Well, Covid-19 has taken us by surprise, hasn’t it? In these unprecedented and uncertain times, let’s focus on the positive ways we can help ourselves. This article will focus on immune support during the Covid crisis: the stronger your immune, the less likely you are to become ill. Some of them are free, some of them are lovely to do, some just make sense, and others require a small investment. As an added bonus, these strategies will also help you to reduce stress and anxiety not only during the epidemic but throughout your life. So, here goes:
Free and Fun ways to enjoy immune support during the Covid crisis
- Laughter
- Singing
- Dancing
Comedy is Good for You!
In his book Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins talks about how he took charge of his own health in the face of a negative diagnosis and used humour as his main tool. Lots and lots of comedy helped reverse his crippling and irreversible disease. Swap gorging on negative news and media and start gorging on things which make you laugh.
Dancing and singing are well known for their health benefits and let’s face it, they just make you feel good when you get rid of any embarrassment or self-consciousness.
Free and Helpful ways to support your immune system
- Kindness
- Nature
- Positivity
- Gratitude
- Exercise (there are lots of fun versions and great for stress too)
- Self-hypnosis
Dr David Hamilton explores the idea of mind and body connection in his various books and most notably Why Kindness is Good for You. It literally alters the neural structures of the brain and stimulate healing.
Bruce Lipton, PhD, in his book The Biology of Belief reveals that all of our cells are affected by our thoughts. When we think good thoughts, we feel good. Our tendency to dwell on the negative can have an adverse effect on our cells. Keeping a gratitude journal which you write in each days is a simple and effective way of counteracting this.
You can use self-hypnosis to support your immune. My book An Inside Job™ teaches you how to do this and includes a recording to support your practice. It’s great for stress and personal development too.
Deeper Ways of supporting your immune system
- Manage stress – this is a massive subject on which I have written a great deal but you may find my MP3 Stress Free helpful
- Practice good sleep hygiene. You may find my MP3 Sleep Well
- Get to bed by 10pm – your liver does most of its work (detoxing) while you sleep so you need to be rested.
Support your liver – don’t overload it with toxins. Your body can cope with a little but if you overload it with too much alcohol, junk food, environmental toxins, etc. it won’t cope very well. These foods support the liver brassicas, onions, garlic, rocket, asparagus, kelp, berries, , celery, raw honey, sweet potatoes, turmeric. - Support routes of elimination. Your body eliminates toxins through the following systems: lung, kidneys, skin, lymph and bowels. To support all of these, do make sure you drink lots of pure water throughout the day (coffee and tea don’t count), breathe well (our breathing is usually far too shallow), body brush, exercise to stimulate lymphatic draining and eat plenty of fibre to ensure you empty your bowels at least once a day.
- Work through any negative emotions. There is a lot of research to show the correlation between emotions and illness. The temptation is to ignore them or distract from them but they need to be acknowledged and worked through instead.
Vitamins and minerals which support your immune system
Quality food is important for the immune system. However, the way our food is farmed, stored and cooked means that it is difficult to get what your body needs from food alone, especially when you are ill or stressed. Sometimes it is wise to boost your immune system with supportive supplements. In any event, these are the best vitamins and minerals for our immune system:
Probiotic (not actually a vitamin or mineral but necessary for gut health and overall health)
Vitamins C, D and B5
Bioflavinoids
Co-Enzyme 10
Iron
Zinc
Making it Easy
I use a really powerful multivitamin and mineral together with an immune-boosting supplement. If you would like a personalised prescription to support you and your health concerns, perhaps you would like a consultation? Call me on 0345 130 0854 to find out more.
Do remember that all supplements are not the same. I like Cytoplan because they are therapeutic grade and are low on fillers and synthetics so they are absorbed more easily into the body. They are only available through a professional though.
Remember that supplements should not replace a healthy diet but they can certainly strengthen the effect:
Healthy Foods
If you would like a list of foods containing the vitamins and minerals mentioned, do email me at tricia@triciawoolfrey.com for a list. You will be added to my newsletter but can unsubscribe at any point if you don’t find it helpful. Healthy eating is an excellent place to start and should be a way of life so that no matter what is going on, you are giving your body the best change of staying healthy.
If you would like to work at a deeper level on your health, do call me on 0345 130 0854 to find out how.
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To your health.
Tricia
© Tricia Woolfrey
PS For some extra guidance, visit here
