Today I’m going over the top immune-boosting foods and supplements, and I’ll get into one new wellness hack: peptides. It’s so important to be proactive, do what we can to prevent getting sick before it happens and keep our bodies’ defense mechanisms strong. Here are my favorite foods and supplements for just that:
- Garlic. This is an incredibly powerful superfood that has antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-fungal properties. You can mix it with a little olive oil and spread it on toast or add it to salad dressings, just to name a few uses…but a garlic press is essential. You can also buy garlic in supplements if you don’t love the taste. (*Note: I didn’t include onion in this list, but that’s another immunity-boosting superfood, and it pairs so well with garlic!)
- Oregano. This can act as an antioxidant, and it also has antibacterial and antiviral properties. It can be used in prevention or as a cure. Oregano comes as a powder, oil, or capsule. If you do buy it as an oil, make sure to follow the directions carefully to know whether it needs to be diluted or not.
- Ginger. Anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antiviral – a similar trifecta to the above. This is super versatile; adding it to a smoothie adds so much freshness, and the littlest bit can go a long way. Graters are a great tool for preparing ginger.
- Turmeric. This is known for being anti-inflammatory, but it also has a lot of great immune-boosting effects. Turmeric has a bit of a stronger taste, but it’s definitely something you want to incorporate into your diet.
- Elderberry. Elderberry syrup has been used for years. It’s been shown to reduce the duration of illness, and it has a sweet flavor that I really like. Pique Tea, which I LOVE, makes the Daily Immune Elderberry Liposomal C (Use Code: “MONA” for 5% off), a little packet you can take and it tastes really good too.
Peptides. These are basically small proteins that signal messages to different cells. We have them naturally occurring in our bodies, but there are also ways to use them exogenously. Some people compare peptides to human growth hormones, but they are pretty different in the way they work. Peptides come in many different forms, but the one I am referring to is specifically for immunity: Thymosin Alpha 1.
When you take human growth hormone, you are putting that hormone in your body, leading your pituitary gland to stop producing its own supply, creating a negative feedback loop. That’s one of the risks people worry about. With peptides, however, we are stimulating our own pituitary gland to naturally release what we want it to, avoiding the negative feedback loop. You basically get to increase the amount of b-cells and t-cells, really boosting your immunity. It’s very short acting and very specific, so it won’t stay in your body a long time, it only works on its intended target, and it has a low probability of side effects.
You have to inject peptides, and there are 2 different doses you can utilize based on your goal: 20 units for prevention or 100 units for treatment. The only times I used them were the two flights I took during COVID from New York to LA. If you go to https://peptidesociety.org/ you can find doctors that will prescribe them to you, based on your needs. This is not me promoting peptides, but I did want to share as this is something I’ve used for immunity.
Overall, there are so many natural remedies we can include in our daily diet or bulk up on during times of illness to support our body in healing itself. This article is intended to give you a few great places to start :)
