November 2024

Seasonal Living – Fall

• Fall Into Fall – The Energy Of Autumn
• An Holistic Immune Support For Fall
• The Case For Vitamin D
• The Health Benefits Of Gratitude

An Holistic  Immune Support For Fall

He will get sick then feel better, only to get sick again two weeks later, on and on, throughout the winter. His immune system is unable to resolve his condition fully.

Understanding how the immune system works is the first step in devising a plan to balance it and prevent winter woes.

The chicken and egg

When I studied biology in high school, I was taught that bad bacteria and viruses were out there to get me; the immune system was my army, and the body was a battleground.

This view of the immune system is wrong on so many levels, including perceiving the body as a battleground instead of an ally.
Now I know better. So here are a couple of fun facts about the body and immunity.

A different theory, the terrain theory, suggests that when the body’s inner ecology is out of balance, it invites pathogens. Consider a swamp infested with mosquitoes. It is not the mosquitoes that created the swamp but the standing water that attracted them.

One way the body keeps us healthy is by creating an inner ecology, which means different temperatures, pH levels, and moisture levels in different body parts. You might think about your body like you think about the Earth; the Sahara desert is hot and dry, the rainforests are hot and damp, and the poles are dry and cold. Different ecology means diversity of plants and animals, increasing the overall health and resilience of the planet.

In the human body, the ecology of the brain is different from that of the lungs, stomach, GI tract, and so on. Different inner ecology creates a habitat for different strains of bacteria, viruses, and fungi to settle down and form a symbiotic relationship with the immune system to protect the inner “land” from invaders.

The microbiota, your personal microbe resident, “bought” all the real estate in your body. They are not interested in welcoming new guys to the neighborhood because they want to avoid competing over space and food. In a healthy body, the microbiota will close ranks, alert your immune system, and kick out the invaders.

“came to the conclusion that germs do not initiate a diseased state of the body but appear later after a person becomes ill.
~Henry Bielerin Food is Your Best Medicine

But what if the body is not healthy? What if there are nutrient deficiencies, and your microbiota is starving? Or if fluids are stagnant and waste products can’t be cleared?

The immune system superpower

You know the feeling: you get sick, your sinuses are congested, and your lungs are too. You cough heavily. If you were granted a wish, the one thing you would want right about now is to dry all this gewy mucus.

But did you know that mucus is a powerful immune system thingamajig?

Mucus is a sticky, gooey substance made of water and salts that covers all the cavities in the body. One way mucus protects the body is by physically trapping pathogens, much like a fly trap, and expelling them when you cough, blow your nose, or swallow mucus.

Beyond its role as a physical barrier, mucus also contains different types of immune cells that act as the first line of defense. Some of these immune cells can break down the walls around microbes, others can prevent pathogens from docking on the mucus, and yet others can mark pathogens in a way that alerts other immune cells to their presence.

As much as you want to rid yourself of this pesky mucus, it is your humble servant. Supporting healthy mucus production is in your best interest.

It’s not what you take. It’s what you do.

If there is one insight I want you to take after reading this, it’s not what medicine, supplement, or herb you take. First and foremost, it’s about what you do every day to increase your body’s resilience to winter woes.

Start with taking care of your inner ecology by:

Diet

Committing to a nutrient-dense diet that feeds you and your microbiota. Microbiota thrives on starches and fiber that you can’t digest. The best source of fiber is vegetables and fruits. Your daily food intake should consist of 75% plants.

Movement

Encouraging the body to remove toxins from the tissue. The lymphatic system plays a dual role in the body. It is your police and garbage truck. The lymph is where some of your immune cells are trained and sit, scavenging for intruders. A stagnant lymphatic system is a swamp waiting for flies. Unlike the blood, the lymphatic system doesn’t have the heart to push the fluids, but all lymph vessels are placed between muscles. To encourage lymph flow, you want to move because the contraction and relaxation of muscles push the lymph fluid in their vessels.

Detox

Support liver detox not just as a short program in the spring but as a lifestyle. Foods high in sulfur, such as onion, garlic, and the Cruciferous family, play an important role in liver detox. Sulfur is essential for producing glutathione, the body’s innate antioxidant. Reducing toxic overload in the body increases the efficiency of the immune system.

Sleep

Did you know that when you are asleep, your body actively produces immune cells and clears trash from your brain? An adult person needs about eight hours of sleep every night. There is no bank for sleep, so if you think to yourself, I will pay my sleep debt over the weekend? Well, it doesn’t work like that.

One important factor about sleep is that if you wake up and don’t feel refreshed, you don’t spend enough time in the deep sleep cycle. When you don’t spend enough time in deep sleep, your glymphatic system doesn’t get enough chance to clear waste products from your brain, and your immune system doesn’t get the opportunity to renew its immune cells arsenal.

If you are still tired or need an alarm to wake up in the morning, check for sleep apnea or other sleep disturbances.

Sunshine

Although the sun’s angle to the Earth doesn’t allow much vitamin D synthesis in most places, sun exposure during fall and winter is still crucial for physical and mental well-being.

Exposing the body to the sun sets up the circadian cycle. It wakes our brain, digestion, and metabolism and sets the stage for melatonin production in the evening, ensuring a good night’s sleep.

Stress

Stress and disease can create a vicious cycle. Disease is a stressor for the body, but stress is inflammatory, pushing the immune system off the tightrope it is dancing on. Chronic stress disrupts sleep and leads to an overactive immune system.

In many ways, it is much easier to stop at your local pharmacy and get the flu shots. After all, the marketing stints for these shots don’t include the price we pay when we don’t build our health from the roots up or when we don’t allow the immune system to do its job.

Building a resilient immune system is not about what you take but about what you do every day to grow health from the roots up. Resilience is built from nourishing and supporting the body while engaging with the diversity of natural beings.