We are now in that time of year when colds, flu, stomach bugs, and other unwanted illnesses spread easily. Getting sick is never fun, but there are a number of things that we can do to help prevent illness and support our immune systems naturally. Washing your hands with pure soap and water, eating a healthy diet, and getting a little sunshine everyday go a long way toward maintaining good health. Here are eight simple ways that you can boost your immune system naturally.

Wash Your Hands- A Lot

This bit of advice seems obvious, but the importance of handwashing to prevent illness cannot be understated. I discuss this topic in more detail in the post Is Triclosan Safe or Effective? But the main thing to keep in mind is that giving your hands a good scrub with plain (not antibacterial!) soap and water helps to loosen bacteria and viruses and wash them off your skin. It’s also important to teach young children to scrub long and hard and to wash their hands throughout the day. Washing with soap and water is the best way to remove germs from your hands, but for those times that they are not available, hand sanitizer made with natural ingredients is good backup.

Eat a Balanced Diet

A balanced diet is crucial for overall health, and many of the nutrients that are obtained from healthful foods help support immune function. A healthy diet emphasizes vegetables and fruits and lean protein (including poultry and cold-water fish). Modest amounts of whole grains, beans, and legumes are important, as are small to moderate amounts of dairy. Healthy fats, including those found in coconut oil, butter, avocados, and olive oil should also be part of the diet. It is also best to keep sugars and refined carbohydrates to a minimum (more about this in following sections).

Increase Your Vitamin C Intake

Vitamin C is an important antioxidant. It is also critical for immune function because white blood cells require this vitamin to fight off infections. Vitamin C has a similar structure to glucose (sugar) and uses the same receptor sites on cells as glucose does. Too many sugars and/or refined carbohydrates in the diet increases glucose in the bloodstream and can prevent vitamin C from entering the cells, where it is needed.

There are many food sources of vitamin C, including citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, kiwi, avocados, broccoli, and bell peppers. Vitamin C is easily destroyed by heat, so these foods are best eaten raw if you are trying to get more vitamin C.

Support Your Probiotics

There are billions of probiotics (also known as “good” bacteria) living in our intestines. These microscopic bugs provide a variety of health benefits for us. They produce food for the intestinal cells and even make some vitamins. They also help crowd out unwanted microbes (the ones that can make us sick). About 70 to 80 percent of the immune system’s cells reside in the intestines, and probiotics actually communicate with and support them.

There are several types of foods that can be eaten in order to increase the probiotics in our bodies. To begin with, eating fermented foods like yogurt (plain is best because it has less sugar than flavored varieties), kefir, and kombucha (a probiotic drink) helps to colonize the intestines with good bacteria. There are also certain foods, called pre-biotics, that probiotics love to feed on. These include barley, berries, bananas, and other fruits (unpeeled), most vegetables (unpeeled), beans, peas, lentils, garlic, onions, honey, tomatoes, and oats and oat bran. Again, it is important to minimize refined sugars and carbohydrates because “bad” bugs like to feed on them.

Many of the foods that contain or support probiotics are part of a healthy diet. So if you’re eating a variety of healthy foods, you’re probably already taking good care of the friendly bugs in your gut.

Cook with Garlic

Garlic is a staple in our house, and we cook with it regularly. Part of the reason we use garlic so much- aside from the fact that it tastes good- is that it is beneficial to our health. Garlic contains a precursor to a compound that, when activated in the body, has a mild antibiotic effect. It may also fight viral infections, including a form of the common cold. And it is effective against fungal infections as well.

Eat Coconut Oil

Many of the fatty acids in coconut oil are converted in the body into antimicrobial compounds that can fight off unwanted bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Coconut oil is stable at high heats and makes a great addition to Asian dishes. I also sometimes put a tablespoon or so in my smoothies.

Spend Some (Sunscreen Free) Time in the Sun

Vitamin D is crucial for immune function; if you have adequate levels, you are better able to fight off infections. When the skin is exposed to sunlight, it converts a cholesterol compound into vitamin D. Wearing sunscreen, however, inhibits the production of vitamin D. This is why it is important to spend about 10 to 15 minutes in the sun without sunscreen several times a week. Be aware, however, that in roughly the upper third of the U.S. the sun’s rays are not adequate during the winter months to stimulate vitamin D production. It has been theorized that the incidence of colds and flu increases in the winter in part because of this effect (i.e. because people are unable to make vitamin D during this part of the year). People with darker skin also have difficulty producing enough vitamin D because their skin pigments block the sun’s rays. There are some dietary sources of vitamin D, including fish liver oil, fatty saltwater fish, canned tuna, shiitake mushrooms, dairy products, egg yolks, liver, butter, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal.

Use Essential Oils, Nature's Antibiotics

Essential oils can be used in a variety of ways to help eliminate illness-causing microbes and boost the immune system. Many essential oils, including lemon, rosemary, clove, lavender, and tea tree have antimicrobial properties, making them ideal for use in all-purpose natural cleaners. Essential oils can be added to water, a mix of water and vinegar, or to Castile soaps to make safe and effective all-natural cleaners that can be used to disinfect most surfaces. The essential oils in Verefina’s Foaming Hand Soap can also help get rid of bacteria and viruses on the hands.

There are a variety of ways to prevent illness and support the immune system naturally. The occasional illness during the winter months is probably inevitable. However, washing your hands with plain soap and water, eating a nutritious diet, and spending a little time in the sun all go a long way toward keeping everyone in the family healthy.

Sources:

Balch, Phyllis A. Prescription for Nutritional Healing. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print.

Edelstein, Julia. “All About Vitamin D: Benefits, Sources, and More.” Real Simple, Web. 23 September 2013.

http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/vi...

Huffnagle, Gary B.The Probiotics Revolution. New York: Bantam Books, 2008. Print.