Natural Resilience Against Colds And Flu

Lifestyle Habits That Put You At Risk And How To Fix Them

Evading this season’s colds, coughs and flu can feel like an uphill battle through a treacherous warzone. As you forge through uncharted territory, you remain constantly vulnerable to an enemy ambush closing in on you. The same can be said of your body during winter, when it must regularly defend against viruses and bacteria. Poor battle tactics, such as inadequate immune defences, can increase the chance of viruses and bacteria leading to an infection. Fortunately, arming yourself with tools that enhance your immune response can turn the tables on the enemy and mount a counterattack that could win the war, allowing you to conquer any bugs that may come your way.

The Nitty Gritty of the Warzone

Your immune system has evolved to identify and destroy pathogens, viruses and bacteria, before they win the war. It does so by drawing on two lines of immune defence.

The innate immune response is activated when a pathogen you are exposed to invades your body, immediately setting into motion the production and release of immune cells that hunt down and destroy the attacker. Conversely, the adaptive immune response plays a slow and measured strategy, using other types of specialised immune cells (known as B cells and T cells) to learn about the threat and adjust it’s defences accordingly for a targeted approach.1

When these two lines of defence are in peak form, your immune system does a solid job of protecting you against pathogenic threats. However, an inadequate immune response increases the likelihood of pathogens overcoming your immune defences, leading to infection. In these instances, enhancing your immune system’s function using natural medicines can help build resistance against viral and bacterial pathogens and prevent the onset of infection.

Your Tactical Advantage

To help your army of immune cells protect you from infection, you need to create the right conditions for them to effectively defend you. In other words, just as unfavourable conditions (e.g. harsh weather) affect a soldier’s efforts in battle, the following conditions make it more difficult for your immune soldiers to defend your body:

Poor gut health
Low nutrient levels
Poor sleep quality
Chronic stress
Not enough exercise

Read on to learn more about how these five areas can make or break your ability to triumph over illness this winter:

Winter is Coming

To prepare your immune army for cold and flu season, focus on these five areas and even better go and see a health Practitioner to equip yourself with the best strategy to shut down infection before it becomes a battle. By taking professional advice on board and focusing on these five areas (for at least four weeks before winter hits), you will be setting yourself up to triumph against illness, so you can spend more time appreciating the magic of winter.

References