5 Steps To Boost Your Immune System & Skin Health

At Clear Skin Victoria Laser & Wellness Group, we are not just passionate about skin health and helping you look your best, but also about supporting you in finding your self-care routine and fostering a healthy physical body, sound mind and strong immune system.

As we move through another pandemic and flu season with the latest Omicron variant in full force, it is more important than ever to boost your immune system and resiliency. In the clinic, we continue to put your safety first with our comprehensive health and safety policies and thank you for your ongoing patience as we continue to pivot and adjust to do so.

Over and above following the recommended guidelines and staying up-to-date with vaccinations, knowing how to support your immune system is absolutely integral to staying well and recovering quickly when you are exposed.

Our immune system deserves much care and respect as it works hard to keep us healthy. Unfortunately, our world is so full of toxins that it can be difficult for the body to keep up with processing everything it’s exposed to. As we have seen this past two years, bugs are getting stronger and our bodies are more exposed than ever to pollutants, toxins and the overwhelming stress of life. All of these factors play a role in depleting our immune systems.

So how do you support yours in fighting off all of the assaults?

Implement the following 5 steps and you’ll be on your way to a stronger immune system, more energy and the best side effect…better skin!

Step 1: Get calm

Take space to breathe, do yoga, meditate daily or find your happy place doing anything that feeds your soul. It is well known that calming the nervous system and mindfulness supports healthy immune function. Meditation has been shown to improve responses to stress and lift the mood.

The truth is that when you take space to be in your happy place – whether it be through meditation, walking, cooking, creating art, knitting, writing, doing yoga, anything that calms your mind and induces relaxation – chances are you’re going to feel better.

Step 2: Increase fruits and vegetables

This is a great way to get bioavailable vitamin C and much-needed minerals. Our bodies require plant foods and thrive on them. Maintaining a diet that is 70%+ plant-based, alkaline and fresh is ideal for optimal health and good skin.

Go for organic as much as possible or use the clean fifteen and dirty dozen lists www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php to make your choices. Grapefruit, grapes, watermelon, apples, celery, dandelion greens, lettuces, micro-greens, asparagus, tomatoes, spinach are all great choices. When you are preparing your meals at home, choose fibre and enzyme-rich fruit for your snacks and focus your main dishes around a wide variety vegetables and legumes.

Step 3: Drink more tea and less alcohol

Tea is a beautiful way to get your medicine and boost your health. We are big fans of tea because it has been used for centuries as a healing tool and is such an affordable and gentle way to support immune healing. Teas that support the immune system include chaga mushroom, licorice, elderberry, rooibos and dandelion. There are many other herbal teas to support the immune system but these five tend to be the easiest to find. Let it steep for 20-minutes to truly experience the medicinal benefits.

When it comes to consuming alcohol, reducing the amount you drink or taking long breaks is ideal. Alcohol not only impairs the function of our immune cells but it makes us more vulnerable to respiratory illness. We know that stress levels are high these days and for many of us alcohol has become a very common tool to distract from stress, but do your immune system and your skin a favour and limit the amount you consume.

We love Pique Tea and Harmonic Arts for high-quality teas and speciality drinks that are not only healthy but that can also replace the ritual of drinking alcohol with something special and delicious.

Step 4: Avoid processed foods and sugar

Processed sugar depletes immune function, increases chances of feeding viruses and bacteria and reduce your overall good bacteria. Processed foods deplete your minerals, clog up the liver and are unrecognizable by the body. This can lead to a number of chronic diseases, a feeling of lethargy and susceptibility to sickness, not to mention acne, premature ageing and other skin conditions.

You will just feel and look better “overall” when you reduce or remove processed foods from your diet.

A whole foods diet is really the way to go. Try to avoid packaged foods as much as possible and certainly ones with ingredients like canola oil, MSG, modified corn syrup, preservatives of any kind and food dyes.

Step 5: Get outdoors for fresh air & movement

Indoor air has been shown to contribute to a number of chronic diseases. Inefficient cooking and ventilation practises, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), perfumes and synthetic scents, fungicides on our furniture and clothes, dust particles that carry viruses, moulds in our buildings, and other bacteria and toxins can be flying around in your home on a daily basis. All of these things severely deplete liver function and compromise our immune systems.

It is no secret that moderately moving our bodies is one of the key factors in keeping us young and healthy. Combining movement (even just a 30-minute brisk walk) with fresh air is such a positive way to support your immune system. Get out walking with a good friend that makes you laugh and the benefits just keep increasing.

If you can’t get outside regularly, make sure you have a good air filter like an IQ Air or use an oil diffuser with an essential oil like thieves or eucalyptus. These are effective ways to reduce moulds and viruses in the air.

Bonus Step:

Add in a healthy dose of zinc, vitamin D3, probiotics and a good quality buffered vitamin C daily- increase the dose slightly if you feel you are fighting a bug. *It is best to take the vitamin C in divided doses, at least 500 mg, 3x a day with food.

We carry Cytomatrix ACES + Zinc (vitamins A, C, E, Selenium & Zinc-a perfect formula for immune & skin health), Vitamin K2D3 and HMF Intensive Probiotics as part of our wellness boutique.

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