How to Support and Strengthen Your Immune System Naturally
As a Chiropractor and essential oils educator, I am fiercely passionate about teaching people how to best support their immune system - and their bodies - naturally. I believe we have to take steps every single day to bolster our health and that your health care providers should offer advice on how to do so. In comparison, the focus of conventional medicine is to wait until you are sick and then offer synthetic options to treat your disease. Our “health care system” has become a “sick care system” that is designed around the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Once you are well, their services are no longer needed.
Can you imagine….What if doctors only got paid if you were healthy? Do you think the focus would shift from medication and treatment to health and lifestyle choices?
The fundamental difference between these two trains of thought comes down to what causes disease. To understand this, we have to go back over 130 years. The Germ Theory was brought forth by Louis Pasteur who believed that disease is caused by germs, and subsequently lead to the development of medications and vaccines to “treat” the germ. Antoine Bechamp argued that dis-ease is caused by a weakened immune system, which ultimately lead to the further development on the impact of the microbiome and immunity, and the focus should be to address the health of the individual. In 2020, the debate still stands.
People have been conditioned to believe that if they get sick, this is beyond their control. It was the fault of those elusive germs floating around. Let’s break down this theory by using the flu. If the flu virus was the cause of getting the flu…wouldn’t every single person exposed to the flu get sick? How is it that only half a classroom of kids will get sick with the flu? How is it that last Christmas, my husband was so ill and yet the rest of us remained healthy? The answer is that it’s NOT the flu virus itself. It’s the host! If someone’s immune system is strong, they are much less likely to get sick. If their immune system is depleted, they are more likely to get sick. I am a huge believer in the Terrain Theory and it is what has propelled me to teach and empower others how to take responsibility for their own health.
Truthfully, there are not a lot of options from the conventional medical approach to help you when you have a virus. The recommended course of action is to go home, rest and drink lots of fluids (which I agree with). Furthermore, medical professionals will tell us to avoid people who are sick and wash our hands regularly (also, both GREAT tips) but they don't go as far as recommending how to support your immune system to protect against getting sick. Their advice is for AFTER you get sick, not to help you STAY WELL to begin with. That work, my friends, is ultimately up to you.
What if you could help your immune system not just survive, but thrive?
““A bird sitting on a tree is never afraid of the branch breaking because it’s trust is not in the branch but in it’s own wings.””
I absolutely love that quote. I ask of you…. do to trust in your own wings when it comes to your health? The question of course is - how can you create an environment inside of you that is unwelcome to viruses? Let's dive in.
Get Adjusted by your Chiropractor weekly
Chiropractors are experts in the function of the nervous system. Your nervous system is the master control system of your body. The less stress on your nervous system, the less stress on your body as a whole, including your immune system(1). Your brain-body connection is paramount in your overall health.
Essential Oils
There are essential oils that can support your immune system with their protective qualities. Oils like Oregano (2), OnGuard (3,4), Manuka (5), Tea Tree (6), Eucalyptus (7), Clove (8), Rosemary (8), Cinnamon (9) and others. Understanding how to safely and effectively use essential oils is crucial and so If you are looking to add oils into your lifestyle, you can learn all about how to do that HERE.
Drink LOTS of water
This is being shared widely and it has good merit. The more you flush your system with clean water, the better. When we are dehydrated, it leaves us more susceptible to germs. Water also helps bring oxygen to your cells which helps your entire body, including your immune system, function better. If you’re looking for ways to enjoy water more, try flavouring with essential oils!
Avoid sugar and Alcohol
Sugar and alcohol depress immune system function. There are a lot of memes floating around that tell us to deal with the stress of illness by drowning our fears in wine and chocolate. Don't do that ;) Many studies have linked high blood sugars to the destruction of your immune response to viruses and bacteria. (10, 11). Alcohol can trigger inflammation in the gut which kills off our healthy gut bacteria and decreases our immune response (12).
Get exercise.
