6 Immune Hacks to Keep You Healthy During the Holiday Season
Even when we’re looking forward to a break from work and school, the holidays are notorious for increasing stress and making us more susceptible to the bugs floating around during the winter months. On top of that, travel can also be difficult for our bodies to handle, which many of us are doing at this time.
Taking a few extra steps to boost your immunity and staying conscious of how you feel during this season can help you avoid the dreaded holiday cold–-and keep you calm and content while you spend time with family and friends.
With that in mind, let’s review a few healthy holiday tips, and we’ll share a few of our favorite immune boosting products too. (Not just ours!)
How to stay healthy during the holidays:
- Support your immune system with Liposomal Vitamin C
- Protect and nourish your skin
- Soothe a dry or itchy throat
- Boost your antioxidant intake
- Support your cell membrane health
- Use powerful herbal remedies.
1. Support Your Immune System With Liposomal Vitamin C
Vitamin C is one of our most powerful and abundant antioxidants in the body, supporting the immune system, adrenal function, neurotransmitter production, gut health, and more. Vitamin C is also water soluble, meaning that it dissolves in water and therefore is not as easily absorbed into our tissues, unlike the fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K.
Because of its water soluble nature, we also can’t store vitamin C in the body and any excess is excreted through the urine. We have to replenish our vitamin C stores daily, and many of us are not getting the amount we need from diet alone.
This is why we developed BodyBio Liposomal Vitamin C. Our liposomal vitamin C is more easily absorbed with our liposomal encapsulation technology, which allows vitamin C to easily cross the gut lining, the blood brain barrier, and ultimately the cell membrane to be used as efficiently as possible.*
Start getting in extra vitamin C through your diet and supplementation now so that your systems are in top shape once the holidays arrive.
2. Protect and Nourish Your Skin
Your skin is really your first barrier to all of the germs, pollutants, and allergens that you encounter on a daily basis. Plus, with the weather turning colder and the promise of winter storms around the corner (at least in our neck of the woods!) your skin could use a little extra support and hydration.
We really like Briotech Topical Skin Spray as a gentle hydrating skin protector. It’s formulated with just hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a natural component of our white blood cells, and sea salt to soothe skin and support skin barrier integrity. The spray makes it convenient to take on the go, and it can even be used as a facial toner! And a huge bonus is that, unlike hand sanitizers and sprays formulated with alcohol and potentially other harsh ingredients, HOCl doesn’t disrupt the skin microbiome, since it’s already a naturally occurring part of our immune system.
3. Soothe a Dry or Itchy Throat
What’s one of the first signs you notice when you get a cold? Probably an itch or a slight irritation in the back of your throat, right?
To ensure a healthy holiday season, your throat could use some extra love and protection, whether you feel like you caught a bug or not. Prevention is the best medicine!
Herbal tea with honey and/or lemon is a balm for sore throats, and keeping up with your dental hygiene is important for reducing bacteria that may cause illness, too. A salt water gargle is an easy DIY prevention method when you feel that twinge in the back of your throat. And of course, drinking enough water throughout the day ensures adequate saliva production and prevents a dry mouth and throat.
Beyond those simple strategies, we love Beekeepers’ Naturals Propolis Throat Spray for an extra boost of immunity thanks to the power of bees. Propolis is a substance made by the bees to protect the hive from germs–-it’s essentially a natural antibiotic. And yeah, it tastes like honey. The travel-size bottle makes it great to take on the go and spritz the back of your throat whenever you need a little extra immune reassurance or throat soothing.
4. Boost Your Antioxidant Intake
You know about antioxidants and how they are essential to keep your immune system healthy and combat free radicals in the body. But what are some creative ways you can boost your intake during the holiday season (and beyond)?
Focus on foods with vibrant colors: Red, orange, purple, green–-nature often shows us which foods have the most nutrients, including antioxidants, polyphenols, and vitamins, through depth of color. Berries, leafy greens like spinach and chard, kiwis, citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits, pomegranates, carrots, coffee and tea. The list goes on, but the idea remains consistent: eat the rainbow!
Spice it up: Spices and herbs like turmeric, clove, cinnamon, oregano, sage, and even peppermint are high in antioxidants [1]. Funny how we already use many of these spices in our holiday baking and meals. So this is even more reason to lean into those holiday flavors and add your spices generously.
Quercetin: This flavonoid is not only an antioxidant powerhouse, but it also supports a healthy inflammatory, histamine, and immune response [2]. You’ll naturally find quercetin in many of the foods listed above, but it is also available as a supplement. Combine that with liposomal vitamin C, and you’ll have one amazing tag team for your immune health.
5. Support Your Cell Membrane Health
If you’ve heard us say it once, you’ve heard us say it a thousand times: your health is only as good as the health of your 70 trillion cell membranes. Cell membranes are the protectors, communicators, and gatekeepers of the cell, allowing nutrients in and keeping toxins and invaders out. If there are gaps in the flexible phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane, your cells are vulnerable to attack.
BodyBio PC phospholipid complex provides many of the key building blocks of the cell membrane, chief among them phosphatidylcholine. In doing so, our PC supports immune health, brain health, detoxification pathways, and more.*
Read more about the power of phosphatidylcholine here.
6. Use Powerful Herbal Remedies
Herbal teas are one thing, but herbal tinctures and essential oils are a whole other level. Oil of oregano, for example, is a powerful antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal herb [3].
However, there are many cheaply made essential oils on the market, and with such a potent herbal compound, you want to make sure to find one that’s organic and made without any unnecessary ingredients. Plus, many people (and pets) are sensitive to these oils, so make sure you check with those around you before diffusing them.
But if you can tolerate them well, herbal tinctures and oils can be taken directly, diffused into the air, or added to soups and stews. Even a drop or two in a saline nasal spray can create a powerful sinus rinse to fight bacteria and viruses.*
Preparation is Key to Stay Healthy During the Holidays
Whether you’re getting on a plane, driving across town, or playing the host for the holidays this year, there are many things you can do to support your immune system.
- Take Liposomal Vitamin C
- Protect your skin barrier
- Pay extra attention to your throat
- Eat the rainbow for more antioxidants
- Nourish your cell membranes
- Incorporate herbal remedies.
Most importantly, be present and with family and friends during this time, enjoying a meal and real connection to the people you love. When you can do that, your immune system is primed to defend you in a state of calm assurance.
Featured Product
