Boosting the immune system is a good idea no matter what time of the year it is but you often need more immune support right around the time after the holidays.
Flu and respiratory viral illness activity peaks from December through February so it's of extreme importance to protect yourself and your loved ones during this time of the year.
So what can be done to boost your immune health and protect yourself from becoming sick? Also, if you have a compromised immune system, or you have a loved one with a compromised immune system, what can you do to protect them?
Vitamin D!
Vitamin D is one major and easy thing you can assess and take to help improve your health and boost your immune system
Why Vitamin D?
I feel like I've written about the virtues of vitamin D for individuals with Down syndrome and for those with autism before.
While these two populations probably need vitamin D much more than typical individuals, there's very few that can see benefits from assessing their vitamin D status, special needs or not.
Why is this?
Vitamin D acts like a steroid hormone that interacts with and modulates the immune system.
This means that vitamin D can ramp up a low immune response or turn down an aggressive one, reducing the damage caused by autoimmunity.
Vitamin D also helps the body produce it's own antimicrobials, molecules like defensins and cathelicidins.
Vitamin D and Immunity
So what does this all mean?
This means that if you don't have enough vitamin D circulating in your bloodstream, you are at risk of having an improper immune response to foreign invaders like the viruses that cause colds, flu. RSV, and covid.
It's no coincidence that the flu peaks in December through February. That's also when vitamin D levels tend to be the lowest.
Studies show that taking vitamin D helps to reduce the frequency of respiratory illnesses especially if taken on a daily basis.1
This means that having optimal intake of vitamin D through diet and supplementation can help protect you and your loved ones with a compromised immune system like those with Down syndrome against respiratory viruses.
New Book
But vitamin D isn't the only vitamin, mineral, or natural substance that can help boost the immune system and protect against respiratory viral illnesses.
That's why I'm working on a new book to help improve your health!
This book will cover the heavy hitting vitamins, minerals, and natural substances that helps to boost immune health and protect against viral infection.
As our world grows increasingly wary of pathogens and as pathogens grow smarter and more aggressive, it may be time to go back to the basics.
While there's nothing wrong with good old antibiotics and antivirals, maybe we've missed the mark when it comes to protecting our family and ourselves best.
Viruses, bacteria, fungi, what we call pathogens have been on this planet for a very long time. In fact, they are just as much a part of this planet as we are.
God, in His wisdom, gave us an immune system that comes into contact with trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi everyday.
Maybe, instead of trying to eradicate these parts of our world, we should try to boost our immune systems.
And one of the easiest ways to do that is through quality micronutrients and natural substances.
I'm really excited to be able to offer this book to you! If you're interested in being the first to know when it will be released, sign up for our email list!
I'm Dr. Candace Mathers, boy mom, girl mom, Down syndrome mom and naturopathic doctor. Life Blossom Wellness will be releasing a NEW book about how to boost the immune system and fight against respiratory viral illnesses naturally.
Sign up for our email list to get more information and be the first to get the book when it comes out!
References
1. Jolliffe DA, Camargo CA Jr, Sluyter JD, et al. Vitamin D supplementation to prevent acute respiratory infections: a systematic review and meta-analysis of aggregate data from randomised controlled trials. Lancet Diabetes Endocrinol. 2021;9(5):276-292. doi:10.1016/S2213-8587(21)00051-6