Are you looking to enjoy better digestion, belly comfort, focused brain function, brighter moods and more stress resilience this holiday season? I help my clients increase immune resiliency, calm stress reactions, and take charge of their health with confidence.
My goal as Functional Nutritional Therapy practitioner is to empower you with information that you can trust. Nutrition is personal, it’s bio-individual, you have to find the best fit for you, your family, your preferences, goals, and your lifestyle.
One of the ways I do this is sharing options that help mitigate gut reactions or to give you a break from stress and chronically feeling bad. This is especially relevant during the holiday season when we have a tendency to over indulge, push ourselves mentally, and consume foods we don’t typically eat. If you or your family are prone to food reactions, mental or physical flare-ups of chronic illness, or frequently get sick, it's important to have a reliable immune wellness strategy.
Support your immune system and mental health with these tips.
1. Spend some time in the sun or when the sunshine is not available, supplement with Vitamin D3. The amount needed depends upon the region you live, the foods you eat, your age, and medications you are taking. During the winter months when sunlight is limited, supplementing with a range of 1,000 to 3,000 IU daily is the typical dosage for adults and 400 IU for children. Adequate levels of Vitamin D can aid your body’s immune system response and help to improve your body’s ability to fight off illness and disease. Vitamin D helps your body to effectively absorb calcium which helps your body to maintain healthy bones. Some foods that are high in vitamin D: wild caught fatty fish, cod liver oil, free-range pasture-raised eggs, and raw white mushrooms.
2. Get adequate sleep. Sleep is the essential time for our body to rest and repair itself. Often times when we travel or host guests, our sleep patterns get disturbed. When deep sleep gets compromised, so does our ability to repair and rebuild the immune system responses. Lack of sleep negatively effects the nervous system, which plays a major role in helping us maintain a parasympathetic (relaxed) state. Staying relaxed helps us to manage a healthy stress response and even our ability to digest food properly.
Habits like consuming alcohol, eating sugar and processed foods, and using electronic media before bedtime can stimulate the nervous system, make us hyper vigilant, and keep us from falling asleep or reaching a deep state of sleep. Taking a few deep breaths at bedtime can help you fall asleep faster, and reach a deeper state of sleep (when the repair happens). Often times supplementation is also needed to support our natural circadian rhythm of falling asleep and waking up feeling refreshed. Herbs like passionflower or lavender are gentle yet effective and taking 200 to 400 mg of magnesium glycinate supports the nervous system, relaxation, muscle repair, and achieving deep sleep.
3. Boost your digestion. You might not realize the extent to which diet affects the immune system. Because approximately 70 percent of the immune system is located in the gut, nutrition is a key modulator of immune function.
Immune cells in the gut interact with the microbiome. The diverse bacteria and fungi that live in the gastrointestinal tract are directly influenced by an individual’s diet and lifestyle. These bacteria support strong immunity when we consume plant foods that are high in fiber. The microbiome and the immune system are critically intertwined. What’s present in the gut determines what signals immune cells get. Dietary diversity and microbial diversity go together. The typical American diet, which is high in sugar, processed foods and seed oils results in less-diverse gut bacteria. This type of diet promotes inflammation and chronic disorders. A fiber-rich diet supports the microbiome and reduces the inflammatory response.
Taking a probiotic can help inoculate the gut with immune supporting bacteria. Consuming high fiber foods like prebiotics help feed healthy gut bacteria populations.
Using mindful eating techniques like taking a few deep breaths before you begin eating, slowing down while eating, and chewing your food well can help the digestive process and stimulate natural digestive enzymes that help you break down food.
4. Consume quality protein. Protein helps keep you satisfied and full longer. When you have meals and snacks that aren’t quite balanced with carbs, fat, and protein, you might feel hungry sooner. Grazing and binge eating are a common occurrence over the holidays. We are bombarded with high carbohydrate and sugar laden snacks and treats. Consuming high quality protein for breakfast sets the stage for less overindulging throughout the day.
Protein supports the immune system, and supports enzyme production which enable cells to communicate with each other. Properly raised animal sources are the best source of protein as they are complete, meaning they have all 22 amino acids. Meat that is pasture raised, fish that is wild caught, and poultry and eggs that are pasture raised are ideal. Wild caught fish is a great source of omega 3 which is a type of fat that can help support healthy cardiovascular function and healthy cognitive function. Alternatively, you can also look for protein sources from organic, soaked and sprouted seeds and nuts.
5. Eat foods that are rich in immune supportive vitamins and minerals. Fruits and vegetables are a great source of antioxidants such as vitamin A and vitamin C, which are important water-soluble vitamins that support a healthy immune system. Leafy greens and algae are high in phytonutrients, minerals, and other health-promoting compounds, which help support the immune system.
Herbs and spices commonly found in holiday dishes are a great addition as well (garlic, ginger, cinnamon, oregano, thyme, and black pepper). Fruits like apples, oranges, lemons, limes, kiwi, papaya, melons, and berries are a wonderful source of fiber and vitamin C. They are a great choice to replace the typical cakes, cookies, candies, and pastry that we have a tendency to over consume.
