How I Make My Body Virus-proof - part 1
There is no one thing that is going to make your system virus-proof. It is really a combination of strategies that is going to do it. Again, what I am sharing here is worth saving for reference purposes because one thing I can guarantee is that Covid -19 is not the last health crisis we are going to see.
None of what I am sharing here is a direct recommendation or is designed to replace medical advice of any kind. I am sharing with you what I do and how I approach my own and my family's immunity based on my 20+ years of study and experience of natural medicine. You have to decide for yourself if this is right for you or not.
Before I even go any further, please remember that the more fear and stress you introduce into the equation, the more suppression you cause within your immune system, which makes you more defenseless should you get infected. This is simple psychoneuroimmunology. So keeping calm and trusting your body knows how to deal with a virus (or any other infection) is very important.
If you are not currently believing that your body can deal with infections effectively, you are in trouble. You have to trust your body knows what to do. Human beings have been fighting viruses (and other microorganisms) for a very long time. Yes, it is a bit harder when we live in a stressful, toxic world and the viruses are man-made, but our bodies are strong and resilient, and we MUST believe in them! Otherwise, we have no chance. Check out my article on placebo and nocebo effect if you are not sure what I’m talking about here.
Another way of looking at it, from a purely physiological point of view, is when your nervous system is out of balance, which happens when you are chronically stressed, your immune system is compromised. Healing, tissue regeneration, fighting infections, detoxification, etc. is ONLY possible when your parasympathetic nervous system is strong and activates easily.
Most people these days have poor parasympathetic function (poor vagal tone). This is why so many people struggle with chronic health issues. The nervous system imbalance is the true root cause of most health problems, as it leads to poor gut function and chronic inflammation. But that is not all. People with poor vagus function also struggle to effectively deal with acute infections, viral or otherwise. This is why I have created an entire online summit dedicated to the vagus nerve and rebalancing the nervous system (free online: June 15-21).
So put simply, the two top things that are going to compromise your immune system far more than even your food choices is STRESS and INADEQUATE SLEEP. So if you want your body to be virus-proof, you absolutely need to address those. So even if you are not ready to address your fears, anxieties, etc. at a deeper level, you need to prioritize some form of stress management on a daily basis.
This can be guided meditation, sound healing, yoga, affirmational Havening, EFT, or whatever works for you. Whatever your method, it needs to give you this feeling of peace, safety and security that is essential for nervous system relaxation and optimal immune function. If you are feeling panicked and out of control as a result of watching too much news, I highly recommend the original Bach flower Rescue Remedy, other than not watching the news of course! It is wonderful and can calm you down almost instantly. You can use it in times of shock and trauma as well. Everybody should have that in their natural medicine cabinet.
Optimizing your sleep and circadian rhythm is also critical. Your defense against any infection will be extremely poor if you don’t get enough restorative sleep. This is not just about getting enough hours. You could easily get 8 hours of sleep and only a few minutes deep restorative sleep. Quality matters. Going back to basics such as: going to bed at a decent time (early hours of the night are more restorative), not eating or exercising too late, blocking blue light after sunset, keeping your bedroom dark, cool and free of EMFs, etc. will make a huge difference to how your immune system functions and responds to threats. Your Best Sleep Ever summit is currently on and you can watch it for free if you're not sure how to dial your sleep in.
So these are absolute basics that are key to get right and mustn’t be underestimated. Let’s now look at some other strategies that help boost the immune function, starting with what is best to avoid. So as a general rule, the more toxic your body the more defenseless it is going to be against infections. I am not suggesting this is the time to go on a long, elaborate cleanse, although this might be a consideration at some point, and should be, if toxicity is an issue for you. But at the very least, start being more aware, if you are not already, of all the toxic things you might be putting in your body and on your skin. So when you want to make yourself virus-proof, it is more important than ever to eat organic and GMO-free.
In addition, avoiding anything that tends to weaken or aggravate the immune system, such as excess sugar, alcohol, artificial sweeteners, gluten, dairy, caffeine, and naturally anything that you know you are sensitive to. If you have a known (or suspected) sensitivity or allergy to certain foods, and you knowingly put these in your mouth, you are causing unnecessary immune reactivity. Basically, you create a distraction for the immune system that is flapping around attacking the food whilst infections are sneaking through and then cause havoc in the body.
So now we know what not to do, let’s look at some foods and supplements that are very helpful when building immunity and fighting infections.
