After spending years repairing a screwed up digestive system and seeing big changes in my health and immunity during this time, I am more than convinced about its importance in immunity.
There are simple things you can do on a daily basis that will help nourish the gut and improve your health so you limit how often you get sick or the severity when you do get sick.
I’m going to go through them below in detail, similar to the video I did recently which you can check out HERE.
Eat probiotic rich foods every day.
Just a small amount of fermented foods every day will help to add probiotics into your system and increase the good bacteria in the gut.
Eat stuff like kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, olives, pickled capsicums, peppers, miso soup and more.
I like to drink kombucha on a regular basis as it tastes good and is also rich in probiotics.
Kombucha Max is my favourite and I’ve tried a bunch of different ones. It isn’t too sweet and the sugar content reflects that.
There’s a bunch of tasty flavours and you can get it from several health food stores.
Or if you are adventurous enough, you can make your own kombucha with a little time and a SCOBY.
You’ll need to buy one or ask a friend for one of theirs.
Here’s a recipe from Sarah Wilson: www.sarahwilson.com/2014/02/
Eat a broad range of vegetables and fruits.
You’ll also benefit from a range of meats, seafood, eggs, nuts and seeds, lentils and insects if that floats your boat.
It doesn’t take much to look for something you’ve not eaten before or for a while.
Pick up a new food eat week or at least something you’ve not eaten for some time as this will help the biodiversity and quantity of good bacteria too.
If you aren’t getting enough veggies in your diet, green smoothies are a simple way to throw a ton down the hatch in an instant.
Base your green smoothie on mostly green, leafy veggies and add coconut water, avocado, coriander, parsley, cucumber, celery and whatever else you think you might like or need.
This green stuff is a great detoxifier for the body too.
I’m got a nutri-bullet so I can mix it and drink straight from the container to save time, but blenders will work just as well and suit a larger family.
A broad range of herbs and spices is a great idea too. Even if they are dried, you still get much of the benefit and herbs are well known health supporters.
Anti-fungal foods will help keep the nasties from multiplying.
When you get sick, your got bugs in your body having a party and taking over.
Kill off the bugs and you’ll feel better.
Anti-fungal foods will help kill em off, keep your body balanced and allow your system to reboot and pick back up again.
Add in apple cider vinegar, lemon, lime, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, chili, cayenne pepper, grapefruit seed extract, oregano and especially oregano oil, pepper, turmeric, etc to your meals for flavour and bug killing ability.
You can eat raw garlic to fight infection quickly. Some people with prior gut problems may not be able to handle it.
You can make ginger tea by chopping up ginger and throwing it in boiling water.
You can make a hot drink from honey, lemon and apple cider vinegar which is great for soothing a sore throat and tastes amazing.
If you keep all of these habits in your diet year round, you are far less likely to get sick in the first place.
Again, sleep is one of the most important things so make sure you get to bed on time and get extra sleep whenever you need it.
