Seasonal Health Changes
The shift from summer to autumn can sometimes be challenging; particularly if the late summer has been especially warm. Here is a list of things that you can do to prepare your immune system for the crispness of autumn.
Immune Health during the autumn season
Adequate Rest
Resist the urge to over tax yourself. Harvest is a busy time of year, as school begins and we all return to our inside life again remember that this transitional period is about prepping for the long dark winter so, get out in the fresh sun while it lasts, don’t push your bed time and follow the natural cues of the waning light. Gradually begin to shift your exercise routine to reflect the mood and movement as the light changes and its okay to get a little more sleep on either end of bedtime.
Adequate Warmth
Don’t get caught out in the weather. Your body is still catching up to the temperature change so dress in layers and err on the side of warm & dry. Warm stews, warm teas and warm breakfasts. Digestion likes warmth. We use the analogy of the soup pot “cooking” down your food into Qi. Root vegetables, grains, legumes and meat are the support you’re looking for from your diet. Bonus: always, always, always keep your neck covered to protect your body from “invading wind” which is how we refer to upper respiratory illness.
Turn up your daily immune support game
Everyone has their favorite and traditional medicine is packed with home remedies to boost the immune system. Each constitution is different and each of these remedies brings different chemicals to the table, but check out these recipes and see if any strike your fancy.
Fire cider: Basically anything spicy you can think of with vinegar and 🍯, the hot-spicy foods are often anti-microbial as is the honey which also acts as a natural preservativeElderberry syrup: Elderberries and honey it doesn’t get much simpler than that. We wildcrafted ours this year as they grow locally and it is delicious!
Honey vodka (Krupnikas): We use a Lithuania recipe and keep a bottle of this in our fridge lasts for years and it is yummy!
Immune boosting simples
Peppermint: we know that it is anti-microbial and in the TCM pharmacopeia it is classed amongst other herbs for cooling upper respiratory infection, but most studies say that peppermint works a lot like vitamin C by helping your immune cells work more efficiently and clearing away all the yucky stuff your immune system leaves behind while fighting an illness.
Ginger: Also in in the TCM pharmacopeia, in like 7 different varieties and the fresh stuff is in that same category as peppermint although we also class it by its warming temperature. Now is the time to use this in your cooking and also as a sweet and warming cup of tea.
Rose Hips: Not feeling the supplements route? Rose hips are local and in season for harvest, they make a lovely tea and most of the best vitamin C supplements are sourcing their C from rose hips. This year, we opted for a rose hip and crap apple jelly, I’m not putting it on the immune boosting list as it has a but too much sugar for that, but it sure is delicious.
I would rather we all get our vitamins from our food but sometimes we need a little boost.
This season it looks like Vitamins C and D
Vitamins C: We all know that vitamin C boosts your immune system. It does this by helping your immune cells do a better job and protecting against environmental oxidative stress. It can help to both prevent and treat upper respiratory illness. We’re looking at at least 100-200mg/day for prevention and as higher doses are sometimes necessary (they haven’t identified a toxic dose of Vitamin C yet). I tell my patients to take a loading dose “to bowel tolerance” (as in your stools will loosen when your body has had enough) and then pull back to a more reasonable amount when using vitamin C to treat an ongoing infection.
Vitamin D: Deficiency of vitamin D is associated with autoimmune disorders and there are promising studies that link higher incidents of infectious illness with lower vitamin D levels. We also know that depending on your latitude and your feelings about sun protection, it can be very difficult for your body to synthesize enough vitamin D to keep your levels optimum. All this to say that vitamin D supplementation during the darker months of the year may help your immune system and while there is a such a thing as “too much vitamin D” you are unlikely to reach that on 2,000iu/day during cold and flu season.
Chinese Medicine
The waning warmth of the year or yin time is when TCM herbalism really gets to shine. In contrast to spring which is a time for purging and moving out the stagnation of winter where acupuncture shines; autumn is a time of harvest and storage, protecting the energy needed to see us through the winter ahead. As the body turns inward it begins its process of saving and storing vital reserves. Help it along with a bit of herbalism.
Think about coming in for a consultation and getting on a proper tonic over the winter.