Supercharge Your Immune System!

"The right raw materials can double or triple the protective power of the immune system." This quote is by Joel Fuhrman, the American celebrity Medical Doctor and author of "Super Immunity", (www.drfuhrman.com). He says "our body is a miraculous self-healing, self-repairing organism that instinctively and innately is very resistant to disease". He goes on to say "It's not designed to be damaged by bacteria and viruses, it's designed to be resistant". He elaborates by saying "In order to have a normal immune function we need a much larger general quantity of micro nutrients which contain no calories but are essential for good immunity". Micro nutrients are vitamins, minerals and chemicals found in plants called phytonutrients. He goes on to explain that the average person needs to take in ten times more micro nutrients than they are currently, to create normal immunity to diseases such as cancer, bacteria and viruses.

Some people are scathing about the fact that food or anything else can really make a significant difference to our immune system. However, it is hard not to be inspired and spurred into action by Joel Fuhrman, especially when you hear him speak and read his book, which is based on the latest scientific research.

He is by no means the only one. More and more medical doctors are advising us to do the same. Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Dr Mark Hyman, Dr Megan Rossi, Dr Rupy Aujla, to name but a few, are helping to get the message across. Many of them and numerous well-known chefs have published books full of fabulous and mouth-watering immune-boosting recipes. When it does not involve taking any form of medication, but simply eating an abundance of fresh, preferably organic and unprocessed foods, it seems a bit of a win-win.

Now that I think of it there was a girl in my class at school who was literally never ill. She always looked the picture of health, was full of energy and never caught as much as a cold. She explained proudly to us that her mother gave her such healthy, unprocessed food that she was able to fight off all the germs. It seems that her mother was way ahead of her time (it was back in the late seventies!)

Like many parents of teenagers, I try hard to give our children meals that nourish their growing bodies, developing brains and boost their natural immunity as much as possible. With Covid-19, it has of course never been more important for the whole family to do everything possible to boost our immune systems.

It is well known that certain foods are particularly powerful immune boosters such as:

• Garlic, ginger and turmeric

• Spinach, broccoli, red bell peppers and mushrooms

• Almonds, sunflower seeds, raw cacao and green tea

• Yoghurt and kefir

• Citrus fruits, papaya, kiwi fruit

• Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh and pickles

• Poultry and shellfish

• Bone broth

However, experts say that it is not only good nutrition that boosts our immunity. There are several other things we can all do to fight off illness:

• Get regular good quality sleep

• Keep in touch with loved ones and avoid feeling lonely or isolated

• Help others

• Minimize stress

• Take regular exercise

• Meditate/breath or take part in another spiritual practice

• Take supplements if needed and make sure your vitamin D levels are in the correct range with your Doctor

• Reduce your intake of alcohol

• Take time to relax and look after yourself

This ties in with the my approach as a Nutritional Health Coach. I look at my client's health and wellness from a holistic point of view. It is not just a case of following the perfect diet in order to achieve great health and protect ourselves from illness. There are so many other important areas to pay attention to that nourish us equally. Relationships, career, physical exercise and spiritual practice are four main areas that can be broken down into sub-sectors which include finances, home environment, home cooking, health, education, social life, creativity and joy. Everything is connected and it is only when these elements are working in harmony and are in balance that we truly achieve good health and well-being.

To the cynics among you, it all may sound a bit implausible, but to those who have already tried it and are reaping the benefits, you know it works and that it just makes sense.