Boosting your immunity

Happiness helps boost the immune system but you can also help strengthen your body’s defence system with vitamins says food scientist Dr Paula Gaynor

The past year have been challenging - working from home, home-schooling, bubbles, pods, cocooning and social distancing are new to many of us and have changed how we see and interact with the world. If there is one thing that we have learned to appreciate more than ever over the past year, it's the importance of maintaining good health and the vitality of our immune systems. As we prepare to emerge from this latest lockdown, now is the perfect time to take some easy steps towards strengthening your immune system and ensuring your body is ready for life in the free world! 

1. Exercise 

Regular moderate exercise promotes mental and physical wellbeing and is helpful for your immune system because it reduces inflammation and promotes the healthy turnover of immune cells. Aim for 150 minutes weekly of activities such as jogging, brisk walking and hiking. Any activity that gets the heart pumping counts. Also make sure to take regular work breaks and assign some designated time for yourself each week. 

2. Sleep 

Sleep and immunity are interconnected - inadequate sleep and poor-quality sleep increase your susceptibility to illness. Aim for 7 or more hours of sleep each night. Also practice good sleep hygiene; limit phone use in the hours before bed, sleep in a quiet, comfortable and well-ventilated bedroom and avoid caffeinated drinks past 2pm. 

3. Healthy Diet 

A healthy diet gives your immune system the nutrients it needs to function optimally. Fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds contain antioxidants, fibre, vitamins and minerals which may help lower susceptibility to illness. Oily fish, such as salmon and mackerel, contain omega-3 fatty acids which help to fight inflammation. Fermented foods, like yogurt and sauerkraut, are rich in beneficial bacteria (probiotics) which help support the immune system. It's a simple and obvious one, but if you don't give your body the best it won't perform its best. 

4. High Quality Supplements 

Ideally, your diet should provide all the nutrients you need to support your immune system and overall general health. Due to a variety of reasons, this is not always feasible and at certain times of our life we need to supplement for extra protection and support which is where high-quality supplements are invaluable. 

Top Supplements for Immune Support 

Vitamin C 

Vitamin C has long been the go-to supplement during cold and flu season. Vitamin C has many other health benefits for you too, including being a natural energy booster - something we all need more of these days! It also helps to promote collagen formation for healthy skin and helps with iron absorption. Regular Vitamin C supplements have limited bioavailability meaning the amount of Vitamin C that can be absorbed by the body is low. In tablets, capsules and powders, Vitamin C is susceptible to being degraded as it travels through the digestive system. With liposomal technology, the Vitamin C is enclosed in a phospholipid bilayer which protects the Vitamin C as it passes through the digestive system until it reaches the small intestine to be absorbed into the circulation. Simply put, Liposomal Vitamin C ensures optimum absorption and enhanced delivery to the cells and is the best form of Vitamin C you can take.

Vitamin D 

Vitamin D has been in the spotlight over the past year, with Vitamin D deficiency being linked to increased risk of covid-19. Diets are generally low in Vitamin D, with most of your Vitamin D coming from sunshine - your skin makes Vitamin D when it is exposed to the sun. In Ireland, the ability to make Vitamin D from sunshine is limited to the months of April to September. Many Irish people are Vitamin D deficient and the risk of deficiency is further compounded over the past year as many of us have spent more time indoors. Vitamin D has been proven to be an important way to arm the immune system against respiratory infections and more recently against covid-19. Studies of patients with severe covid-19 infections have shown they are more likely to have insufficient or low levels of the vitamin, according to Professor James Bernard Walsh from Trinity College Dublin. Vitamin D is also vital for bone health, mood and cognitive functions, as well as insulin control. Taking a high-quality Vitamin D supplement all year around is highly advisable. 

Omega-3 

If you don't eat oily fish, then it's wise to consider taking a high-quality omega-3 supplement to support your immune health. Omega-3s are vital for a healthy brain, eyes and heart. Omega-3s are known to help with depression and anxiety, aid mental disorders, lower the risk of age-related cognitive decline and dementia and support bone and joint health. These healthy fats are also important during pregnancy and early childhood, help ease symptoms of ADHD in children as well as fighting inflammation and autoimmune diseases. 

Other nutrients important to supporting immunity include iron, selenium and zinc. 

Here are a few tips to help you choose the best quality supplements: 

• Liquid supplements, including sprays and drops, are easier for your body to absorb. 

• Regular Vitamin C supplements are poorly absorbed. Liposomal Vitamin C is the best absorbed form of Vitamin C. 

• Look for a sugar-free and alcohol-free supplement. 

• Buy a high-quality omega-3 supplement that tastes good. If you don't like the taste, you probably won't take it consistently, if at all! 

• Read the supplement label and pay close attention to nutrient levels. 

• Check for the presence of other ingredients, such as sugar and artificial preservatives.

• Always aim to buy as pure and as natural as possible. 

• Buy supplements that come in recyclable packaging. 

• Choose to support an Irish brand. 

Committing to a healthy lifestyle now and being thoughtful about how much you move, how much you sleep and what you eat will benefit you enormously and have you ready for a vibrant life after lockdown.

Have you ever wondered why most of our food supplements look and taste the same as when you were a child? Now, a West Cork based company, Somega, is disrupting the supplement industry with a new twist to how we take vitamins and, importantly, what they taste like.  Dr Paula Gaynor, along with her partner Mark Clifford, is a co-founder of the Bandon-based Summit NutriHealth and their own business, Somega, has started a quiet revolution in the way we take essential vitamins. They believe good nutrition should be easy. They use flavourings (think peach and mango) as well as different delivery methods like sprays or drops, instead of the usual capsules and tablets. 

Visit gosomega.com