Maintaining a strong immune system

🎶 "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go" 🎶

If you didn't already know, I bloody love Xmas.

Now, if you find yourself in Western Europe or over on the East Coast of America,

You'll be well aware that this time of the year get's COLD!

I know I'm in Barcelona but it was 5 degrees when I was walking Bella this morning.

That ain't warm.

So, besides all the bants and fun that the festivities bring, they also bring an unwanted guest. Which is where I'm starting today...

Maintaining a strong immune system

In the last 10-14 days I'd say I've had about 5-6 clients who have been battling with some sort of nasty cold.

That's December in a nutshell in the UK and Ireland.

Mulled wine, advent calendars, and colds.

So I want to share a few tips on how you can 'boost' your immune system. Most of them you'll already be aware of but sometimes we need an extra prod to take action on things.

Prioritise Sleep Quality: As if you didn't know this was going to be on the list. You know how I feel about sleep and there's been evidence to show that sleep deprivation impairs the production of immune cells, such as natural killer cells, which are critical in fighting infections.

A study published in Sleep (2015) found that individuals who slept less than 6 hours per night were more likely to catch a cold compared to those who slept 7+ hours. Also, how cool do killer cells sound?

Stay Active: For a lot of people, December is the signal to pull their foot up off the gas. Health & Fitness takes a bit of a backseat and is instead replaced by Xmas work do's. But, we know there's no such thing as a break from your health.

If you need one more reason to keep working out this month, research has shown that moderate exercise enhances the circulation of immune cells, improving their ability to detect and fight infections.

Eat For Immunity: There is evidence that Vitamin C supports white blood cell production, while vitamin E is an antioxidant that helps neutralize free radicals. These free radicals have been linked to cancer and other health issues, so keeping them in check is key, to say the least.

Foods such as garlic and ginger have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, so make an effort to spice up your food.

Manage Your Stress: This one is kinda self-explanatory. Chronic stress increases cortisol levels, which suppress immune responses. In case you didn't know, cortisol is the 'stress hormone'. Now, while you need it in certain amounts, too much can cause havoc in your body.

Find ways of managing your stress effectively such as breathwork, journaling, walking, etc.

Supplement: I'm big on supplementing areas of the diet that are lacking. Diet aside, the sun goes missing more than usual at this time of the year. Vitamin D deficiency is linked to increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, so supplementing it can be very helpful if you don't get enough through food and drink. E.g. oily fish, egg yolks, & orange juice.

Zinc has also been found to reduce the duration of colds in a review by Advances in Nutrition (2019).

Wash Yo Hands!: We're all adults here so I shouldn't really have to say this, especially after the pandemic we've just been through...But clean your hands.

Regular handwashing reduces the spread of respiratory illnesses by 16–21%, according to a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases (2010)

Avoid Sudden Temperature Shifts: How many times have you either said this or heard it in the last few weeks?

"The weather is suddenly after changing, that's why you're/I'm sick."

Rapid temperature changes can strain the body’s thermoregulation systems (big fancy word), which indirectly affects immunity. Just be sensible and don't go from one extreme to the other without taking proper precautions.

There ya have it.

If you follow these you stand a much greater chance of making it through the winter months without picking up a nasty cold.

Let me know which one, if any, surprised you.

How to easily boost your fibre intake

The older I get, the more aware I'm becoming of the fragility of life.

When you're in your teens and 20s, you think the world is never going to end, and so you should as the responsibilities you have are far less.

But we both know that life is finite and it does end one day. I'm in the 'building season' of my life right now. I'm trying to build a business that changes the lives of many, including my own.

I want nothing more than to make it extremely successful. A goal I have zero doubts about achieving.

But the thing I want more than that?

A long, happy, and healthy life.

My habits will hopefully help me achieve just that.

Recently one of the habits I've been trying to improve is my diet. Now, while I have a pretty good diet, it can always get better.

So a few weeks ago I ordered a bag of Psyllium Husk.

It's a type of soluble fiber derived and is widely used as a dietary supplement for its multiple health benefits, particularly for digestive and cardiovascular health.

When you look at the nutrtional info on the back of the packet it's like 95% fibre. I'm sure I get enough fibre in my diet, but I'm not 100% confident that I'm very consistent with it.

Low fiber levels can significantly impact health, as dietary fiber plays a critical role in maintaining various bodily functions. In men particularly it's been associated with bowel cancer, which has a pretty horrible survival rate.

So this supplement is going to become a mainstay in my diet, although I've been quite inconsistent with it thus far.

If you're interested in which one I bought, here's the Amazon link.

Our health is precious and so we need to do everything in our power to enhance it.

This is another way of me doing just that.

Oh, but a warning in case you buy it...

It's got a kinda nasty texture.

Don't say I didn't warn you 😂

Quote for the day

- Japanese proverb

We're getting mightly close to the end of the year and that means you may be thinking about your goals for next year.

If you're sitting there reading this thinking to yourself...

'F*ck I haven't hit my fitness targets this year, again!'

That's cool, shit happens. It simply means you have to go back to the drawing board and create a plan of action.

This very well be the time when you DO hit those goals.

But it won't happen unless you decide to go again.

Fall, get back up again.

'Fail', try again.