Supporting Our Immune System and How We Handle Sickness
Sickness can be hard and in some cases even stressful to deal with. My hope is to share some of the tools and knowledge that we have developed through our experience to help you better support yourselves and your family through the dreaded colds, coughs, and flu.
Taking a proactive approach
Our culture is used to reactive medicine and waiting until our bodies “break down” before we do something about it. In our home, we like to do what we can to support our bodies before we get sick, in order to help them handle sickness more efficiently. Three easy ways that we do this include consistent chiropractic adjustments, eating whole foods and incorporating movement and fresh air.
Consistent chiropractic care – in our family we practice what we preach. We get adjusted weekly to ensure our bodies are functioning they way they are designed to. This not only helps to keep sickness at bay but also helps work through sickness when it comes. When sickness does hit our household we increase our adjustments because science has shown that a single chiropractic adjustment can boost the immune system by up to 200%. This is a simple and effective way for us to fight sickness taking a more natural approach.
Eating whole foods- although we are not perfect at this, we try our very best to eat a whole food in our family. Eating a whole foods diet that consists of meats, fruits, and vegetable can help significantly reduce inflammation in your body. Most of the sicknesses and diseases we suffer from can be linked back to stress and inflammation. Eating a diet that is high in processed foods can add unnecessary stress on the body causing it to break down more easily and be more susceptible to sickness.
Incorporating movement and fresh air – Regular exercise can help increase blood flow, decrease stress and inflammation, and strengthen antibodies. Studies have shown that even just 20 minutes of daily movement and exercise can reduce inflammation within the body and help immune cells regenerate regularly. A daily dose of physical activity stimulates the recruitment of the immune system’s best fighter cells. All in all, the better you move your body, the better you prepare the immune system to wipe out what makes you sick. Fresh air and vitamin D can boost immunity through better vitamin D production within the body. Sunlight also can energize special cells in your immune system called T cells that help to fight infection within the body.
Even though we try our best to remain proactive with our health, sickness still hits our home. When it does, instead of suppressing our symptoms with medication, we strive to support our body through it to cut down on the time we are sick. This is in no way medical advice, these are tips and tricks from one mom to another in hopes of helping you feel more confident caring for you and your family in a more holistic way. These are things we always have on hand to utilize when sickness happens.
Colloidal Silver - Colloidal silver has been used for infections, skin conditions, hay fever and many other conditions. In our home we take it anytime sickness hits. We have used it during colds, as a supplement while other family members are sick and have even used it to get rid of pink eye. This is a major go-to for us. I love that this product can not only help us fight sickness, but can also help support those of us who have not yet expressed symptoms of sickness.
Garlic Drops- Ear infections are becoming more and more common. In the couple instances we have run into sore or irritated ears we will always start with garlic drops. These are a natural option to keep infection at bay. We simply put a couple drops in each ear multiple times a day to aid in healing.
Oscillococcinum – This is our go-to for colds and flu. Often times we think when we get a cold our only options are NyQuill, cough syrup and cough drops. All those are going to do for us is mask the symptoms that our body is expressing to get rid of the foreign invader or “sickness”. What we often forget is those symptoms we experience serve a purpose. A fever is to heat the body to the exact temperature to kill off the virus or bacteria. A cough or runny nose is designed to drain and rid the body of what is making us sick. This is a homeopathy remedy that we all utilize in our home to help cut down on severity and duration of sickness while allowing our bodies to fight naturally.
These are three of the big things we find ourselves reaching for to help aid in healing and recovery but it doesn’t stop there. With research, collaboration, and trial and error we have come to trust and utilize a handful of brands that we wanted to share as well. These are brand that we often seek out to find products that will help support our health instead of utilizing products that could potentially worsen sickness or even keep us sicker longer.
Earthly wellness – Earthly wellness is a family owned company with a mission that we can get behind. Their mission states that “We believe that health is sacred, and so very personal. Every individual should be empowered to care for him or herself and take care of his/her body alone…at least, most of the time.” We have utilized many of their products but a few of our go-to’s for supporting sickness include Cough-B-Gone, Breathe Well Salve, and their Elderberry Tincture.
Mary Ruth’s – This company has a plethora of vitamins, making it a little easier to care for and support your health before sickness hits. This is a great place to get vitamins for not only you but for your kiddos as well.
Sovereign Silver: This is the brand we utilize for our silver, they have topicals, hydrosols and sprays. Our family has benefited from all of their products.
Boiron USA – This is the brand of homeopathy that we utilize most often. Some of our favorite products that we utilize consistently in our home include the Oscillococcinum, Cold Calm, Throat Calm, and Chestal Honey.
As parents we want to do the best for our children and for our family and the more we know the better we can care for the health of our home.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