6. Minimize stress when it hits. Paying attention to your stress reactions and practicing ways to calm the body’s response will go a long way when managing holiday stress and beyond.
Practice breathing from your belly. When stressed, it's common to take quick and shallow breaths from the chest instead of the belly. Taking deep, slow breaths using your diaphragm helps calm your body and mind.
Deep, slow breathing has significant positive effects on the respiratory, cardiovascular, and autonomic nervous systems. This leads to decreases in heart rate and blood pressure, improved digestion, improved sleep cycles, enhanced anti-inflammatory effects, improved mood, and muscle relaxation.
7. Get daily exercise and move your body. Regular exercise helps promote a healthy immune system. Just be careful not to over-do it, since this can lead to fatigue and a run-down system. Exercise can help lower anxiety especially in the moment, and any kind of movement will help. Walking, deep knee bends, jumping jacks, pushups, sit-ups, skipping, arm circles, or any movement that's comfortable can flush stress-induced chemicals out of your body. This holiday season, go for a walk after dinner or join the family at the sledding hill. Any movement will support your efforts to manage holiday stress which boosts the immune system. Even if you find yourself stuck inside, play video games with the entire family that require full body movements like “Just Dance”, “Wii Sports”, or “Ring Fit Adventure” and “Fitness Boxing” by Nintendo. Get creative, and have fun while increasing circulation and enabling gravity to help with the digestive process.
8. Mitigate the inflammatory process. Stress, nutrient deficiency, and consuming lots of different foods can cause the tissues in the body to go into overdrive. Foods that are heavily processed and refined, often contain ingredients, such as artificial sweeteners, additives and preservatives, that you should avoid to help promote gut health and a healthy inflammatory response. Here are a few foods that you may want to limit or avoid to keep inflammation low and support immune system health. Processed foods like fried foods, baked goods, fast food, or prepackaged convenience meals cause inflammation. Drinks like soda, fruit juice, sweet tea, sports drinks, energy drinks steal vitamins and minerals from the body and cause inflammation too. Food additives like high-fructose corn syrup, table sugar, agave nectar, and molasses spike our blood sugar, suppress the immune system, causing tissue and gut inflammation.
This holiday season, make all your choices informed, conscious ones. A good rule of thumb is to plan for consuming 80% healthy, nutrient rich food, then give yourself 20% to enjoy rich foods and sugary sweets. Use your senses and take the time to notice the taste, notice how sweet they are, enjoy them, and then be done.
So when your life gets stressful or feels overwhelming this holiday with traveling, visiting, and eating triggering foods, plan ahead so you can be ready to make the most of it. Above all, enjoy your time with family and friends. While food often takes center stage, let your focus be on the people you are with!
The reality is when we travel, dine out, or become dinner guests in someone’s home, we are not always in control of what we eat. I want to make sure to include some supplements to help you stay healthy both mentally and physically through the holiday season.
Loading up on a few healthy immune system supporting supplements is a simple and convenient way to promote immune system health. They support the nervous system while also providing a variety of essential nutrients into your daily diet. See below for some of my favorite Metagenics products .
Remember to sign up for my through this link to access my personal dispensary to order: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/cwiedoff
Metagenics Immune Active
Immune Active provides high potency vitamin C and zinc and features quercetin, NAC, and EGCG to help support a healthy immune response and promote antioxidant processes.
Metagenics Vitamin D3 5000 + K
Vitamin D3 5,000 + K provides 125 mcg (5,000 IU) of easy-to-absorb vitamin D3 per soft gel. This high potency formula contains vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7) to complement vitamin D.
Metagenics Magnesium Glycinate
Magnesium is an essential mineral that supports over 300 chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium Glycinate offers an easily digestible form of magnesium designed to enhance absorption to support critical body functions. Supports muscle relaxation and nervous system health. Contains a highly absorbable form of magnesium amino acid chelate. Gentle on the stomach.
Metagenics UltraFlora® Spectrum Probiotic
UltraFlora® Spectrum Probiotic offers a proprietary mix of seven probiotic strains delivering 30 billion CFU, including NCFM®, one of the most well-researched strains. This high-quality probiotic supports gut and immune health.
Metagenics Tran-Q Sleep
Tran-Q® Sleep helps relieve nerves and tension with lavender oil and passionflower extract, for a better night’s sleep. This high quality nerve tonic supports relaxation and a restful night’s sleep.
Metagenics SPM Active
Renews the body’s natural ability to alleviate soreness and joint discomfort. SPM Active® is formulated to target root causes of soreness by supporting the body’s natural ability to soothe and minimize discomfort. Designed to help with soreness intensity in two weeks. Specialized Pro-resolving Mediators (SPMs) are the most powerful anti-inflammatory metabolites of the Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil. SPM Active interrupts the inflammatory process, repairs damaged tissue, clears infection and restores internal balance and resilience.