School is about to be back in session, and it’s important that your family’s immune system is prepared for it. And school is about learning, not spending your days wasting away and nursing a cold. Germs are inevitable, but you can do your best to fight them. Here’s how:
Back to School Immune Boosting Tips
Magnesium
Americans are chronically low in magnesium. The signs are everywhere with all of the road rage, abuse, high blood pressure, and stress that people live with on a daily basis. It’s most well known as the calming nutrient because of its ability to relax muscles, help us sleep, regulate hormones, relax blood vessels, and relieve depression. Aren’t you calmer just reading about it? Magnesium moves dietary calcium into the bones, decalcifies arteries, helps prevent blood clotting, and improves mental disorders like anxiety, hyperactivity, and depression. This helps your immune system function properly, get better sleep, decreases growing pains, and increases focus at school.
Healthy Eating
The following foods are extremely beneficial for your overall health and strength of your immune system. Be sure to get a balanced amount of each:
- Fermented foods such as kefir, kimchee, miso, pickles, sauerkraut, etc.
- Raw, organic eggs from free-ranging chickens
- Coconuts and coconut oil
- Locally grown fruits and vegetables
- Mushrooms, especially Reishi, Shiitake, and Maitake, which contain beta glucans (which have immune-enhancing properties)
- Garlic, a potent antimicrobial that kills bacteria, viruses, and fungi
- Herbs and spices with high ORAC scores: Turmeric, oregano, cinnamon, cloves
Send nutritious snacks to school with your children. Chopped veggies to dip in hummus, sauteed vegetables, and brown rice with protein is a great energizing lunch, both for the mind and immune system.
Stay Hydrated
Keeping hydrated allows the body to both function efficiently and flush toxins and bacteria from your system. Water is essential for the optimal function of every system in your body. Keeping kids hydrated isn’t always easy when they’re at school. Send them with water bottles and require them to drink a glass of water before each meal to get into good habits at home. Without enough water, a flower wilts. Our minds and bodies are the same.
Steam
The body loves a chance to release stored toxins in the skin and other organs. For adults, either create a good steaming shower and add our Eucalyptus Oil ShowerMist to the mix or do the same in a quality sauna or steam room. This will also fight bronchial infections, respiratory struggles, growing pains, improve circulation, and alleviate pain from fibromyalgia and arthritis. For children, run a bath for them with just one spray onto the tub walls for the same, yet lighter effect.
Tea
Encourage tea drinking at all ages. Choose herbal teas and tonics. Dandelion with a little nut milk and honey not only tastes delicious but detoxes the liver (a key immune system player). Chamomile and lavender are great at night before bed. Your options are open.
Sleep
Homework calls, but sleep should call louder. The body needs time to recoup. If there seems to be more homework than time, reevaluate time management and create a more healthy schedule. Waking earlier is better than going to bed later as well. To get the most out of sleep, you need more REM time. To get this, limit eating to no later than 2 hours before bed unless it’s a protein-based, no starch, no sugar snack. Stay away from media, computers, and phones at least an hour before bed.
Help take care of you and your family in the most vulnerable time of the year. Enjoy more of the year healthy instead of sick.
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