5 reasons you keep catching the cold
It's estimated that people catch on average 2-3 common cold infections each year, but these can feel pretty continuous if your symptoms end up lingering for some time in-between! Throughout this blog, I run through 5 reasons you keep catching the cold, which are:
- Your diet could improve
- Stress could be having an influence
- You aren't getting enough sleep
- Hygiene practices aren't up to speed
- You have a weakened immune system
However, don't fret! Throughout this blog, I explore these themes in more details, firstly explaining how they could be having an impact but, more importantly, detailing what can be done to help.
1. Your diet could improve
'You are what you eat'. We hear this phrase a lot and for me, it's pretty pertinent. Basically, it means 'you're only as healthy as what you eat' so don't expect to scrimp on the good stuff but still be fighting fit! Even if you are well, a poor diet could eventually catch up on you.
Diet can affect every area of our system but when it comes to immune system, a few key areas have been continually cropping up in the research recently:
- Getting enough vitamin D – Of all the vitamins, vitamin D seems to be the firm favourite at the moment. It's a great all-rounder, it seems, with particular benefits for both stimulating and, more importantly, modulating the immune system. Plus, since so many of us are likely to be at risk of deficiency, it's one that many of us certainly need to keep top of mind.
- Sufficient vitamin C & zinc – Vitamin C and zinc are of particular interest when it comes to protecting the functions of the immune system and helping us to repair and recover. Remember, we're more likely to fall ill again, subsequent to an initial infection, if we haven't fully recovered the first time around.
- Maintaining diverse gut bacteria – We're all over gut health here at A.Vogel and luckily for good reason as some lovely research exists that helps confirm that a more diverse microflora can help encourage healthier immune responses1 – no surprises there! But it does suggest that more effort is needed from our end, in most cases.
How to go about it
It's one thing to identify the areas we may need to work on, but the other thing is putting it into sensible practice. So, here it goes, some of my tips:
- Vitamin D - When it comes to vitamin D, sensible sun exposure when it's available is advised, as well as keeping up with your dietary sources including regular oily fish intake (where possible). But for many, when it comes to vitamin D, this just isn't enough and a supplement is really required. 5-10ug is what we recommend daily. A small, consistent dose is likely to be the best approach to achieve optimal vitamin D levels.
- Vitamin C & zinc – Whilst a fresh, whole-food diet can help guarantee a good intake of vitamin C and zinc (plenty of fresh fruit, veg, nuts, seeds and seafood, to name a few), sometimes, especially if immune health is on your mind, an additional supplement can go a long way. Our Immune Support is convenient in that it provides vitamin C, zinc, plus vitamin D, all-in-one.
A.Vogel Immune Support Tablets with Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Zinc, 30 tablets
- Achieving diversity in your gut bacteria – The very thought of this may leave you feeling stumped, but it's simple really – fresh food, and a good variety of it. Fruit and vegetables contain a wide range of fibre that help feed your gut bacteria and keep them healthy. Adding fermented vegetables to your diet regularly can help diversify those little critters even further.
2. Stress could be having an influence
Whilst managing stress is easier said than done depending on the cause, even baby steps in the right direction could make all the difference. Unfortunately, during chronic stress your immune system can struggle to get a look in and work at it's full potential. It's only if we're able to get on top of the stress, that things are more likely to work closer to normal again.
How to go about it
Whilst the root of the stress may be harder to avoid in some cases, why not focus on areas you can control? In many cases, adding some positive self-care practices into your regime could help to limit stress and, in turn, improve your immunity. In my latest self-care tip video, I explore the area of massage for improving immunity, and the results are pretty impressive.
My Self-Care Tip: Consider massage to boost your immunity
Here I explain how getting regular massages could actually have benefits for the immune system.
However, whilst massage may not be attainable for everyone, and especially not in the current climate, there are also some much simpler steps you can take. Drinking more water, for example. Upping your water intake can have instant improvements on your circulation too, as well as massage, and this is important as circulation helps with the transport and operation of immune cells.
3. Lack of sleep
Whilst sleep is important for a number of bodily processes, recently the effects of sufficient sleep on our immune responses have been particularly note-worthy – and it seems it isn't something you can just do half-heartedly.
It seems that sleeping any less than 8 hours, on average, could mean your immune responses start to become sub-optimal (we're talking as much as a 70% reduction in function – so -'sub-optimal' may actually be being generous here!)1. Plus, it seems sufficient sleep may not only be important for day-today immune operations, but also more specialist roles, such as your body's response to vaccinations2, which may be even more pertinent than ever over the year ahead.
How to go about it
Personally, my advice for getting better sleep is retiring to bed a little earlier in the evening. Most of us have to get up at around the same time each morning so this is easiest way, I think, to make some improvements. Plus, there is research to suggest that the sleep in the early part of the evening if particularly restorative, and something we may struggle to get back if we end up going to bed too late.
With little to no social engagements happening right at the moment, now is definitely the time to work on getting your sleep routine back in check. Wind down in the hour or two before bed, limit screens, have a soak in the tub, read a book or practice some self-care in anyway you know how. Then, head to bed at a reasonable time and hopefully you'll be sufficiently relaxed to make the most of it!
4. A little thought on hygiene practices
Handwashing was a given until 2020 hit and it became a really, really big focus once more. However, interestingly, whilst we're being urged to wash and sanitise our hands within an inch of our lives, could some of the practices of the modern world actually be hindering our immune system?
You see, there is also the 'hygiene hypothesis' to contend with. This is something that's believed to be on the rise and is basically the belief that being 'too clean' could give rise to immune dysfunction, particularly relating to the allergy side of things.
How to go about it
It's certainly advisable to continue washing your hands and sanitising as per the current recommendations but in other areas I wonder if there is some room for improvement.
A simple, yet possibly effective approach, is to work on getting outside more. Naturally, as we're outside and exposed to nature, animals etc, this will help our immune system come into contact with a wider range of particles and will provide a little gentle exposure to some bugs, but not too much to make us ill. Plus, it's more likely to keep us moving and provide us with a good dose of fresh air. This will all help to keep our immune system working properly and responding as it should.
5. You have a weakened immune system
We're constantly hearing that our immune systems may be 'weak' or how to go about 'boosting' them. This may be daunting at first but it actually doesn't need to be as scary as it sounds.
As always, if you have any ongoing symptoms or something that just doesn't feel quite right, then it's best to double-check with your doctor. However, for the majority of us, some simple diet and lifestyle tips could help to give your immune system some well-needed support.
How to go about it
Luckily for you, the steps don't really get much more complicated than what I've already covered. The truth is, eating well, sleeping right, working on managing stress, drinking water, getting outside more and washing your hands, really is the bulk of the work when it comes to keeping your immune system happy.
The herb Echinacea, such as the fresh extracts found in our Echinaforce remedy, is one additional step you might consider introducing, in order to help offer a little extra protection. Then, watch out for my weekly blogs for more on the specifics, as we go.
References
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4056765/
2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7871104/
3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256323/
Product references:
1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6098779/
2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814608010868
Looking to support your immune system? Well, look no further!
