Essential Supplements For Immunity
What is immunity?
In biological terms, immunity refers to the body’s ability to prevent the invasion of pathogens. Pathogens are foreign disease-causing substances, such as bacteria and viruses, and we are exposed to them every day. Our immune system is our body’s defense system to fight against the foreign disease-causing substances and protect our body. However, immunity is a complex and redundant system that requires nutrients for proper functioning, and without the proper nutrients our immune systems has a hard time protecting our body.
There are also other factors that can ‘depress’ our immune system, even if we are getting the correct amount of nutrients, and the following are some of those other factors:
Old age
Environmental toxins
Excess weight
Chronic diseases
Factors like old age are typically out of our control, seeing as getting old is inevitable. However the factors like excess weight, stress and maybe even environmental toxins, are manageable. And with the right nutrition, building a better immunity for these factors could be easier than you think.
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Why is immunity important?
This time of year, and this season, it is super important to keep your immunity levels high. When it comes to immunity, it’s a multifaceted affair. This means it’s more than just food or supplements, or even managing your emotional and energetic boundaries. Especially during this time of year, maybe a little less so last year specifically because most of us were not going out as much, but even still with all the virtual and digital celebrations it’s important to manage your boundaries and your energy. One thing that is super important and essential to include into your wellness routine is supplements.
What are supplements?
A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources, or that are synthetic, in order to increase the quantity of their consumption. Most supplements come in a variety of forms, including tablets, capsules, gummies, and powders, as well as drinks and energy bars. Most people might know supplements as just vitamins, but there are different types of supplements out there that can all do different things for your body. The following are some of the more popular supplements, including vitamins, that you may have taken before or are even currently taking:
Vitamins and minerals (multi-vitamins and calcium)
Specialty supplements (fiber and probiotics)
Herbs and botanicals (green tea and ginseng)
In addition to these more commonly known supplements, other supplements can contain minerals, amino acids, enzymes, and many other ingredients.
Why should we take supplements?
In a perfect world, our bodies would get all the nutrients it needs from the foods we eat and we would all have top of the line immune systems. But unfortunately we don’t live in a perfect world and some of us need more help getting all the nutrients our bodies need more than others. That’s where supplements come into the picture.
Of course we want to get as many nutrients as we can from whole foods but there are a few supplements that AK herself feels very strongly about, as far as including them into your day to day. These supplements will help to create a much more robust and reliable immune system.
5 supplements for a better immune system
Along with giving you a better immune system, these 5 recommended supplements mainly relate to the four foundations for wellness. Those four foundations include gut health, detox, energy and rest. The following supplements are essential if you are looking for a daily assist in your overall health and wellness.
Vitamin D & K
This supplement is extremely helpful as an anti-inflammatory, and is used for bone health. Vitamins D & K are super important for your body, more specifically your bones and gut health, to work properly. And as we know, inflammation is the root of all diseases because when the body goes into fight or flight or when the body starts releasing inflammatory hormones in order to fight something off, the body often as to pull from other parts of the body for resources. And often times, our bones are what the body pulls from if our nutrition and our nutrients are not high enough.
Glutamine
This supplement is essential for gut health. It is an amino acid that is important for gut integrity and helps the intestine to stay in tight junction. We want our guts to be in tight junction because when they get loose, food particles that we dont want to be let into the blood stream will be let in. This is also how we can sometimes get food sensitivities or this is how we would see certain foods that we eat regularly show up on a lab that we are now sensitive to them because they’re showing up in our blood. Something you definitely should think about is your gut health and avoiding a leaky gut by taking glutamine on a regular basis.
Milk Thistle
This supplement herb helps to naturally detoxify the body, and is more of a sulfur-esk compound. Milk thistle contains silymarin which helps prevent glutathione depletion in the liver. Glutathione, which is a supplemental herb very similar to milk thistle, helps carry toxins out of the body furthering detoxification. It can also help to regulate blood sugar which may help curb some sugary cravings. The seeds and leaves of the milk thistle plant are most healthful and may be taken as an extract, tea, powder, or supplement.
Magnesium
This supplement will help with muscular support, which means it also helps the brain. It’s a really great and important supplement to add in, especially if your muscles are feeling extra achy or even if you’re experiencing some brain fog. It’s also important to note that there are different types of magnesium, so it’s essential that you are taking the correct type of magnesium. So if you’re ever unsure of which type of magnesium you should be taking, you can always reach out to AK for the answer.
B-Complex
This supplement is essential for hormones, cellular metabolism and energy. So the B-Complex, or just the Vitamin B’s, are pre-cursors for the enzymes that help us to digest and metabolize nutrients. They are super important to make sure that when we are eating really high quality macro-nutrients, which are carbohydrates, proteins and fats, to make sure that we are absorbing them. Because the B Vitamins are essential for absorption.
Lifestyles that would benefit from daily supplements
While anyone can benefit from supplements, and during this time of year most everyone should be taking them, there are certain lifestyles that would more greatly benefit from a supplement rich diet. Once you recognize that you fall within one of these lifestyles, you can begin your journey and be one step closer to a healthy lifestyle. However if you don’t relate with one of these lifestyles, you might find that you could still benefit from taking supplements daily.
Lack of nutrition
Those who lack proper nutrition would be more likely to benefit from supplements. Someone who lacks proper nutrition is often not providing their body with the nutrients it needs to function at its best. and in turn are weakening their immune system in the process. They may notice that they only get sick in the winter months, and may even think that is normal. This type of lifestyle would benefit from supplements because it will give them a more reliable immune system.
what can be done
If you find yourself lacking the proper nutrition needed for a strong immune system, try adding at least one or two supplements into your daily diet routine at first. Try to pick supplements that would benefit you the most. So if you find that you are more achy than usual, try adding a magnesium supplement to see if that helps.
Brain fog
Those who experience brain fog, or fatigue and constant tiredness, would be more likely to benefit from supplements. Someone who has constant brain fog might believe it’s because they did not get enough sleep the night before, or that they are just more tired today than other days. They might be eating more processed or junk type food, and not enough vegetables and fruits in comparison. This type of lifestyle would benefit from supplements because they don’t have to necessarily change their entire diet, but can still can the necessary nutrients.
what can be done
If you find yourself experiencing brain fog, try by adding B-Complex and magnesium supplements into your daily diet. Milk thistle might also help if you are experiencing brain fog by detoxing your body and possibly giving you the energy you were looking for.
Excessive exercise
Those who are constantly exercising, and are burning a lot of calories, would be more likely to benefit from supplements. Someone who is constantly exercising might be doing so to train for a marathon, or might just be exercising more than they had in the past. They might also not be eating enough, seeing as the more you exercise the more nutrients your body needs. This type of lifestyle would benefit from supplements because even if they are eating enough, they might be burning off more nutrients than they are consuming.
what can be done
If you find yourself constantly exercising and are unsure if you are getting the proper nutrition needed, try to add at least one or two supplements at first to see if it makes a difference. If you are an avid runner, Vitamin D & K will help to make your bones stronger and might help to prevent less injuries the older you get.
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During this time of year, when our immunity is at its most vulnerable, it is essential to be taking supplements daily in order to keep your immunity and health at its peak. There are a variety of supplements that can help with gut health, detox and energy, and by taking these supplements your immune system will become more reliable.
Extra immunity and supplement tips
Try to eat a balanced diet with whole fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and plenty of water.
Try to sleep around 7-9 hours nightly, and keep a sleep schedule of waking up and going to bed around the same time each day.
Try to manage your stress levels. Find some healthy strategies that work well for you and your lifestyle. Whether that’s exercise, meditation, a hobby, or talking to a trusted friend.
