Why you get sick each winter (and how to fix it)
Spoiler alert… it’s not just about Vitamin C!
Read on to find out how to be ‘that person’ who doesn’t get sick, while everyone else around is dropping like flies.
You’re running around doing all the things: finalising Christmas shopping lists, ordering in food, replying to (yet more!) school emails for fundraiser contributions, concert ticket purchases, sports fixture arrangements, trying to get that important work project completed before the holidays. When boom, there it is, that familiar tickle at the back of your throat. You try to ignore it, throw back a Lemsip or two, but soon everything is starting to ache, you can barely keep your eyes open and unwillingly you admit defeat and retreat to your bed (with the growing anxiety of a million ‘jobs’ stacking up around you). Arrrgh! Why oh why, body, have you let me down again?
Sound familiar?
Do you feel as though you catch every cough, cold or flu bug going around? I know I’ve certainly been there, succumbing to a virus and crashing into bed by Boxing Day when visitors have all left.
Wouldn’t it be great to enjoy all the wonderful social gatherings and events of this time of year without ending up sick in bed for days on end. Or, if you do catch something, that its effect is mild and you’re back in action before anyone realises you were gone?
So what is the magic immune-boosting silver bullet?
Well, I’m sorry to say, there isn’t one thing that’s going to solve this or boost your immune health overnight, BUT there is a lot you can do to change things. While an ‘immune boost’ might be a trendy phrase, the clue is in the name - immune system. It’s a system, not a single entity; so it needs a system-wide approach to be in balance and harmony and function at its best.
Your immune system really is pretty magical. It is working for you tirelessly 24/7 without you even knowing it (until you get sick, that is). Think of it as your own incredible surveillance and sniper team that is in constant operation, continually producing immune cells of many different types to go out and fight on your behalf. But this defence team needs their own kinds of fuel and an optimal environment to function at their best.
Let’s dig in…
My 8 pillars of immune health to getting ‘WINTER SAFE’
I’ve come up with a handy little acronym here to help us remember them:
W-I-N-T-E-R S-AFE
W - Water (the hydration game)
I - Intestinal environment (sounds bizarre, but this is your microbiome)
N - Nutrients (all the vital vitamins & minerals)
T - Tension reduction (I mean, who doesn’t get stressed at Christmas?)
E - Exercise & movement (yup, it’s pretty much associated with all areas of health)
R - Reduce sugar (sorry, not sorry!)
S - Sleep (one of the greatest pillars of overall health)
AFE - Antioxidants, Fungi & Extracts (those magic plant compounds)
1) W - Water
This is all about good hydration. Your body is around 70% water and us humans drank water long before we started drinking tea, beer or mulled wine!
Good hydration is crucial to be able to deliver the vital nutrients that your immune cells need (remember those guys operating the surveillance and sniper teams that we need to feed). This SWAT team relies on adequate hydration to get around your body (they travel predominantly via your lymphatic system, which is around 96% water).
Your lymphatic system is also key for removing all the toxins and waste from your body, which helps in a swifter recovery from a virus.
Believe it or not, the mucous linings of your nose and mouth contain immunoglobulins, these odd-sounding compounds are part of your innate immune system, the first line of defence. So a dry nose (due to poor hydration) will make it less effective at doing its defensive job!
2) I - Intestinal Environment
Did you know that around 70-80% of our immune cells live in our intestines? There is a community of trillions of bacteria that happily live there too alongside. This is what is referred to as the microbiome or gut microflora.
This friendly group of bacteria happily chat away to our immune cells, educating them about invading pathogens and signalling immune responses when needed. Keeping this community happy and healthy is key to our immune balance.
These guys love to feed on the plant fibre you eat, so ensuring lots of whole, diverse plant foods and adding in some probiotics such as kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, and natural yogurt will help keep this environment in balance.
3) N - Nutrients
Get the right nutrients from your food. We all know a well-balanced diet is beneficial for multiple health-related reasons and your immune system is no exception!
That said, it can be very hard to get the optimal levels of vitamins and minerals from food, especially in the crazy festive months when healthful meals may be few and far between (and no, just for the record, a mince pie does not count as a healthy meal!) Supplementation alongside can be very beneficial to help bolster your defences.
The key nutrients you need to support your immune army are:
Vit C - Citrus, red pepper, kiwi, kale
Vit D - Salmon, eggs, sunshine (not in the UK from Oct-Mar)
Vit B6 - Bananas, avocado, fish, eggs
Vit A - Liver, egg yolk, sweet potato, squash, spinach
Vit E - Nuts & seeds, leafy greens, wholegrains, avocado
Zinc - Meat, oysters, lentils, pumpkin seeds
Selenium - Brazil nuts, oily fish, eggs, seaweed
In the long term we’re aiming for an abundant diet full of locally sourced, seasonal, diverse produce, in order to try and get us to the optimal levels, but in the short term you may need some outside support.
4) T - Tension Reduction
While it might seem difficult at this time of year, with endless jobs to do, social activities and family commitments, taking a moment to slow down may actually see you speed up in the long run.
