How to Boost Your Immunity to Avoid Viruses in Winter

A healthy and balanced lifestyle is essential to boost your immune system and provide ammunition for our antibodies to fight off seasonal viruses and winter. Esther Schmidt, naturopath, offers tips for staying in shape and strengthening your immune system.

In winter, not everyone is affected by epidemics of gastroenteritis, rhinitis, sore throat. Some manage to slip through the cracks. It is our land that we must protect, our bodies, our organs, our fluids. 80% of our body is fluid, blood, lymph, extracellular and intracellular serum. All this we must preserve. Esther Schmidt is a naturopath. In her Stem & Co column she gives us tips on how to strengthen our immune system.

Certain foods in January and February help boost our immune system. Black radish is a naturally antibacterial and antifungal vegetable, rich in antioxidants and vitamin C. It helps to boost our immune system and fight infections. Black radish also works against the problem of wet cough, as it is a very good expectorant. Carrots are a real storehouse of vitamins, but also of beta-carotene and antioxidants. Beetroot regenerates the liver as it is responsible for flushing out all our toxins. Spinach, lamb lettuce, broccoli and green cabbage are also great for boosting your immune system. Parsley is very rich in vitamin C. It is especially found in kiwis, lemons, oranges and clementines.

We are not equal when it comes to viruses. In fact, young children often get sick. They need the virus to build and strengthen their immune system. Generally, the older they get, the more they need to sleep and eat.

We can’t get outside enough in the middle of winter. During the day, you have to go out. Because it is good for the head and also from the day when we are supposed to produce melatonin. This hormone is secreted a little later in the evening and it allows us to sleep well.

Going to bed early in the evening is really important, especially in the middle of winter. During the day, we go out, in the evening, we sleep. We have a sleep cycle, we digest all the molecules, the body cleans itself and rebuilds itself. It is at the end of the night, early in the morning that we recharge our nervous system and our immune system. If we go to bed late, it will always be detrimental to recharging our immune system.

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