Ready, Set, Immune!

Nov 14, 2024

As winter approaches, decreasing temperatures and daylight hours encourage many to stay indoors. Challenges in modern work-life schedules also take away from living the more relax lifestyle that summer usually offers. One of the most common concerns is surely the "cold and flu" season, so much that products and marketing campaigns are named after it. In this post, we review all the pillars you have control over to not be a pawn in the cold and flu game. We also suggest ingredients to focus on and products you may consider.

The change in sunlight, fresh air, movement and calmer times are the perfect concoction that can lead to reducing the strength of our immune system.

Decrease in sunlight: As our "sunshine" vitamin, vitamin D drops with a decrease in sun exposure, especially in northern latitudes, due to seasonality and location. Vitamin D deficiency is primarily associated with increased susceptibility to, and severity of, many infectious diseases. Lower vitamin D exposure also makes us feel more tired.

Did you know?
Individuals with darker skin tone need relatively more sun exposure to get adequate vitamin D amounts.

Decrease in air quality: The chiller temperatures give reason for individuals to stay indoors more often. Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and ventilation all play a part in the endurance, infectivity, spreading and removal of viruses. They equally affect how humans can protect against these viruses. Low temperatures and low relative humidity are believed to increase the transmission of respiratory viruses, including RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), human rhinovirus (common cold) and avian influenza virus.
Decrease in movement: In winter months, it has been shown that people exercise an average of 8 minutes less. It is also well known that people who routinely exercise are at lower risk for infections because regular exercise has well-known immune boosting properties. It makes sense that with less regular exercise, your immunity goes down as well.

Decrease in calmer times: When summer comes to an end, it seems like there is one thing after another to prepare for. Back to school for students usually translates to routine and extracurriculars; then there are fall preparations, Halloween, Thanksgiving followed by work deadlines before the holiday rush. It seems to continue with New Year resolutions and trickle down a few months (Lunar New Year, Valentine's Day, Ramadan, etc.). Work-life balance is a continual challenge for the modern working adult. It is no surprise that research have found that poor work-life balance can lead to chronic stress, harmful for both physical and mental health. While our immune system keeps soldiering through the winter, most people look forward for the return of warmer weather and longer days.

Now that you understand how the above changes can lead the immune system to a suboptimal functioning, let's see what you can do for each to rev it back up.

Increasing vitamin D: Other than the sun, vitamin D comes from only a few food sources and of course, supplementation. Food sources high in vitamin D are fatty fish, egg yolk and commonly fortified foods, such as milk, dairy products, orange juice and cereals. As evident by the short restrictive list, many do not attain their daily needs. This is where supplementation is crucial. With AG products, you have the choice between 400, 1000 and 2500 IU of vitamin D in tablet, softgel or gummy form.

Increasing air quality: When indoors, ensure ambient air is at a comfortable temperature and humidity, while being well-ventilated. Due to the increase of gatherings indoors and physical contact, thoroughly practicing basic hygiene can go a long way: proper hand washing with soap, sneezing and coughing in tissue papers, limiting exposure to sick individuals, etc.

Increase of movement: For individuals who usually exercise outside, it can become demotivating when the roads are covered in snow. Despite the dryer and colder air in winter that can lead to more respiratory tract irritation, experts still recommend exercising regularly as the immune benefits of exercise far outweighs the risks of catching the flu.

Increasing stress management strategies: Many stress management strategies seem intuitive and simple, such as exercising, eating nutritiously, decreasing screen time, reducing stimulants, sleeping adequately, and the list goes on. Just like the modern world we live in, many tend to want to do it all, even when it comes to decreasing their stress! The issue is, ironically, the overwhelm of implementing multiple strategies all at once, leading to a lack of consistency and eventually returning to square one. Our suggestion is to take one strategy and practice it until it becomes solid. Expect days where you will miss the mark or not be at your 100%, as those can be big all-or-nothing demotivators. Only when you feel that strategy has integrated as a lifestyle, move onto the next strategy.

Many of the above lifestyle approaches can be combined easily with immune-supporting supplements and herbals. Supplements like zinc, vitamins C and D, and combinations of them have been studied to prevent respiratory infections and help in managing symptoms if they do arise.

Optimal health starts with prevention, so our best recommendation is to take our high dose Zinc 50 mg or Pro-Immunex during the cold and flu season, before you get sick. Pro-Immunex includes zinc, vitamins C and D.

If you start to feel unwell, consider zinc 15 mg lozenges containing slippery elm, echinacea, astragalus and vitamin C to help support your immune system.

If the virus has established its presence already, but you can still perform your daily tasks, any of the echinacea line would be a good choice. Finally, for cases where you can’t even get yourself out of bed, Cold and Flu, night and day formula is your best bet.

To summarize:

Before getting sick:

High dose Zinc 50 mg; or

Pro-Immunex (mix of vitamins and minerals)

At the onset of symptoms: Zinc 15 mg lozenges

At established symptoms:

In cases of functional daily tasks: echinacea line

If bedridden: Cold and Flu, night and day formula

As winter approaches and our immunity faces unique seasonal challenges, taking proactive steps to support our health becomes essential. By staying mindful of factors like vitamin D, air quality, physical activity, and stress management, we can maintain a stronger immune system. Pairing these lifestyle adjustments with immune-supporting supplements and herbs, like zinc, vitamins C and D, and echinacea, can provide an added layer of protection. Prioritizing these habits and resources enables us to embrace winter feeling prepared, resilient, and better equipped to ward off seasonal ailments.

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