Fall is here and in full swing! We’re enjoying the return of rich autumn colors, fires in the wood-stove at night and getting our daughter ready for Halloween! Fall also is commonly associated with the start of cold and flu season. This year we are already seeing a lot of viruses going around the community with lots of kids home from school. Do you or someone in your family seem to get sick more often? Do your kids seems to have constant runny noses during the fall and winter? While it’s normal and healthy to succumb to a virus or two during the year, many people feel like they catch everything that’s going around. There is a lot you can do to naturally support your immune system so you get sick less often and experience milder symptoms when you do get sick.
The immune system is intricate and complex; it requires balance and harmony to function at its best. There is still a lot we don’t know about the immune response but most physicians and researchers agree that certain lifestyle factors can keep our whole body—including our immune system—healthy and strong.
In addition, Chinese medicine has been used for thousands of years to keep people healthy and to prevent disease. In Chinese Medicine we believe that when the body’s organ systems and energy sources are in balance, especially the Lung, Stomach and Kidney qi, we are much better able to fight off illnesses and palliate symptoms. It is mentioned in the ancient medical texts that the most respected physicians do not have any sick patients; the utmost goal of acupuncture and herbal medicine is to keep people well.
Here are some ways you can support your immune system to stay healthy in the face of cold and flu season this year.
Hand Hygiene- we’ve all heard it before folks, but many of us don’t always practice it. The single most important way to avoid exposure to these viruses is washing your hands frequently. Also, washing them well—that means scrubbing your hands for 20 seconds and drying them completely with a clean towel after washing. This is a huge lesson to reiterate to our kids, and while many of us were strict with hand hygiene during the COVID pandemic the practice may have waned.
Sleep- Getting adequate sleep is always important and especially so during cold and flu season. Our immune system is directly affected and supported by our sleep cycles, and certain immune cells even function better while we are asleep (1). Try to make sleep a priority: give yourself a regular bedtime 8-9 hours before you need to wake up, cut out screen time 1-2 hours before bedtime, make your bedroom dark and try some deep breathing, meditation, or yoga before bed to help relax. Stop caffeine after 12pm and limit alcohol consumption in the evening as these can both affect your ability to fall or stay asleep. Chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture can also help with sleep disorders. If you have chronic insomnia, seeing your medical or naturopathic doctor may also be helpful.
Manage stress- chronic stress has been linked to inflammation and immune system dysregulation (2). Many of us can relate to that, as it’s common to get sick after dealing with stressful transitions or work/school deadlines. It’s not always possible to eliminate the stressor, but do your best to find a little time every day to do something that helps you de-stress. Exercise, deep breathing, meditation or spending quality time with loved ones can help. Along the lines of prioritizing sleep, prioritizing rest time is also important, especially in the fall and winter and can help with stress management. Energetically, these seasons are a time of inward movement and reflection so considering taking something off your plate to make more time for restful and reflective activities can be extremely beneficial for decreasing stress and supporting your immune system. If you need extra help consider making a massage or acupuncture appointment as these therapies can help you relax and manage stress as well.
Nutrition support- There are foods and minerals that can directly support or hinder your immune function, so what you eat can be one of the most important modifiable lifestyle factors to support your ability to fight infection. This is also paralleled in Chinese Medicine as the strength of our body’s qi, which affects our ability to avoid disease, is directly strengthened or depleted by our nutrition. The basic recommendation is to eat a balanced healthy diet with lots of fruits and veggies. Try to reduce or eliminate sugar and other refined carbohydrates as these can directly negatively impact your immune system for several hours after eating them (3). Also avoid processed foods and alcohol. Chinese Medicine advice focuses on seasonal eating, which means during winter months focus on soups, stews, and cooked veggies, and avoid overdoing raw foods and cold drinks as these can deplete your qi.
Try to increase the following:
dietary fiber (4) with more vegetables and whole grains
probiotics (5) in either fermented foods or in a supplement
immune supporting foods like garlic (6) and shitake mushrooms (7).
Vitamin C (8) is an important mineral for our immune system function and can be found in foods like oranges, grapefruit, bell peppers, kiwi fruit, strawberries, broccoli and tomatoes.
Vitamin D (9) and omega-3 fatty acids (10) are also important for immune function and can be supplemented together in cod liver oil.
Herbal support- We often suggest taking an individualized Chinese herbal formula to support the immune system and any constitutional imbalances during cold and flu season. We choose these formulas based on your symptoms as well as pulse and abdominal diagnosis. Many of the herbs in these formulas have been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. One example is astragalus, or huang qi, which has commonly been used in tonic formulas for immune support for thousands of years and has now been shown to have anti-oxidant, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory activities (11). Another common over-the-counter supplement we suggest is elderberry syrup. Elderberry also has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory activities and has been shown in small studies to reduce symptoms of influenza (12). Kids usually love it, so it can be a good daily immune supplement for them, too. We also commonly use it as a flavorful base to add herbal tinctures to when given to young ones or folks who find it more difficult to take herbal remedies.
Even if you are exposed and start to have symptoms of a respiratory virus, there are several different Chinese herbal formulas that can actually help you keep the pathogen at the surface, thus hopefully preventing it from going deeper and becoming a lower respiratory infection like pneumonia. It is helpful to be established with an acupuncturist during this time of year for acupuncture and herbal support to stay healthy, but also to be able to quickly prescribe an herbal remedy if you are starting to feel sick.
Our passion is helping people live healthier and happier all year round. That includes supporting the body’s immune system during cold and flu season. After the pandemic many people are still living with anxiety and fear about respiratory infections. Instead of feeling more stress around getting sick, try to use it as a motivator to live healthier, and thus be in a better position to fight off any virus now and in the future.