Preventing Illness - How To Boost Immunity

I often get asked how to boost immunity, especially during typical cold and flu season. What my family does often changes, depending on what I remember to actually do. Here’s the list of things I keep on-hand, what we take, and the practices we’ve implemented in our house.

This is the third part in this basic health/immunity series, so if you hadn’t read the other articles, please check them out.

Disclaimer: I am a Certified Natural Health Professional, but I am not your health professional. I am educating and raising awareness. Please discuss anything I mention in this article with the health professional working with you before you implement anything in this article. I am not intending to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. I am not liable or responsible for any damages you incur by use of this information.

Daily tasks to prevent the spread of illness in our house

With 7 people in the house, especially many of them being young, we try to minimize the transference of germs in our house. There’s a lot of people touching the same towels and surfaces on a regular basis.

A couple times a week, we change out all hand towels, wipe down all doorknobs, light switches, and devices with disinfectant. I have dishcloths that are dishwasher safe, and I’ll run them through the dishwasher with every load of dishes. I have 2 out so we use one while the other is in the dishwasher, and switch when unloading the dishwasher. If we are aware of things hitting other families that we associate with or have had a lot of guests in and out of our home, we try to up these practices to daily. We wash hands regularly, and if anyone is having any symptoms, I also like to diffuse essential oils to purify the air.

How to Boost Immunity Using Basic Vitamins and Supplements

Vitamin C & Zinc

Vitamin C and Zinc are in our rotation of nutritional supplements our family takes daily. This is year round. We are exposed to so many things in our environments and food that try to attack our bodies on a daily basis. Taking these antioxidants every day is an easy way to protect our bodies. We up them if we are starting to feel any symptoms.

I would like to add that we don’t mega dose these vitamins regularly. Too much zinc, can throw your body out of balance and inhibit the absorption of other minerals. If you do that, it is really difficult to correct. We supplement up to 15 mg of Zinc on an ongoing basis. Vitamin C is water soluble, so, if you take a bit extra, your body will typically secrete it. However, some people have complications by having constant high levels of vitamin C. To be safe, please don’t constantly mega-dose on vitamin C.

Elderberry

If you haven’t heard of Elderberries, they are a terrific immunity building plant. I wrote a very robust article on Elderberries, their health benefits, and various ways to supplement with it. So, for more information on how to boost immunity using Elderberry, please see Tips for Building Better Immunity – Elderberry Syrup.

Holy Basil

Holy Basil, which is not the typical basil used in cooking, is an adaptogenic herb that helps your body deal with stress and anxiety. It also thought to have antibiotic, anti-fungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. It also is thought to be a natural painkiller and have anti-asthmatic properties. This herb has many other health benefits. I find it a good one to keep on hand. There isn’t research showing the effects of long term use, though, so the recommendation is to not take it for more than 6-8 weeks at a time.

Melatonin

I’ve always heard of people taking melatonin to help improve sleep, however, I wasn’t aware of the immunity benefits of melatonin until April of 2020. It turns out that melatonin is a terrific antioxidant that boosts the immune system. It also reduces inflammation. After April of 2020, many studies show that taking melatonin can reduce the severity and duration of COVID.

Many factors, including blue light from electronics and electromagnetic waves in our environments can deplete the body of melatonin. Caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol can also reduce melatonin levels within our bodies. Some natural sources of melatonin include bananas, oats, tart cherries, walnuts, barley, and pineapple.

Some people with autoimmune disorders may not be able to take melatonin. There may also be drug interactions, so please check with your healthcare provider before taking if you have any autoimmune disorders.

Echinacea

Echinacea has been proven to shorten the duration and severity of colds and upper respiratory infections when taken for a short time as soon as symptoms present themselves.* Long term use is not recommended. Some people have allergic reactions to echinacea. If I add echinacea to my supplements, I only do it for a couple days at the onset of symptoms.

How to Boost Immunity Using Essential Oils

I like to diffuse essential oils in my home when we are experiencing symptoms or are wanting to boost our immune systems. Many of the essential oil companies that create their own mixtures of oils tend to cause my eyes to water or give me headaches. I like to use the single oils and mix my own. Below are a couple of my favorites that I’ll grab and blend for various reasons.