Being active has been directly related to a stronger immune system. Moderate exercise has shown to have both a humoral and cellular response as well as protection for the upper respiratory system. (13) A few things to consider when it comes implementing exercise. Find something you love! Get outside as much as possible to get some fresh air and boost your natural vitamin D. Do it regularly, as in at minimum 20-30 minutes a day. Stretch daily to support muscular and joint health.
Nourishment.
Everything we eat will either support our health or deter it. Our food is broken down into the building blocks for our cells. Vitamins and nutrients are crucial and if we aren’t getting the right foods, our health will deteriorate. 80% of our food needs to come from proteins, fats, vegetables, and fruits. Complex carbohydrates (pastas, breads, baked goods, etc.) break down into sugars and add to our sugar tally so you have to be extremely mindful if you are relying on grains for a majority of your meals.
Supplementation
Regardless of how clean and healthy our diet is, we will still be lacking vitamins and nutrients that are key to our body’s function. Also, there are some vitamins that we just can’t get from our food. The list of supplements we take daily are:
Life Long Vitality from doTERRA. This includes a cellular complex, fish oil, and multi-vitamin. This three pack of supplements supports almost every aspect of my health. These three offer all of the vitamins and nutrients i need to reach as close to my recommended daily allowance as I can get. They have been clinically proven to support your health in the following categories: cardiovascular health, metabolic health, inflammation status, antioxidant status, energy level, immunity, and mood. (14)
Vitamin D. Truthfully, current recommendations for supplemental Vitamin D are too low. A 2017 study from Finland shows that we need to drastically increase our intake of Vitamin D. (15) Nutritionally, we only are meant to get about 20% of our vitamin D and that’s primarily from food sources people do not eat: wild eggs, quality fish, and non-pasteurized milk. 80% of our exposure should come from UV-B rays but we are taught to stay out of the sun and in Canada, we receive even less during the winter months. The study indicates that children can safely consume between 1000-3000 IU/day and adults can safely take upwards of 8000 IU/day.
Probiotics. Probiotics are designed to dose you with good gut bacteria and restore your gut biome (this is so important for immunity!). Specific to current concerns, it has been shown that a variety of microbe help prevent against respiratory disease. (16)
Sleep
When our body is sleeping, it is a time for repair and renewal. Have you ever noticed when you’re sick, you feel tired and sleep more? Your body naturally knows what it needs to do to repair itself. According to the Sleep and Performance Research Center (17), when you sleep, your immune system creates and releases cytokines, which are proteins designed to help with infection. When you are burning the candle at both ends and your body is lacking sleep, there is a decrease in cytokines and other antibodies. A quality night of sleep is directly correlated to higher T cells, important immune system cells that fight infection. Bottom line is that your body thrives on 7-8 hours of quality sleep at night. {Did you know essential oils can help support your sleep too?)
There is a ton of great research to support and show the importance of mastering our own health. While it may seem overwhelming at first, taking it one step at a time will make it more manageable. Each tip above, on it’s own, will make a difference in your health.
It doesn’t mean that we disregard health care practitioners who are there to help us for emergencies or if our health has deteriorated so much that we need some medical intervention too. However, it would be prudent that any health care practitioner address the foundations of health: nourishment, brain-body connection, supplementation, movement, stress, sleep, etc. Finding a team of health care practitioners who support your beliefs when it comes to how you want to take care of your health is important.
Choosing to take control of your health is a process…it’s a marathon not a sprint. In fact, it’s a life long commitment. It’s not about what your health will look like tomorrow or even next week. It’s about the changes you’ll experience one month, six months, one year, five years….ten years down the road. It also doesn’t matter how old you are when you start. It does however matter WHEN you start. And that time is now.
