As a busy mom, you likely juggle a long daily to-do list that consists of everything from working to cooking to carting your kids all over town for sports practices, and beyond. With all that you have to do on your plate, staying healthy is really important. Being a mom, you are likely exposed to all kinds of germs on a daily basis. It may be hard to find time to implement habits to boost your immune health. Not to worry- we have some easy ideas to help you boost your immunity and stay healthy! 

Immune System Basics

Since we are discussing immune health, you may be curious about what exactly your immune system does. Your immune system is the line of defense your body has against outside invaders. This includes bacteria, viruses, toxins, and allergens. The immune system is made up of several organs, proteins, and cells that work together to protect your body against infection. It can also keep track of germs it has encountered in the past so it is able to defend your body against these germs more efficiently in the future. Pretty cool, right?

Immunity Killers

With that said, there are several ways you can harm and boost your immune system function. Let’s start by looking at four common factors that can depress immune system function. These include:

Prolonged Inflammation

Inflammation is a normal part of the immune response. However prolonged inflammation can lead to tissue damage and overwhelm the immune system. Chronic prolonged inflammation can occur as a result of several factors, including autoimmune disorders, chronic stress, and a poor diet.

Poor Diet

The cells of the immune system rely on nutrients from the food we eat to function optimally. If your diet is low in these essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals, fiber, and probiotics, among other things; your immune system function will likely suffer. Additionally, a diet high in added sugar, saturated or trans fats, and processed foods can contribute to changes in gut microbiome composition, as well as lead to inflammation, which may depress immune function. 

Chronic Stress

As a busy mom, I am willing to bet you have experienced a fair share of stress! Stress releases hormones like Cortisol that can suppress normal inflammation and white blood cell action, leading to lower immune system function. Short-term stress may actually be beneficial to our immune response, however, if this occurs over a prolonged period of time, it could lead to more frequent illness. If you have ever gotten a cold after a stressful period of time, this is likely why! 

Lack of Sleep and Rest

While you are asleep, your entire body recharges, and that includes your immune system! During sleep, your body produces a protein called cytokines, as well as T cells, which are white blood cells. Cytokines fight infection and inflammation, and T cells recognize and destroy specific viruses. If your sleep starts to suffer, your body may produce less cytokines and T cells, causing your immune system to suffer. 

5 Ways to Boost Your Immunity

If any of these “immunity killers” are speaking to your situation, don’t sweat! Utilize these tips below to boost your immunity.

Add in foods high in Zinc and Vitamin E

Both Zinc and Vitamin E are known antioxidants, and help decrease inflammation in the body. Zinc is also essential for the normal development and function of immune cells. Vitamin E can also help protect immune cells against damage. Remember those T cells discussed previously? Research has shown that Vitamin E can help enhance T cell function, as well as support the production of new T cells.

• Foods high in Zinc include lean meat, shellfish, hemp seeds, cashews, eggs, sweet potatoes, and dark chocolate! 
• Foods high in Vitamin E include avocado, nuts/seeds (especially sunflower seeds, almonds, and peanuts), spinach, broccoli, kiwi, and mango. 

For an immune boosting breakfast on-the-go (because let’s be honest, as a mom, you know you have to take a lot of meals on the go); try making overnight oats topped with hemp seeds, sunflower seeds, and sliced mango or kiwi.

Take your mom’s group or work call on a walk

Do you meet up with other mom friends or have frequent work meetings? Try taking these meetings and hangouts on a walk! While it may not be feasible for everyone, if you are able to; take a walking work meeting or change the mom’s group hangout to group walk. Studies have shown that regular moderate exercise can improve sleep, decrease inflammation, and improve immune function over the lifetime. Exercise can also improve your stress response, and if you take your walk outside, you can get a boost of immunity supporting Vitamin D!

Sneak immune-boosting foods into your meals

If you are a mom of a picky eater, you know the struggle of getting your child to eat certain foods. Sometimes, this may even impact what you and the rest of your family eat too, which can result in a lack of immune-boosting foods. Try these ideas next time you are making a meal to sneak antioxidants, zinc, vitamin E, vitamin D, and other immune boosting nutrients into your meals!

• Add garlic, turmeric, onion, or leafy greens to soups, stir frys, and stews
• Finely chop veggies (or buy them pre-chopped- no shame!) such as carrots, spinach, or bell peppers to add into meatballs or tomato sauce
• Make smoothies for breakfast, and throw in antioxidant-rich foods like blueberries, strawberries, goji berries, raspberries, spinach, beetroot (can buy powdered form), avocado, or nuts/seeds
• Make overnight oats, topped with hemp seed, nuts or sunflower seeds, and berries
• Buy pre-cut veggies to have on the side of your main dish at dinner- even if your kids won’t eat them, at least you will get a boost of immune-boosting nutrients
• Create a “rainbow snack” with your kids! Make a plate (or pack a snack box) with red raspberries or strawberries, orange carrots, green celery or kiwi, blue blueberries, and white(ish) cashews. You can substitute any of these for a different immune-boosting food, but the idea of creating visually appealing snacks is the same!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Drinking water seems simple, but can be easily overlooked when you are running from one thing to the next. Water helps deliver nutrients needed by your cells, and helps to naturally flush bacteria and toxins out of your body. Stay adequately hydrated by drinking at least half your bodyweight in ounces of water per day. This will really help boost your immunity. For example, if you weigh 150 lbs, you want to aim for a goal of about 75 ounces of water daily. Setting a timer on your phone, flavoring your water, and keeping a reusable water bottle on you can really support your water intake.

Take a break

Being a super mom can be overwhelming at times. Let’s face it- no one can do what you do! With that said, taking some “me” time can be so beneficial to your overall health and ability to support your family. If possible, schedule daily, weekly, and monthly “me” times. Daily can look like 10-20 minutes without kids, work, and other responsibilities where you are able to just “be.” Maybe you can only do this once the kids are asleep - that’s okay! Take 20 minutes before bed to meditate. 

Once a week, try scheduling something a bit longer- maybe 1-2 hours. This could be a massage, a relaxing bath, a walk with a friend, or even taking yourself out on a solo coffee trip. Once a month, try setting aside at least a half-day “me” time, if possible. Maybe you drop the kids off with a friend and grab an iced coffee and go to the pool to read a book. Whatever you do to take a break, the idea is that you would be able to take some time to breathe and reduce your cortisol levels. 

In Conclusion

Taking steps to care for and boost your immunity, especially as a mom, is an important way to ensure you stay well and are able to do all that you do. Need a quick way to check in on your health and nutrient levels? Try testing with Vessel! All it takes is 5 minutes to test and get your results, which include lots of easy recommendations for improving many areas of health, including immunity. What step to better immune health do you want to take today?