If I’m applying oils to skin, I always dilute it with a carrier oil. Carrier oils are some sort of oil that the essential oils can bind to in order to not be too strong for your body. You can use many oils as a carrier oil. If you don’t want to buy anything specific to your essential oils, you can use some olive oil or coconut oil. I find that my mixtures with these oils don’t always last as long as some other oils. I really like to use fractionated coconut oil for many mixtures. The benefit of this is that it is water soluble, so it’s great if you are adding oils to the bath or applying to areas where clothing will come in contact with it. Often times, if clothing comes in contact with many oil based carriers, it will leave an oil mark or stain. My favorite oil for making mixtures that will be stored for awhile on a shelf is jojoba oil. It is an oil that will not go rancid.

If you don’t dilute your essential oils before applying them to the skin, you are mega-dosing. Mega-dosing can be harmful. When we mega-dose, some oils have an opposite effect. For example, when typically using lavender, you get calming properties. However, if you mega-dose lavender, it can hype up your body. Mega-dosing can also cause our bodies to have to work harder to process the oils and their effects. I know many people do mega-dose. I used to all the time, but after taking more classes on oils, I have stopped.

Lavender

Lavender is one of the most used oils in our house. It is an anti-microbial, and helps your body relax. It’s a great one for a nighttime diffuser in our kid’s room. We usually mix it with peppermint (for tummy aches) or tea tree (for extra anti-microbial power). We also mix it with eucalyptus if there’s any stuffy noses. This one is most commonly added to my mixtures.

Tea Tree (or Melaleuca)

Tea Tree oil is a great anti-microbial. We use it on cuts, burns, and infections. I also like to diffuse it when we are trying to prevent illness in our house.

Peppermint

Peppermint oil is most commonly known for aiding in digestion, and nausea. (I carried this and lemon with me regularly when I had morning sickness.) It can also help with focus, and is a terrific anti-microbial. Additionally, you can use it mixed with lavender on muscle aches. Besides its health benefits, I have used it to eliminate spiders and ants from our house.

Rosemary

I love rosemary for its anti-microbial properties. If anyone is dealing with respiratory congestion or coughing in my house, I mix rosemary with eucalyptus and lavender and rub it on their chest and throat. I have sometimes made shower discs with these to diffuse in the shower to help open up that congestion.

Eucalyptus

Eucalyptus is great to open breathing passageways. I mix it with lavender and rosemary for colds and coughs. You can also mix it with lavender as a pain reliever.

Favorite Over-The-Counter Brands to Boost Immunity or Use When Illness Strikes

If we do get sick and need some over the counter items, I’ve become a huge fan of a handful of products/brands.

Boiron’s Occillium

This is a homeopathic that is a staple in how to boost immunity. I keep it on-hand in my house at all times. If I am ever feeling any sort of flu-like symptoms, or even feeling extremely run down, I take a tube before bed and try to get a good night’s sleep. Usually, I feel better the next morning, but if I don’t I take it every 6 hours until symptoms subside. I have even been told that taking one tube a week is a terrific preventative measure. I don’t do it regularly, but it is something I’ll do occasionally, if I’m feeling that I need that boost to my system.

Hyland’s

Hyland’s was the first homeopathic brand that I found in mass stores. They have been a trusted brand in my house for years. My favorite product of theirs is their children’s cough and cold homeopathic remedy. This product was the only product that helped me when I had a terrible cough due to some fluid in my lungs, during one of my pregnancies. I had gone through the prescriptions they had given me, and nothing helped besides taking Hyland’s Children’s Cough Syrup, regularly, according to package directions.

Genexa

Genexa is my newest favorite over the counter brand. I first found them when I was trying to find an allergy medication for my son, who was allergic to legumes. Every seasonal allergy medication on the market adds bean products. I felt really bad for my watery-eyed, sneezing child. Finally I found Genexa and it worked! Everyone in our house now uses it when they start sneezing or get itchy eyes.

Since discovering Genexa products, they have starting making over-the-counter medications that are effective, taste good, and don’t have any of the added fillers. We now use many of their products, including their acetaminophen and diphenhydramine. They taste better than the name brand, too.

If you’d like to purchase these brands online and support my family with your purchase, you can find many of them through my Fullscript storefront. (This storefront is through my Natural Health Practice, so I do receive commissions when purchases are made here. If you message me after you sign up, and tell me you found me through Loves7Grace, I’ll give you a 5% discount on your purchases.)

This is not an exhaustive list on how to boost immunity. We used to take a mushroom supplement. I’ve lately begun hearing about the amazing benefits of using these medicinal mushrooms again and will likely be adding one back into our regimen soon.

How about you? What additional things do you find helps boost your immune system? Do you have any favorite products or tips on how to boost immunity? If you found this article useful or know someone who would benefit from the information, please share it.