In this winter season our body is more susceptible to respiratory tract infections, there are multiple theories as to why infections increase during this season, one of them is that due to the cold, we tend to be more in closed places which are poorly ventilated making us susceptible to respiratory infections.

The truth is that if we have a healthy immune system, even if we are close to someone with a respiratory infection caused by a virus or bacteria, it is unlikely that they will infect us, which is why I want to share with you some recommendations to take care of ourselves during this cold season.

1. Try to eat a healthy and balanced diet. We know that these cold seasons are accompanied by multiple celebrations, in which alcohol intake increases in some people, more sugary foods, more refined carbohydrates, more refined oils, more processed foods and more dairy products, which can lead us to a pro-inflammatory state that can make us susceptible to infections.

My recommendation is to be conscious and try to maintain a balance, try to have a diet accompanied by vegetables most of the days, that our three meals include vegetables to achieve a good intake of fiber which will help us maintain a balanced microbiota and a glycemic balance.

Try to consume enough protein in your daily diet, if possible consume it in 2 or 3 of your meals, our immune system needs protein to be able to produce the cells necessary to defend us from aggressive agents.

2. Get a general check-up with labs to see how your body is doing in general. This will give you tools so that if you are experiencing inflammation that manifests itself biochemically, you can start from there.

It is important to keep our metabolic markers such as glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and glycosylated hemoglobin within recommended ranges because when we have a metabolic imbalance we enter a pro-inflammatory state that causes our immune system to be inflamed and the immune system would be too busy with inflammation that it could not help us if a foreign body such as a virus or bacteria enters.

There is a test called blood count that can help us check the state of our immune system because it measures some of the cells that make up the immune system, such as lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, among others.

If we find any metabolic imbalance in laboratory tests, it is important to work on it with diet, exercise and supplementation to help our immune system.

3. There are supplements that can help you take care of your immune system, although before supplementing it would be recommended that you have laboratory tests done to check the levels of some nutrients, but in general there are vitamins and minerals that you could supplement to support your immune system.

Vitamin D plays an important role in the immune system and its deficiency is very common today because sun exposure has been minimized. I recommend checking values and in case of deficiency, supplementing since vitamin D plays an important role in the immune system.

Zinc is an essential micronutrient that helps stabilize the immune barriers of the skin and mucous membranes, helps the production of antibodies to fight any external agent such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites that want to infect us, I recommend supplementing during this cold season to strengthen our immune system.

Vitamin C helps us regulate our immune system, it favors the attack on microbes that want to attack our body, it has been seen that vitamin C deficiency makes us more susceptible to infections. Vitamin C has multiple functions in the body, among them is the production of cortisol, cortisol allows us to wake up but it is also a hormone that increases when we are stressed, it is one of the reasons why when we go through periods of stress many people get sick, because it increases the production of cortisol and depletes the reserves of vitamin C.

4. Take care of your microbiota, a large part of the immune system is found in our digestive system, our microbiota largely regulates our immune system, there are some bacteria that are considered good bacteria such as those of the lactobacillus, bifidobacteria, akkermansia family that have an important role in many processes of our body, since they produce substances such as short-chain fatty acids like butyrate which is the main food for the cells of our colon which are the colonocytes, they also produce mucus that prevents bacteria and toxins from passing from our intestine to our bloodstream which helps prevent us from getting sick.

To take care of our microbiota, it is important to consume plenty of fiber in our meals, avoid alcohol, moderate the amount of sugar we consume, avoid the amount of processed foods, cook more at home because this way we take care of the ingredients we use as well as the hygiene of our food.

5. Use more herbs and spices. There are many herbs that have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties that can help counteract this inflammatory disease in this time of year. Cinnamon, ginger, cloves, oregano, cardamom, turmeric, thyme, sage, and mint are some of the herbs with antimicrobial properties that can help you, in addition to strengthening your immune system, fight infections if you already have them.

An excellent option to consume these herbs is to add them as condiments to your meals or consume them in teas and infusions.

These are just some tips on how to take care of your immune system, but if you want to learn how to take care of your body and your health, I invite you to Neuro Spine and Pain Clinic where we can give you a general checkup and teach you how to take care of yourself.