Whether your immediate goals of conception are on track or have temporarily been put on hold, ensuring that your immune system is strong is essential. The best part of the following guidance on strengthening your immune system is that almost all of these activities will also positively impact your fertility. Win-win.
- Sleep. Without a doubt, this is the top of my list. Without enough quality sleep, all biological function suffers. It’s that simple.
- Supplements. Lots of vitamin D and C, and sufficient magnesium. We also highly recommend Silver for oral, inhalation, and topical hand antiseptic. Due to its popularity, we are currently out of stock and waiting for our next shipment. If you would like us to put you on our waiting list please let us know asap.
- Chinese herbal medicine. During past pandemics such as SARS and H1N1, Chinese herbal medicine was effectively used to help prevent and fight viral infections. We currently have a small stock of both Yu Ping Feng San (preventative) and Pu Ji Xiao Du Yin (active viral infection) available for purchase in our online store.
- Exercise. Don’t stop moving. Engage in daily low-level physical activity. A walk is sufficient, especially if you can get some sun exposure at the same time. Be sure to maintain social distance. Remember that sweating is a primary way for your body to detoxify, so push yourself 1-2x week and break a sweat. I personally challenge you to do 25 push-ups and 50 sit-ups each day!
- Spirituality. Check any resource on how to be properly prepared during difficult times or crises, and the #1 recommendation is always about maintaining mental-emotional health and clarity. Don’t underestimate the power of daily practices of meditation, gratitude, prayer, silence, or even learning.
- Breathing. When we feel stress we reduce deep breathing. There is nothing our body needs more than oxygen (including our eggs and sperm) and particularly during a time when society faces a respiratory pandemic, supporting our lungs’ ability to combat viral invaders is essential. Try 4-7-8 breathing, it’s easy to incorporate into your daily life.
- Hydration. Second, only to oxygen, water is essential to our survival (immune) and thrive (reproduction). We are blessed with good water in Vancouver, but it should still be filtered or at the very least let sit for a few hours on your counter so that the chlorine can off-gas. Remember that chlorine is used in water to kill microbial life forms, and it will continue to perform this function in your gut by killing essential bacteria for immune function.
- Sugar. There is almost nothing we can do to better suppress our immune function than to overload our body with sugar. As it is important during challenging times to have a little goodie once in a while, it is extremely important that we don’t eat too much sugar. Sugar also causes inflammation in the body and impairs cellular health and fertility.
- Stress. Next to sugar, stress does a fantastic job of reducing our immune strength. I think we all know that stress can impact reproduction is a variety of ways (ovulation, hormone balance, etc), so it is even more important now to implement stress reduction practices. Even when the world is in a state of emergency, we must dedicate some time to joy, laughter, connection, love, play, and spiritual practices.
- Lymph. Our lymphatic system is key to our defense against many pathogens, including viruses. Because our lymphatic system does not have a way of pumping itself like the heart for the circulatory system or breathing for the respiratory system, it needs to be physically moved. Trampoline bouncing, skipping, massage or foam rolling are all great ways to stimulate lymph movement or drainage.
- Toxins. Reducing your toxic load is vital, especially when trying to conceive or when supporting the immune system. Chemicals in our cleaners (body, home, laundry, dishes) and personal care products (make-up, deodorant, lotions, and potions) have been shown to disrupt hormonal balance which can impair fertility and cause issues with estrogen excess (polyps, cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, adenomyosis, PMS, cancer) as well as playing a role in overloading your immune system making us more susceptible to sensitivities, allergies, inflammation, and autoimmune disorders. A good place to start is using unscented cleaners.
- Diet. Yes, of course, more veggies and less sugar is a good place to start, but consider adding fermented foods to support your microbiome (kimchi, sauerkraut, grass-fed yogurt or kefir, kombucha, miso, etc) and bone broth from organic grass-fed animals. It contains substances vital to proper immune function and cellular growth. “Bone broth raises the dead” (south American proverb).
- Essential oils. A powerful tool to protect you and those in your home or workplace, and they smell good Evidence is mounting that displays the protective and healing effects of many common essential oils. They can be rubbed onto your skin, put into your bath, or diffused in with an ultrasonic machine. Some recommended oils for immune and respiratory health are; mint, eucalyptus, tea tree, lemon, camphor, orange, clove cinnamon, rosemary.
- EMF (electromagnetic frequencies). Reducing exposure to electromagnetic radiation is an extra measure that we all should be more aware of, as research on the negative impacts on cellular (eggs), sperm, and mental health points toward imperative cautionary measures. Minimize WiFi, Bluetooth, and smartphone use.
I hope this provides more novel ways for you and your loved ones to be both prepared and fertile.
If you ever have any questions, please contact us anytime.
Be well,
Spence Pentland
Yinstill Founder
