Here are 3 top tips to improve your immune health in time for Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Many of us will have begun working through our to-do lists for Christmas and the last thing we need is a seasonal cold or flu virus making us feel less than merry. As the nights are drawing in, and the temperatures dropping, now is the time to focus on giving your immune system the extra support it needs to stay strong and resilient over the whole Christmas period.

Here are some of our top tips for boosting your natural immune defences right now:

1. Focus on a healthy, nourishing diet

Eating a well-balanced, nutrient dense diet is undoubtedly one of the best ways you can support optimal immunity. Now, we’re not suggesting that you don’t enjoy the odd mince pie as they drift around the office – but ensuring that you are including plenty of healthy foods such as vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, beans, pulses and whole grains will give you great sources of the nutrients your immune system needs to function properly – such as zinc, selenium, iron and vitamins C and E. “Eating a rainbow” (a varied diet of at least 7 differently coloured fruit and vegetables per day) will also help to provide a plethora of phytonutrients with a range of benefits for immunity.

2. Support your gut health

Speaking of mince pies… in the lead up to Christmas, many of us may over-indulge more than we would normally. Yes, Christmas is indeed a time to “eat, drink and be merry” – but overindulging in rich foods and alcohol can negatively affect our digestive health and cause an imbalance in our microbiome (the bacteria residing in our gut) - and this can directly influence our immunity.

Around 70% of our immune system is found within our gut and is strongly influenced by our microbiome. Therefore, supporting the health of the gut is key to immune health. You can support your gut health by:

• eating plenty of fibre (think veggies, fruit, legumes, pulses and wholegrains)
• focus on prebiotic foods such as onions, chicory, pomegranate, olives, baked apples and Jerusalem artichoke (prebiotics are a type of dietary fibre which feed the beneficial bacteria in the gut)
• including fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut and kimchi to support gut flora
• some people may benefit from taking a multi-strain live bacteria (probiotic) supplement

3. Boost your vitamin D levels

Vitamin D plays a big part in our overall health and wellbeing, but especially to the functioning of our immune system. This is because it helps to activate our immune defence system as well as strengthen the function of immune cells which help protect us from viral infections and illnesses.

Here in the UK, we can make vitamin D from sunlight from May-September, but only on sunny days which, let’s face it, are hit-and-miss in the British summer! Over winter vitamin D levels typically fall by around 50%. Vitamin D is not found in abundance naturally in foods, so simply put, not enough sunshine means not enough vitamin D, but supplementing with vitamin D, particularly in the winter months can be an effective way to prevent deficiency.

Adults and children are advised to consider taking a daily 10 micrograms (400IU) supplement of vitamin D between October and March. Some at-risk groups are advised to consider taking a supplement throughout the year. These recommendations are based on the role of vitamin D in calcium absorption and bone health, but evidence suggests that higher levels might be needed for optimal immunity.

More ways to avoid getting ill this festive period

As well as being mindful of these tips this festive period, other ways you can support your immune health is by staying well hydrated, getting plenty of restful sleep, exercising a few times a week and taking steps to keep your stress levels low (think getting outside in nature or taking a warm bath).

We wish you a merry and healthy Christmas.