A holistic approach to immune health
Supporting your immune system isn’t just about reacting to illness when it occurs, it's about building a strong foundation for maintaining health and wellness long-term. Here at Planet Organic, we believe that true health comes from nurturing the body, mind, and spirit in harmony all year round. Rather than relying solely on quick fixes or seasonal remedies, a holistic approach to immune health focuses on the interconnectedness of diet, lifestyle and emotional wellbeing to create lasting resilience to potential illness.
From following a nutrient-rich diet to focusing on mindful movement, getting restorative sleep and managing stress, each choice you make in your day to day routine can help to strengthen your natural immune defences. By exploring holistic health, you’ll not only learn how to support your immune system long-term, but also cultivate energy, balance, and vitality year-round. In this blog, we’ll explore the key principles of holistic health, providing insight into how a balanced approach to your health and wellbeing can boost your overall immunity and deep dive into a variety of organic products that can help kickstart your health and wellbeing journey in a considered way.
Firstly, what is holistic health?
Holistic health is a wellness approach that takes into consideration your overall wellbeing, including your physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects. Instead of just treating symptoms of illnesses, taking a holistic approach helps you to understand how these different areas all influence each other to promote a balanced state of wellness. This approach recognises that all parts of our lives are interconnected and what you eat, how you move, how you manage stress, and your environment can all contribute to your overall physical and mental health and wellbeing.
Holistic ways to boost immune system
While there’s no one size fits all approach to immunity, and some people may have a naturally weakened immune system due to uncontrollable factors such as genetics or hormones, if you’re interested in taking a holistic approach to improve your overall immune health, below, we’ve listed our top lifestyle changes you should consider as a place to start.
Eat a varied, whole food diet
One of the easiest ways to improve immune health holistically is to limit the amount of processed foods you consume, and instead, focus on eating a diet filled with whole foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. Prioritising a varied diet of vegetables, fruits, proteins and whole grains will ensure you get an adequate intake of key vitamins that are crucial for immune function such as vitamin C, vitamin D, selenium, zinc, and iron. As well as your typical vegetables, we’d always suggest incorporating a number of gut-healthy foods such as yoghurt, kefir, kimchi and sauerkraut too, as these can also play a vital role in supporting your immune system, as the gut is where a large portion of your immune cells live.
Prioritise sleep and manage stress
Sleep is an essential part in managing health. During sleep, your body releases important proteins that help to fight infection and inflammation, therefore, by aiming to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night you are giving your body the time it needs to produce these essential immune proteins. A lack of sleep often leads to a lower protein level overall and can increase your body’s susceptibility to illness, which is why prioritising quality sleep is vital for allowing your body the chance to repair and regenerate.
This comes hand in hand with also managing your stress levels too. Chronic stress can suppress your immune system, and, as such, has a knock on effect on your sleep quality. By incorporating more stress-reducing activities into your routine like meditation, yoga, or spending time in nature, you can help to regulate your cortisol levels, which then works to support immune balance and improve your sleep. We’d also recommend building a solid, calming nighttime routine to put your mind and body into a state of relaxation before you head to sleep. Getting into the habit of switching off electronic devices, box breathing, or simply journalling notes of gratitude before bed all work to contribute to a more relaxed state of mind.
Exercise regularly
Moderate, consistent exercise is another important part of taking a holistic approach to health. Exercise not only improves circulation, but it also helps immune cells travel through the body. Incorporating gentle exercise everyday such as walking, cycling or swimming, will work to improve immune function, and can also support better quality sleep, as your body is naturally exerted and will require more sleep. Adding in more intense exercises such as weight lifting and high-intensity workouts is great for your physical health, but it's important to avoid overtraining as this may temporarily suppress immunity.
Add supplements to your diet
Even if you stick to a balanced diet of natural, whole foods, some bodies may need additional support from supplements, especially if you are lacking in particular vitamins and minerals or struggling with gut health. Vitamin C and vitamin D are especially important for supporting immune health, therefore, by adding in key supplements, especially during colder months when vitamin D is harder to come by, you can help support your immune function all year round. Adding in additional supplements such as probiotics can also help to support a strong immune system, as they aid and support a healthy gut microbiome.
By incorporating all of these different lifestyle elements into your daily routine, you can help to greatly improve your immune system and overall health and wellbeing.
Best holistic immune boosters
Here at Planet Organic we have many different supplements from reputable pharmaceutical brands that can provide you with essential vitamins and minerals needed to support your immune system. As we’ve previously mentioned, supplementing vitamin C and D are some of the most effective supplements that can help to improve your immunity and reduce inflammation, along with zinc, selenium, complex B vitamins and probiotics. Because of this, we have a wide range of supplementing solutions, whether you choose to enjoy liquid sachets, or prefer to stick to traditional tablet supplements, we only supply our customers with the very best, organic retailers that feature no additional preservatives or unforeseen ingredients.
Zooki Vitamin C and Wild Nutrition Vitamin D
Certain plants and flowers are also widely considered to have immune system supporting properties such as echinacea, elderberry, turmeric and garlic. These naturally occurring plants act as an antioxidant and can help to reduce inflammation and improve overall immune regulation.
Symprove Live Probiotic Course and A.Vogel Echinaforce Echinacea tablets
Echinacea has been traditionally used for centuries to help the body ward off infections, especially colds and flu, with research suggesting it works to stimulate immune cells and has high antioxidant content with anti-inflammatory effects that help to regulate your body’s immune response.
Improve your immune health with Planet Organic
To discover more products that can help improve your immunity, head on over to our Immune Support collection at Planet Organic. Keen to incorporate a more holistic approach? Simply browse through our range of nourishing organic foods, powders and specialty supplements, each with their own unique set of antioxidants or immune boosting ingredients each designed to help aid your overall approach to immune health.
