10 Ways to Boost Immunity Naturally
There are many wonderfully effective ways to boost your immune system naturally. To remain feeling at your best, consider some of the following;
Reduce Stress and Anxiety
We all know the impact of stress on the body in general and the immune system is no different. Allowing anxiety and fear to creep in under the current environment is understandable, however it is so important to address and balance this.
Some really useful tools to incorporate daily are:
Breathing – belly breathing, box breathing, yoga pranayama, are all techniques act to slow us down and take us out of the ‘Flight and Fright’ response. Unless we are truly in danger, this heightened anxiety response does not serve us well and balancing this by coming into the ‘Rest and Digest’ arm of the nervous system with breathwork can help strengthen our immunity function.
Yoga Nidra – a guided relaxation technique that takes you to a deep state of rejuvenation. Yoga nidra can give as much rest to the body as 4 hours of deep sleep. As many of us are sleep poor, adding in this simple and delightful technique can be very impactful. Find a quiet place to rest and listen to yoga nidra here.
Meditation – try adding in just 2 – 5 minutes a day to begin, then build from there. A short stillness meditation, body scan or a walking meditation are good places to start. There are many apps that offer free guided meditations. Or listen here for a short practice. We also offer group and private ‘learn to meditate’ classes
Mindfulness – such a wonderful tool, mindfulness can be practiced throughout normal daily activities and brings us back into the present moment. Try connecting with your senses - 5 things you can see, 4 things can you feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste.
Grounding – a great practice to start the day, taking only a couple of minutes. Stand barefoot outside in the sunlight and fresh air. Stand tall in mountain pose, your head held high to the sky, your feet grounded to the earth. Combine with deep breathing and mindfulness if possible, feel grateful for one thing in your life right now or set a positive intention for the day ahead.
Stay positive by surrounding yourself with uplifting influences as a balance to the stressors in life. Write a gratitude journal and consider this as a time to also reflect, create time and space, regroup, re-evaluate and become more connected.
Nourishing food
Did you know sugar can reduce your immune system’s activity? Reducing refined sugars and processed foods and filling your diet with colourful vegetables, fruits, good clean protein sources including fish and legumes, lots of fibre to feed the microbiome, and fermented foods will significantly improve your health in numerous ways.
Add garlic, ginger and turmeric to your foods. Make a batch of hearty chicken or vegetable soup. Sip on a lemon juice with manuka honey and warm water drink in the morning, or start with an immune punch with apple cider vinegar with horseradish.
Sleep
There’s no better way to rejuvenate and recharge reserves in the body than good sleep. Aim for quality hours before midnight and a relaxing winding down, unplugged period before bed. For more tips on getting quality sleep see our blog 20 Tips for Better Sleep.
Hydration
Simple but important for detoxification and the respiratory system, the first line of defence to viruses. Having dry mucous membranes in the nose and throat such as when you fly or are dehydrated can be avoided by keeping up your water intake.
Aim for 2 litres a day. If you do fly, use a saline or essential oil nasal spray.
Exercise
Get some circulation and oxygenation moving as well as the release of feel good hormones with some exercise daily. Try a gentle walk, a bike ride, swimming, trampolining with the kids, yoga, Zumba or dance. Anything that you enjoy will be easier to make a habit.
Supplement with Immune Boosting Nutrients
As well as improving the intake of nutrients through diet, supplementing with Vit C, Zinc and Vit D is especially helpful. We know that many of us are deficient in these minerals, zinc especially is a difficult mineral to get through food sources alone in Australia.
Certainly, add pumpkin seeds (zinc) to your diet and get some sunlight (Vitamin D), but check your blood levels of nutrients and aim for the ideal range - not just scraping into the normal range, you may benefit from supplementing with these nutrients at some time.
Anti-Viral Herbs
Anti-bacterials don’t help viral infections, specific antiviral and immune support is needed. As there is little available from a pharmaceutical approach, herbs come into their own with a long, evidence-based history of use.
For an individual prescription, please book a consult and we can make a tailored recommendation that suits you.
Hygiene
Practising good hand and sneeze/cough hygiene provides the best defence against viral infections.
These include:
Washing your hands with soap and water, before and after eating, and after going to the toilet.
Covering your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing and immediately disposing of tissues.
What doesn’t work well for the immune system is over sanitation, spending time in touch with nature, such as gardening or at the beach primes and strengthens the immune system.
Play and Laughter
Laughter is the best medicine! It’s certainly known to have a wonderful impact on our health. Try to bring in laughter and playfulness, time with children is great for this but sitting down to a comedy flick is perfect too. Seek out the positive and playful. Connect with others, especially our elderly to brighten their day too.
Rest & Convalescence
Listen into your body. Don’t soldier on or ignore symptoms. Rest is exactly what your body needs when it’s telling you it’s tired. After symptoms start to improve keep listening and go slow. Bring back gentle movement and exercise before a full day back to work or study.
Convalescence – the period of rest and recovery after illness. That gentle, in-between space after illness where you’re not quite unwell, but not fully well either. It’s a stage that once held value, seen as essential for full recovery. But in today’s fast-paced world, it’s often overlooked. The pressure to "bounce back" quickly, whether from ourselves or others, can be strong. Many return to work, social life, or everyday demands before their body and mind have truly had time to restore.
In naturopathic philosophy, convalescence isn’t optional - it’s vital. It’s the space where deep healing takes place. When we honour this time, we give ourselves the chance to recover fully, rather than rush through a phase our bodies desperately need.