How to boost your immunity this autumn

Sayonara summer means the shorter, cooler days of autumn are nearly upon us, complete with those pesky change-of-season bugs.

The seasonal shift can leave you more vulnerable to illness if your immune system isn’t at its best, particularly with cold, flu and allergy season just around the corner.

Follow our tips for super strong immunity to help you sail through the colder months.

1. New season, new produce

Fruit and veggies are nutritional powerhouses when it comes to protecting health and boosting our immune systems and autumn means a fantastic array of new in-season produce.

Change your focus to warming spices, soups, and roasted vegetables with colourful beets, pumpkin, carrots, sweet potato, zucchinis and eggplant. And get fruity with figs, grapefruit, oranges and pears.

Don’t forget your gut health, which is also a vital part of your immune system.

Up your probiotic intake through yoghurts and fermented food (and drinks) like kefir, sauerkraut, tempeh and kimchi.

2. Supplement your health

Our bodies become depleted of certain nutrients and vitamins when we’re unwell, which makes topping them up important for tip-top health.

Certain herbs and nutrients can also help reduce how often we get struck down with a cold as well as shorten the severity and duration of symptoms if we do catch one.

Echinacea, andrographis and olive leaf have been shown to help fight upper respiratory tract infections and research has also found vitamin C and zinc play important roles in immune defence.

winter wellness

3. Exercise outdoors

Not only is autumn weather usually better for training outside – no hot northerlies and fierce sun – but the kids have settled into school and work is in hand, making it easier to carve out time.

Daily exercise means you are 25 per cent less likely to develop symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, which translates into less depression and less overeating.

4. Be a morning lark

Saying goodbye to those extra evening hours when daylight saving ends hurts, but making the most of the morning can do our health a wealth of good.

Studies show night owls eat more kilojoules in the evening, more fast food, fewer fruits and vegetables and weigh more than people who go to sleep earlier and wake up earlier.

So ditch late nights for early autumn mornings to embrace a healthier version of you!

5. Stack up on sleep

With its cooler temperatures, autumn is also a great season to catch up on sleep, particularly with science backing the old wives’ tale that lack of sleep makes you more prone to getting sick.

US research reveals sleep deprivation prevents our immune system from building up its forces, leading to less protection against bugs and illnesses.

Just remember, the more late nights you pull, the more likely you are to decrease your body’s ability to respond to colds or bacterial infections. So tuck in for your eight hours and sleep tight!

This post is brought to you by BioCeuticals. Contact your local Chemist Warehouse store to check on availability.

Always read the label, follow the directions for use. If symptoms worsen or change, speak to your health care professional. Vitamin and mineral supplements should not replace a balanced diet.

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