We’re living in some strange times right now…

You know, I had a whole ‘nother post planned for this week. But in the midst of COVID-19 and all the changes that are happening, as a lifestyle medicine and holistic physician, I feel a duty to share something to help. With all the news attention and the noise on social media, it can be easy to get swept up in a whirlwind of information. Unfortunately, most of the information is not constructive. The advice to observe social distancing and stay home as much as possible is paramount to slowing this pandemic. Good handwashing is an excellent practice to observe. But there aren’t many recommendations on what to do to try and stay healthy. And when we get a lot of information and no constructive actions to take, we can feel lost and even more worried than we already are. 

Being able to manage our thoughts is absolutely critical to how we will experience this pandemic. And I’ll write more about this in the coming weeks. If you missed last week’s post, How Not To Panic, feel free to go back and catch up! But this week, I’d like to share the things that I do for myself and my family to keep our immunity strong and ready to fight! If you’ve been following me for awhile, you may have seen me share some of this. But I’m adding some new recommendations, so read on. Also, the link to my first YouTube video on my channel is at the end of the post – keep going!

 

Things To DO

Manage your stress

Your immune system starts to lose its power under excessive amounts of stress. We all have stress of some sort in our lives, and a little of it isn’t harmful. But the constant churn of danger messages in the background is like revving your car at high RPMs while you leave it in park – you’re gonna burn out the engine! Your brain is wired to detect danger to keep you safe. But that detection mechanism is designed to get you to move, so if the danger isn’t imminent and you don’t have to move immediately, then you can let your brain know that you are safe right now and that the message is noted. Good ways to manage stress: deep breathing with a full exhale, sitting quietly and looking out the window at nature, prayer, exercise, aromatherapy, and journaling. I may do a Facebook live on conscious breathing – it helps!

 

 

Get enough sleep

Now that many people are working from home, the commute is gone and we can get a little more time in bed. You might still be getting up early to manage the kids and set them up for their home school or digital learning days, but at least you don’t have the get-out-of-the-door hustle! It can be tempting to do things other than sleep in bed, like watching TV or playing on your phone, reading or getting work done on your computer. But too much of that activity can train your brain to treat the bed as a sleep optional zone and interfere with sleep. If you’re having trouble sleeping once you get into bed, do a search on the internet for “sleep hygiene” and see if you can change any of your usual practices to help. If your mind is racing and worrying, keeping a journal or pad of paper by the bedside to scribble down your thoughts or to-dos can help unload the burden and allow you to sleep.

 

 

Eat whole foods

You knew I’d get to this one! Now that you’re home more, you can prepare more meals! Even if you don’t know how to cook many things from scratch, this is an excellent time to add a few recipes to your arsenal. Check out the section on recipes on this blog – most of my recipes are designed to be quick. And while you’re preparing meals, the more raw food you can eat, the better for your immunity. The fiber and enzymes in raw fruits and veggies help the immune system stay strong!

Put out a fruit bowl, keep a bag of prepared salad ready to go in the frig (just mix lettuces, chopped cucumber/carrot/pepper/celery or whatever you like and put it in a zip bag). Drop baby carrots on the side of the lunch plates. Make a lunch of hummus and fresh veggies. My kids ate hummus, bruschetta, eggplant dip, guacamole with crackers and veggies one day for their lunch this week. I made a massaged kale salad today that was incredible – took me ten minutes to prepare and was full of antioxidants, good fat, and thyroid gland supporting seasoning (I used a little seaweed sprinkle). So good!

 

Lunch!

 

Take a fiber supplement and a probiotic

I’m not usually big on recommending supplements. Not because I don’t believe in them, but because I don’t want to encourage the idea that supplements can fix a crappy diet and lifestyle. They can’t. But if you’re eating whole foods, mostly plants and want to go the extra mile, this is a good next step. I use an organic psyllium fiber supplement daily, a tablespoon in a big glass of water. I don’t have trouble with constipation, but this is an excellent practice if you do. The better you can eliminate the waste out of the colon, the less energy your body has to divert in clearing that out of you. Psyllium is a great broom for the colon – just sweeps the waste right out. You’ll find the “go” is much easier!

Gut health is your first line of defense against disease, along with your skin. The way bad things get in to your body is through your skin and mucus membranes (eyes, nose, mouth) and through your digestive system. If you are eating lots of processed and prepared food, your gut is not getting top of the line care. In addition to feeding yourself high quality foods, a probiotic can help put good bacteria that help you fight disease back into the place where it’s needed most – your intestines. When you shop for a supplement, look for the following things: a blend of different strains of bacteria including multiple types of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, counts of at least 15 billion CFU (colony forming units) for adults, and GMP or NSF certification (these are companies that certify that what the bottle says is what’s inside. Supplements aren’t regulated, so you need independent certification.). I have a chewable probiotic for the kids too, because they don’t swallow pills yet. We also use elderberry syrup as an immune booster.

 

 

Support your liver

Your liver and kidneys do the incredibly hard work of detoxifying your body from all the exposures that come around you every day. So in addition to avoiding as many chemicals as you can and drinking lots of water, do what you can to support your liver. I love to make beet juice, so if you have a juicer you can juice 2 beets, 6 carrots, 2 apples and a small chunk of ginger, add the juice of one lemon and you have a great and delicious liver cleanser! Other foods to support the liver are grapefruit, berries, dark leafy and bitter greens, turmeric, and a cup of tea or coffee (please organic – don’t soak chemicals from conventional teas and coffee in hot water and drink them!).

 

My beet juice – yum!

 

Get outside

For now, social distancing can be done outside. I let my kids go on a walk in a park the other day. I didn’t let them play on the playground equipment since the virus can live on surfaces for a long time (and I wasn’t going to be able to disinfect the whole playground!). Playing in the backyard if you have one, walks in the neighborhood, waving at your neighbors from a distance all allow you to get out, clears the lungs out with fresh air, and get you a little exercise!

 

 

Stay connected

And not just on social media. We’ve been using virtual meeting platforms to do church with our family group, and my husband called his mom on one to see her and share my first YouTube video (The premiere is 8 pm, 3/20/2020 – Come see!) Social connection can be nourishing to our souls, and we need each other. Isolation can be damaging to our immunity and mental health. Even a non-shy introvert like myself needs people and connection. So call, video chat, email and reach out to your friends and family – we need each other more than ever right now!

 

 

Things NOT to do

There are things that cause the immune system to fray and unravel. The number one is unchecked stress, so if you are having trouble managing your anxiety alone, please get help. Many practitioners are doing virtual visits now, so you can explore this even as you stay at home. Staying up late binge watching shows limits your sleep, and excessive screen time exposes you to lots of blue light. Blue light impedes your natural melatonin release, which makes it harder for you to sleep. Don’t drink alcohol habitually – it also impairs the quality of your sleep later in the night, so even if you fall asleep, you wake up tired. Don’t eat much processed and fried foods (if at all) – you’ll own the weight gain when you get back out into the world, and your liver has to work overtime on processing that stuff.

 

Be careful…

 

I know things are challenging right now. But we can use this time as an opportunity to take even better care of ourselves and each other. Try these things above to keep yourselves healthy and let me know what you’re doing to boost your immunity and wellness in the comments below!