My annual cold and flu prevention tips

Each year for the last few years, I have written a column in the fall to address cold and flu prevention. I like to touch on the various aspects that are not always top of mind to prevent or at least minimize the effects of colds and flu.

Every year, flu vaccines are rolled out and people are reminded to wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, stay hydrated and so forth. These common approaches are good, but certainly adding a few more preventative measures can only help protect us from getting sick.

For most of us, our immune system does an amazing job of defending us against viruses and microorganisms. These same viruses and microorganisms also do an amazing job of defeating our immune defenses and making us sick. When it comes to knowing what to do to prevent illness, it is difficult to understand all the options that can help reinforce our immune system.

To understand how our immune system works, we first need to know a few basics. The human immune system is made up of two primary systems. First we have the innate immune system which is where our killer cells get deployed from and are the natural immunity we are born with. Next is our adaptive immune system which learns to fight various pathogens we encounter as we go about our day to day lives. The two systems work together, the innate immune system calls the adaptive immune system into play when pathogens trigger an immune response. For both of these systems to work at peak capacity, our bodies need to be well fed, rested and free of unwanted stress.

One very specific fact around our immune system which many of us do not completely understand is that our ability to resist pathogens and illness starts with good gut health for a solid immune response. I know some of you have seen the statistic that 70 percent of your immune cells resides in our gastrointestinal tract. This is pretty accurate and one reason why many autoimmune diseases and other chronic conditions have been linked back to poor gut health.

Getting proper sleep and its relationship with our immune systems has seen a lot of research in the last 20 years. What has come out of all this compiled information shows that our sleep and immune system have a complex relationship that is plugged into our sleep-wake cycles. Findings have shown that aspects of our immune system in fact help to control our sleep patterns.

Sleep and our immune system are so closely linked together, even small amounts of sleep loss can have a significant impact on how the immune system functions. One study found that short-term sleep loss created an immune system response that triggered inflammation in test subjects. It has been found that our immune system relies on our body’s ability to create disease fighting substances while we sleep. These substances such as hormones, proteins, and other chemicals are key to maintaining the daily cycle of immune defense against pathogens and toxins.

Getting and maintaining proper sleep patterns not only helps the body repair cell damage from daily use, but supplies much needed support to your overall immune function. Most adults on average need seven to eight hours of sleep per night. Children and teens tend to need more hours in the range of nine to 11 hours of sleep per day. Remember that during cold and flu season, keeping your sleep patterns consistent is critical to supporting and boosting our immune systems when we need it most.

The other big factor woven into your immune system is the effect that stress can have on your body’s ability to fight off pathogens. There are a number of ways you can create stress within your body. Poor nutrition, emotional problems, lack of proper sleep and substance abuse to name a few. When you are stressed for a period of time, your body’s ability to stay in balance weakens. A couple of things start to happen. First, your digestive tract is impacted and we now know the majority of immune cells reside in our gut. The next piece to the puzzle that stress brings on is inflammation, which puts the body under additional pressure and stress. All of this lowers your immune response and creates a negative feedback loop that whacks all your key immune support features.

As you can see, the immune function is made up of a number of different systemic components. Each of these components relies heavily on the next. If you do not have a nutrition plan that supports your body and gut, you lose ground with your immune system. If your sleep patterns are off and you burn the candle at both ends, you take a hit to your immunity. Then toss the daily stressors of our fast-paced lives and you have now broken down three of the biggest aspects to supporting a great immune system.

For your immune system to function well, it requires the balance you get when you bring good nutritional choices together with great sleep habits and reduced stress behavior. Here are a few other areas to work with during cold and flu season which can help you keep up your immune response and defense.

• Don’t smoke and if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation.

• Eat healthy food that’s high in protein which supports your immune system.

• Reduce sugar intake from your diet. Sugar suppresses your immune system and impacts your gut health. Too much sugar in your diet will impact your immune response.

• Exercise regularly. Keeping a regular routine of increased cardio and strength training boosts your body’s immune response.

• I am not big on vitamins as a way to avoid a cold or flu, but one key vitamin you need to take daily is vitamin D. We have been told vitamin C is critical during cold and flu months, but in my opinion, vitamin D is the most important to ensure you are getting enough in your diet.

• To support your gut health and support your immune response, consider adding prebiotics and probiotics to your daily diet regimen.

Getting a flu shot, washing your hands and all the various other things done during cold and flu season may be great preventative advice, but working more from a systemic approach of developing strong gut health, consistent sleep patterns and reduced stress in your life may well be the better advice for a bulletproof ironclad immune system.

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Judd Jones is a director for The Hagadone Corporation in Coeur d’Alene.