Supporting Low Immunity

Many of us are feeling fatigued at the prospect of more challenging months ahead of us.

Optimising immunity is on everyone’s mind at the moment and whilst ensuring you have good levels of the immune supporting nutrients, such as vitamin C and zinc, is crucial, there are also some other key factors that can significantly compromise our defences.

So if you’re someone who picks up infections a lot or tends to suffer with more severe symptoms, we’re keen to inspire you about how you can support your immunity and overall wellbeing, over the coming months.

One of the common drivers of low immunity is poor digestion. This can lead to decreased absorption of vitamin C, vitamin A, and zinc needed for robust immune defences.

If you have digestive symptoms, you may also have depleted colonies of good bacteria, and this can weaken our immunity further.

So make sure you support your gut health, starting with probiotics – the ‘good’ bacteria, and prebiotics – the fibre which feed the good bacteria.

Being overweight is another key factor. Carrying excess weight can leave you more prone to vitamin D deficiency and inflammation, which are two risk factors for infections and developing complications.

So taking measures to support healthy metabolism, say by increasing daily activity and intake of nutrients such as chromium, together with optimising vitamin D, is essential to improving your immune resilience.

Last but not least - STRESS. Stress is a huge driver of low immunity and affects most us. It negatively affects our gut. It increases our risk of being overweight, it depletes our body of B vitamins and vitamin C. It can also worsen our sleep and make us crave alcohol and sugar.

All of this can make it hard for the immune system to work optimally. We’ve all been stressed this year, so make sure to nourish your nervous system to minimise its impact on your immunity.

Increase your intake of calming nutrients and herbs such as magnesium and lemon balm, and practice a relaxation technique such as deep breathing.

If and when you feel poorly, increase your intake of immune-supportive nutrients further and consider botanicals such as elderberry and sage for higher potency support.

With so much out of our control, focus on what you can control – including your self-care. I hope that you feel empowered by our suggestions here.

If you need further support, please get in touch with us on 0121 433 8702 or clinicalnutrition@biocare.co.uk.