Here are the 5 natural strategies I use daily to boost my immune system and manage my autoimmunity. This post will explain how they can boost your immune system and help you avoid immune system issues.
My Autoimmune Story
I was diagnosed with CNS (Cental Nervous System) Vasculitis nearly twenty years ago. CNS Vasculitis is inflammation of the blood vessels, which restricts blood flow that supply the brain and spinal cord. This causes complications such as loss of brain function, or stroke. You can check out my book “Maze of Thorns” for more about my story.
Why talk about boosting your immune system? Because it’s not something to take for granted, as we’re seeing the world run rampant with coronavirus. Immunity is like the iceberg in the Titanic. You can’t see the danger until it hits you full on. These 5 natural strategies will help you boost your immunity so you can stay on top of your health.
1. Manage Gut Health
I started to notice a real difference in my health when I went plant-based for 9 months. After 9 months, I gradually reintroduced wild caught fish, grass-fed beef and hormone/antibiotic free chicken. Before doing this, I had food sensitivities, bloating, digestive issues and brain fog. What I learned is I previously had a “leaky gut”.
“Leaky Gut” and Immune Health
“Leaky gut” is a digestive condition in which bacteria and toxins are able to “leak” through the intestinal wall. It’s often a prerequisite for autoimmune disease. Leaky gut occurs when your intestinal wall develops gaps and undigested food and toxins leaks into the body instead of being excreted. Your body responds with a rise in inflammation that triggers or worsens any existing autoimmune condition.
“Leaky Gut” Potential Causes
- High sugar intake (1)
- Long-term use of NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (2)
- Excessive alcohol intake (3)
- Chronic inflammation throughout the body (4)
- Stress (5)
- Candida (yeast overgrowth) (6)
- Nutritional deficiencies (7)
The gut is the “gateway to health” and houses 80% of your immune system. If your gut is not healthy, neither is your immune system.
Plant-Based Diet and Gut Health
How does a plant-based diet heal leaky gut? Plant based diets are high in fiber and probiotics and low in toxins and bad bacteria. Fiber feeds good bacteria cells and removes excess (bad bacteria) to keep the colon clean. Fiber from fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens are some of the easiest to digest and healthiest for you. Other good sources are grains, beans, nuts, and seeds.
Other plant-based foods like sauerkraut, miso, raw cacao and 100 percent dark chocolate or cacao powder, kimchi, and coconut water kefir are good for the gut because they contain natural probiotics (good bacteria cells).
2. Water and Lemon for the Immune System
Start your day with a big glass of water with freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, and cayenne pepper. The acidity in the lemon juice helps flush out toxins and encourage the liver to produce more bile. This helps the digestive system detox the body. Lemon juice also helps protect against immune system deficiencies because it’s full of vitamin C, vitamin A, beta-carotene, folate, calcium and potassium.
Vitamin C is also a powerful remedy against the common cold and helps fight infections with its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Finally, it gets the digestive system moving in the morning so you start your day with those toxins removed from your body.
3. Gratitude/Meditation/Prayer
Many studies are now linking stress as a cause of autoimmune disease. I started doing a morning gratitude and prayer practice long before these studies, but it’s definitely a motivation to continue the practice. If you start the day with gratitude, later in the day when a stressful issue comes up, it’s easier for you take a deep breath and focus on solving the problem instead of reacting.
4. Manage Stress Levels
Another recent study found an association between stress-related conditions such as anxiety and stress and autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The finding was exposure to a stress-related disorder was significantly linked with the increased risk of developing a subsequent autoimmune disease.
It’s important in managing immunity to manage your stress. Make a list of what causes you stress and what brings you back to calm. Maybe you’ll even find a silver lining in the “corona-quarantine because you’re able to stay away from stress-causing things. My husband and I were walking outside Saturday morning and he said, not having to rush to work has been great for reducing his stress-level!
5. Eat Clean Unprocessed Food
First of all, we talked about managing your gut health first. Processed food is the death of a healthy gut. Most processed food is high in sugar (look at the second ingredient in any processed “health-food” bar like “Special K Bars” or “Nature Valley Granola Bars”, it’s usually corn syrup or some other syrup or sugar). And of course, sugar causes leaky gut. Next, processed food is low in fiber, another cause of gut distress.
A 2017 study shows fiber is tied to gut bacteria. A diet with a variety of high fiber fruits and vegetables helps our good bacteria thrive and increase, protecting a health biome. The healthier our gut bacteria are, the thicker our gut lining will be. A thicker gut lining gives you a better barrier between your body and the bacteria in our digestive tract that your body is trying to get rid of/excrete.
There you go folks, five things for kicking autoimmunity to the curb! Here are also some great books I’ve read and recommend on healing the body naturally, decreasing inflammation and understanding autoimmunity.
- The Inflammation Spectrum – Dr. Will Cole
- Food – What the Heck Should I Eat? – Dr. Mark Hyman
- The Longevity Diet – Valter Longo
- The Autoimmune Solution – Dr. Amy Myers
Be Healthy!
*All of these are suggestions for keeping inflammation down. As with all of my posts, please consult with your doctor on any changes you are making.