RESOURCES
(1) WR Boone Ph.D., DC; Paul Oswald B.Sc.; Kelly Holt B.Sc.; Randy Beck Ph.D., DC.; Kanwal Singh MD; Andrew Ashton B.Sc. “Long Term Assessment of Blood Indices and Immune Panel Profiling of Subjects Receiving Chiropractic Care: A Pilot Study” Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research ~ June 7, 2006 ~ Pages 1-11 https://www.vertebralsubluxationresearch.com/2017/09/05/long-term-assessment-of-blood-indices-and-immune-panel-profiling-of-subjects-receiving-chiropractic-care-a-pilot-study/
(2) D H Gilling 1, M Kitajima, J R Torrey, K R Bright “Antiviral efficacy and mechanisms of action of oregano essential oil and its primary component carvacrol against murine norovirus”. J Appl Microbiol. 2014 May;116(5):1149-63.
(3) Shuhua Wu 1, Krupa B Patel, Leland J Booth, Jordan P Metcalf, Hsueh-Kung Lin, Wenxin Wu. Protective essential oil attenuates influenza virus infection: an in vitro study in MDCK cells. BMC Complement Altern Med. 2010 Nov 15;10:69 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21078173/
(4) Han, X., Parker, T. L., & Dorsett, J. (2017). An essential oil blend significantly modulates immune responses and the cell cycle in human cell cultures. Cogent Biology, 3(1), 1340112. https://doi.org/10.1080/23312025.2017.1340112
(5) Jürgen Reichling 1, Christine Koch, Elisabeth Stahl-Biskup, Cornelia Sojka, Paul Schnitzler“Virucidal activity of a beta-triketone-rich essential oil of Leptospermum scoparium (manuka oil) against HSV-1 and HSV-2 in cell culture”. Planta Med. 2005 Dec;71(12):1123-7.
(6) Akram Astani 1, Jürgen Reichling, Paul Schnitzler “Comparative study on the antiviral activity of selected monoterpenes derived from essential oils” Phytother Res. 2010 May;24(5):673-9.
(7) Angela E Sadlon 1, Davis W Lamson ”Immune-modifying and antimicrobial effects of Eucalyptus oil and simple inhalation devices” Altern Med Rev.2010 Apr;15(1):33-47.
(8) Y. Fu et al., “Antimicrobial activity of clove and rosemary essential oils alone and in combination,” Phytother. Res. PTR, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 989–994, Oct. 2007.
(9) S. F. Nabavi, A. Di Lorenzo, M. Izadi, E. Sobarzo-Sánchez, M. Daglia, and S. M. Nabavi, “Antibacterial Effects of Cinnamon: From Farm to Food, Cosmetic and Pharmaceutical Industries,” Nutrients, vol. 7, no. 9, pp. 7729–7748, Sep. 2015.
(10) Shichao Yu 1, Gaoqun Zhang 1, Li Hua Jin 2, “A high-sugar diet affects cellular and humoral immune responses in Drosophila.” Exp Cell Res 2018 Jul 15;368(2):215-224.
(11) Janna G. Kiselar, Xiaowei Wang, George R. Dubyak, Caroline El Sanadi, Santosh K. Ghosh, Kathleen Lundberg, Wesley M. Williams.”Modification of β-Defensin-2 by Dicarbonyls Methylglyoxal and Glyoxal Inhibits Antibacterial and Chemotactic Function In Vitro.” PLOS ONE, 2015; 10 (8): e0130533
(12) Dipak Sarkar, Ph.D., D.Phil., M. Katherine Jung, Ph.D., and H. Joe Wang, Ph.D. “Alcohol and the Immune System”. Alcohol Res. 2015; 37(2): 153–155
(13) A Jeurissen 1, X Bossuyt, J L Ceuppens, P Hespel “The effects of physical exercise on the immune system” Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd .2003 Jul 12;147(28):1347-51.
(14) https://www.doterra.com/US/en/blog/science-research-doterra-lifelong-vitality-pack-clinical-trial
(15) Dimitrios T. Papadimitriou, “the Big Vitamin D Mistake”, J Prev Med Public Health. 2017 Jul; 50(4): 278–281
(16) https://internationalprobiotics.org/covid-19-a-role-for-probiotics-in-immunity/
(17) https://labs.wsu.edu/sprc/