1. It provides vitamin D from sunlight
Vitamin D is vital for a functioning immune system and, amazingly, we get it from the sun's rays.
As you sit down to an al fresco midday snack, roll up your sleeves and feel the sun on your skin. This will allow the sun's UVB rays to hit cholesterol in the skin cells, thus, providing the energy for vitamin D synthesis to occur.
Did that last piece of advice make you scoff and stare angrily out your window at a sky the colour of an old dishcloth? I will assume you're living in the northern hemisphere then. In which case, you might need to top up your vitamin D with a good supplement.
Immune Support tablets contain vegan vitamin D as well as vitamin C, zinc and nasturtium flowers. A great combination to support your immune system while the skies are still dishcloth grey.
2. Nature helps us relax
When stressed, our immune system's ability to respond to a nasty bacteria or virus is weakened, leaving us open to infection. Our body is busy with matters it perceives as life and death. Imagine you are having a picnic in a park, when a bear starts thundering towards you. Which parts of your body do you want operational now? If you're about to run for the hills, blood flowing to large muscle groups would certainly come in handy. You're not going to be too concerned whether immune cells are multiplying or your picnic lunch is properly digested. This is why your immune system is weakened when you are stressed: your body is only concerned with keeping you out of short-term danger and doesn't have time to consider your long-term health.
Studies show that time in nature activates the opposite of fight or flight: our parasympathetic nervous system (also known as rest and digest). When we are in this state, functions deemed non-essential during a bear attack will become important again. Digestion and immunity will get back to their usual tasks ; so get outside and take in some deep breaths! In fact, breathing itself, can be beneficial, so, if that's all you can manage, watch my self-care tip below for more info.
My Self-Care Tip: How breathing well could benefit your immune system
Here I explain how breathing deeply can help to manage stress and ultimately benefit your immune system:
See, if we are in a prolonged state of stress it can take a time for our body to return to rest and digest mode. So, as mentioned in my self-care tip video above, if you are feeling tense and need some extra help to wind down, Stress Relief Daytime is a licensed remedy to do just that. Take a look at this section of our website for more help on dealing with stress.
3. Plants provide phytoncides
Natural environments are teeming with chemical and biological agents that have positive implications for our health. Many plants give off phytoncides. These organic compounds have antibacterial and antifungal qualities which help plants fight disease. When we breathe these in, our bodies respond by increasing the number and activity of a type of white blood cell called a 'natural killer cell' or NK. Phytoncides help us to de-stress too. Are you still with me? Or have you run away to the woods already?
"Nature is just about the best thing we've got!"
Alfred Vogel
How to enjoy the benefits of nature
If running away to the woods isn't possible right now, don't worry. You can still enjoy the benefits of what nature has to offer:
- Sit on your balcony/by the window/in your garden/beside your favourite plant and take some deep breaths.
- Diffuse essential oils that remind you of being out in nature – cypress and cedarwood are my favourite.
- If you are fighting off a bug and can't get out to the woods, try Echinaforce drops in a little water, 3 times a day. It's pretty amazing that the health-giving properties of plants are available to us in convenient bottled remedies – gifts from nature!
My Top Tip:
"Have been taking these daily to boost my immune system and prevent colds. Has worked so far."
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20074458
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8646568
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01093/full
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150916162120.htm
