Let's talk IMMUNITY...

Now, this is what I call winter!

It’s freezing outside and warm inside plus the weather is about to change to mild but super windy and rainy…. Everyone around is coughing or sneezing, it’s dark outside, work is stressful and together with Christmas preparations, many of us feel that we are running on empty and can’t wait for the well-deserved Christmas break.

This is the best recipe to test our immune system.

So what is happening in our bodies at this time of the year? I will explore 2 main aspects:

I. Feeling down/depressed with sleeping problems = Less day light = less of the hormone serotonin – let me give you the science behind why being in daylight is super important for our well-being.

What is serotonin? It’s the happy hormone! Serotonin is made partly by your brain but the majority is actually made and released in your gut. If we have high serotonin levels, we feel happy, optimistic and satisfied AND we also sleep well. On the other hand, with low levels of serotonin, we can feel down, blue or even depressed and can have sleep problems or even insomnia.

Sounds familiar? The autumn blues and lows that many people experience can be linked to high levels of stress (well, what isn’t 😊) but also to less daylight. Let me explain why: the production of serotonin is stimulated by natural daylight. Your body will make serotonin from exposure to daylight and as the day goes by, the serotonin is then converted into melatonin, which is the sleep hormone. This means that if you are lacking in serotonin, you will most likely be lacking in melatonin too. Melatonin is stimulated by darkness and by red light and suppressed by blue light (and why it is a not a good idea to switch on the light if you wake up in the middle of the night).

This is why mothers with children who don’t sleep well are recommended to take them out in the daylight and nature as much as possible. It is not just the fresh air and physical activity that will help to tire them out, it’s mainly the daylight producing serotonin which will then be made into melatonin and send the little monsters straight to sleep 😊

So by going out in the daylight, you are helping your mental health and promoting great sleep.

II. Low immunity = cold, coughs, flu, fatigue … we are all susceptible to different things. Why some people will catch every little virus or bacteria they get in contact with and some people seem to catch nothing at all? The answer is a strong immune system. What makes our immune system strong? This is going to be different for each and every one as we all come with a unique set of genes and susceptibilities. But there will always be common things which will trigger illnesses and in my opinion, the most important one is stress (surprise, surprise!). Have you ever experienced a really hectic period of time when you are super stressed, busy and you just function because you have to? You just get on with it and look forward to time off – the long awaited holiday or Christmas break when you can finally relax. And then when it comes, instead of relaxing, you fall ill.

So what is the science behind this?

Your body is in survival mode. It’s in the sympathetic mode of fight or flight which was originally designed to be able to escape danger if for example chased by a lion or when you have to jump off a road to prevent being run by a bus – it’s an amazing system for survival but only if short term. The body releases adrenalin – an amazing hormone that will just make you a superhuman. You will have strength you have never dreamt of and you will suddenly make quick decisions – all to survive and to protect your vital organs. Your body will put all your systems that are not crucial for survival, into the sleep mode - your digestion slows down, our immune system will be vulnerable, our healing, repairing or revitalising will be put on hold, just so it can concentrate all efforts into the surviving.

The problem we have is that we stay in the sympathetic mode for too long. Adrenalin is replaced by cortisol, which is the chronic stress hormone. This is the type of stress we have all the time, the worries at the back of our mind, the non-stop pressure we experience on day to day basis. The lion is replaced by deadlines, mortgage bills and by being totally overwhelmed. When in this mode, cortisol will make sure that we power through (for the cost of long term problems cased by high cortisol which I will talk about in more detail some other time) but in the process, your immune system will suffer.

And when you finally allow yourself to relax, cortisol might go down and suddenly your body will collapse as it has been in this mode for far too long. Any virus will have quite an easy way into the weakened system and might make you suddenly go down with cold or flu. Damn it! Just when I was ready to finally relax… ☹

So - what to do to avoid this?

1. Nourish your body (eat well, regularly and avoid too much caffeine and alcohol – stimulants will just increase your cortisol and you don’t want that).

