with snacks which are still appealing but healthier and keep treats to the weekend or to a minimum. 

Exercise 

We all know that keeping in good physical shape is one of the best ways to stay healthy, but we also appreciate it can be a challenge, and even more so throughout the winter months. Motivation is often what is lacking when it comes to dragging yourself out the house on a cold winter’s night or morning. But just remember doing something is better than nothing, so make the most of the nice days, maybe even a little workout video or dancing around with friends on the colder, more dreary ones. Every little bit helps the bigger picture and it does all truly make a difference to your physical and mental health.

Reducing the spread of germs

It may sound obvious and it’s something we are more aware of these days but  washing your hands regularly is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of germs.  We pick up bacteria from almost everything we touch, and although most are harmless they can be passed from person to person, and some can cause illness such as coughs and colds, stomach bugs etc. Ensuring that you wash your hands after using the toilet, coughing, sneezing and handling food, will help keep those around you safe. Carrying a hand sanitizer for those times where you can’t wash your hands is perfect too.

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