Chronic stress (which leaves you with continually elevated cortisol levels) has been shown to reduce immune cell function, leaving you more prone to infection. Bear in mind, we all differ in what we find ‘stressful’ - while you might love a Christmas party, an introvert on the other hand, might have a completely different response, with escalating cortisol on top of what is already a difficult time of year.
Take some moments to yourself amongst the festive fun, breathe and just relax for a few moments - your immune system will thank you for it.
5) E - Exercise & Movement
Moving our bodies is way more important than just trying to burn off a little of the excess calories from the festive indulgence. Exercise is one of the most important elements of overall health and it has a direct impact on our immune system. Every time we exercise we increase oxygen delivery to all our body’s cells, this is just the same for our immune army, helping them to function properly.
It also helps to support our beneficial gut microflora (see #2), improve the flow of lymphatic fluid (remember, that’s the immune system super highway, see #1) and lower our stress levels (see #4), all of which contribute to the risk of whether we’re going to catch a pesky virus or not.
6) R - Reduce Sugar
Yes, sorry, I said it! It shouldn’t really come as a surprise though, that the ‘S’ word is on the naughty list, but believe it or not it has a directly negative impact on our immune cell function.
Remember those surveillance teams we talked about; normally, they are laser-focused killing machines, however, research has shown that high sugar levels completely disorientate them, sending them in the wrong direction, slowing them down and making them less able to effectively deal with the incoming bad guys[1].
While it’s a tricky time of year, maybe think twice before indulging in the sweets, try to avoid processed food where possible (it’s always full of excess hidden sugars) and try to balance out sugars with proteins and healthy fats too, to help regulate the impact on your blood sugar.
7) S - Sleep
This can often be in short supply as Christmas approaches, but it is a core pillar of overall and immune health. I love the quote by top sleep scientist Prof. Matthew Walker, which simply illustrates how important it is:
“Sleep is the Swiss Army knife of health”
Aim for 7-9 hours and it’s the earlier phases of sleep that count the most when we’re thinking about our immune health (we produce more growth hormone at that point), this is literally when we restock the arsenal of our immune army. Adults consistently sleeping less than 7 hours per night were shown in studies to have a three times higher risk of catching the common cold virus[2]. Good quality sleep also has a positive impact on your gut microbiome (back to #2 again!) further supporting your immune health.
So, absolutely enjoy the parties and late-night fun, but focus on balancing with quality sleep too.
8) AFE - Antioxidants, Fungi & Extracts
Our final pillar is where all the plant compounds come in to work their winter magic.✨
These are the unsung heroes and heroines of your immune defence. The colourful pigments and chemical compounds within plants, referred to as phytonutrients, have potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, they work a little like your ‘clean up crew’ helping to minimise damage from free radicals.
You’ll find them in brightly coloured fruit and veg (this is why nutritionists are always going on about ‘eating the rainbow’), herbs and spices (ginger, garlic and turmeric are superheroes here) and other things like green tea and dark chocolate (and, no, that calendar chocolate doesn’t count unless it’s 80% cacao!)
I couldn’t leave without mentioning the incredible immune power of mushrooms, so they made it into the ‘F’ of SAFE. Mushrooms have been used for thousands of years in ancient cultures to support immune health and the science is now catching up on this. Compounds within mushrooms have an immune balancing effect - they work via the microbiome (there’s that #2 again!) to determine whether the immune system needs to be calmed down (such as in the case of an autoimmune condition) or supported (when we are deficient). Key players here are things like shiitake, reishi, chaga, maitake and turkey tail - try adding some shiitake or maitake into your meals whenever you can (the others you will find in power or extract form).
Where does that leave us?
Your immune health is a system-wide approach.
Work together with your body to nourish it this year and provide the raw materials and environment for it to thrive. Rather than blaming your immune system for failing you, try taking a different approach and seeing it as your body’s way of politely saying “help, I need a little more support here please!” Take some time to work with your body to nourish it with food; but equally importantly, support it emotionally and physically.
However, if you’re feeling continually under the weather, this could be a sign that other systems in your body may not be working at their best or you have a significant underlying deficiency. This is where further testing may be beneficial and working with a nutritional therapist to devise a bespoke plan to support your overall health can help.
Want to know more or have questions? Come and join our immune health webinar
I’ll be delving deeper into all this and answering your questions with GP Dr Sunny Dhesi, on Wednesday 15th November, at 19:30 GMT.
It’s free - what have you got to lose!
I can’t wait for you to join us - click here to sign up and feel great this winter.
Skipped the chat and just want the answers or to hear it live? - come and join our free webinar on Wednesday 15th November for more (see above).
References:
Joshi, M.B. et al. (2020). ‘Glucose induces metabolic reprogramming in neutrophils during type 2 diabetes to form constitutive extracellular traps and decreased responsiveness to lipopolysaccharides’. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32827651/
Cohen, S. et al. (2009). ‘Sleep habits and susceptibility to the common cold’. Available from: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19139325/