Make sure you have enough vitamins and minerals in your diet or even in supplements at this time of the year (I am not a huge fan of supplements but when we do need to take some, I have good experience with Together Health brand – it’s clean, organic, natural and it doesn’t go over the top – it gives you smaller amounts of vitamins and minerals, just to help your body a little). At the moment, I am actually using their Stress help Stress Aid – Vegan - Together Health (available in H&B or Amazon too).

At this time of the year, I love soups which are nutritious, filling and warming. Especially slow cooked bone broth is absolutely amazing, giving you collagen to help your joints and skin but also great for your gut (the same gut that makes your serotonin… just saying 😊). For some cooking inspiration, feel free to follow my cooking blog on FB called Zee’s Cooking Diary, link here: Facebook 

2. Avoid stress – now, what a great piece of advice, right 😊 This is what you are usually told by your GP and you read in many articles. But HOW?! I hear you asking. There is no short answer to this. My answer is SELF-LOVE. Surprising? Well, let me explain. What is self-love? It is not taking a bubble bath or going for a weekend away, it’s a bit deeper than that. It’s putting yourself first and respecting yourself. If you are not healthy and happy, people around you won’t be. If you don’t respect yourself, people around you won’t respect you. It might just be as simple as it sounds. It’s the art of saying NO to things you don’t want to do. It’s the art of recognising when things got too much and something needs to change. It’s the art or realising that listening to our inner self is crucial for our wellbeing. Our intuition is usually right and being able to recognise it and follow it is an important skill for life.

I completely understand that this can vary person to person depending on circumstances. Some changes can be pretty easy to make, like saying NO to going to a party when you feel overwhelmed by work and life (when going just because it’s polite or expected), or being able to say NO when asked for a favour when feeling sick or overwhelmed. Also, being able to ask for help. Other changes can be more difficult – changing a job that is super stressful or not paying enough money which makes us struggle financially. Recognising that we are in a toxic relationship and we need to address that or even break free. Trying to find time when it already feels like there is none left in a day. These changes will take more time, but just the fact that we recognise the need for a change can actually make us feel better and stronger. Making plans and working things out can feel empowering – it’s almost like saying to our body: “hang in there buddy, I am working on it and I WILL start looking after myself more”. In other words, being self-aware. The worst scenario is when we don’t do anything and don’t even recognize the need for a change because sooner or later, our body will do it for us by falling ill. Unfortunately this is often the first moment people stop and realise the need for a change.

So what do I do? I hear you asking. The process can be very uncomfortable because we are often avoiding the truth and try to distract ourself with some outside gadgets and pleasures. Sit down and listen to your inner self and inner intuition – what makes you so stressed right now? Is it my relationship with my partner? Is it my job? Why am I feeling so overwhelmed? What is the cause and how I can address it? What would help me to feel better? What is important for me? What do I need to do to start the change? The answers will be different for each of us. We all need to prioritise in life – my advice is – make YOURSELF the priority.

3. Go out in the nature and fresh air to promote great sleep and great mood, DO MORE OF WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY– the health benefits are enormous – and I will write a separate article about it for everyone to understand how beautifully our body reacts to it and why.

4. Rest and take time off when you do fall ill – one of the biggest mistakes people make when unwell is when they just try to power through. My advice is DON’T. Take your time. Call sick if you need to (if COVID taught us anything than it is that nothing bad will happen without us for a day or two…). There is a reason why the body is feeling tired and unwell and by ignoring or suppressing it we are just making it weaker. I recommend homeopathy – it’s a fantastic tool to use when unwell, it can brilliantly shorten the duration of the illness and make you feel much more comfortable (using the homeopathic first aid kit is wonderful and I will record a separate video about homeopathic self-help for acute illnesses). Some people also take homeopathy prophylactically, for example take the remedy Oscillococcinum (which is made from the year’s flu and works as a prevention) regularly over the autumn and winter months.

And remember, when you are ill, your body knows what it is doing and most of the time just needs the time and space to do its job (but at the same time, we need to watch for red flags which might need medical attention).

All in all, this will strengthen our immune system which is like a muscle – it needs regular exercise to stay in top condition and work to its best ability.