Ahh, Fall changing into Winter – the season of cooler temperatures, shorter days, colors that warm your heart! Pumpkin, soups, pies, harvest time, holidays, new year energies. Many of us love the change of seasons but could do without the stress. Our bodies are amazing, mysterious, resilient, and fascinating creations and to keep the momentum alive and working properly we must honor and protect our immune system. The immune system is a complex network of cells and organs essential for human health. In essence, it protects and defends the body from infectious micro-organisms like cold and flu viruses (which include COVID-19), bacteria, and fungi. If these micro-organisms enter the body, the immune system combats them. The world we live in is alive with pathogens and parasites. Our immune system is working against them, every moment of every day without you even trying or knowing about it. This system requires assistance and care- whether actively protecting us from germs or promoting recovery, it is a major health system vital for survival.
We present you with 9 simple ways to activate and enhance your Immune System. The number 9 is a great and mysterious number, articulated in great detail in this Numerology article here, and present throughout many designs and artifacts throughout the Wellness Club. So we thought it was fitting to group these recommendations into 9 segments.
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Eat more Fruits and Veggies. Don’t roll your eyes! 😉 Yes, we hear it a lot…but pumping up your intake of fruits and vegetables is an important and relatively an easy step. Vitamin C obviously comes to comes to mind as ascorbic acid in the vitamin enhances natural killer cells. Zinc also plays a big role, and you can and should maintain a healthy amount of Zinc in a balanced diet, but then if you happen to start feeling symptoms of a cold or flu like illness, you can provide an extra immune boost with some Zinc supplements as they are known to shorten the duration of symptoms and therefore the duration of cold and flu illnesses. Also seek out the 3 G’s: Ginger, Ginseng, and Garlic, as they all hold anti-viral properties. Garlic especially helps white blood cells battle viruses and probiotics can reduce bad gut bacteria that can cause illness and may lessen the severity of respiratory infections.
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Frequent Physical Activity in your Lifestyle. We all know this, right! Exercise is not just about weight loss or increased cardio health. Exercise improves immunity by both strengthening the effectiveness of, and speeding up, the response time of antibodies for many types of infections. Exercising once a day for an hour is great, but if you spend the rest of the day sitting down, those benefits decrease. The Fitness Studio right here at your modern day health club has many options for you to exercise. Increasing physical activity during the day improves circulation and enhances immune function throughout the day. Easy ways to increase this include standing during phone calls, a short walk after a meal, parking your car further away, and take the stairs when able. Even conscious breathwork and stretching can have very beneficial cardio benefits. As many of these activities that you can do outside, the better- not just for the sunlight effect mentioned in #5 below, but also for the ventilation benefits that are so important for optimal breathwork as well as to maintain fresh atmospheric conditions when it comes to the air around you- something we’re all aware of more these days!
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Manage Stress. Stress is a very detrimental to overall health as it affects all aspects of life, including sleep and diet and mood and even hair care. Consider engaging in mindfulness activities, meditation breaks, massage therapy, regular stretching, or Yoga and Fitness classes. We are a full service wellness center…besides offerings in all those areas, we have Energy Healing, and Life Coaching, and Sauna and Steam bath, and Virtual Reality, and cool Group Fitness Classes that we offer at the Wellness Club that can all help in this area too!
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Cultivate Good Relationships. Humans are social creatures and enjoyable moments with our friends, family and community are one of the crucial joys of Life. That has been clearly shown since the onset of the outbreak as we quickly adapted to creative options to keep our contact alive via social media, online conferencing, chat, text and of course the old school way of communicating – the telephone. Our natural abilities shine the brightest when we are around a supportive environment. Acknowledge who you are hanging out with in your relationships, and the environment they create. Do they support you in your interests, hobbies, and talents? Especially now, it is important to stay connected, but do so in authentic ways. Technology in the form of cell phones, apps, and the internet are so new to the human race. Cell phones, the internet, and technology in general are supposed to help you enable a concentration of convenience to live your life. We’re here to guide you on simple ways that you can counteract the negative effects of social media and technology by maintaining focus on what matters most to you, acknowledging your finite time, and honoring your life priorities. Through our Memberships and Signature Life Coaching program, we can help you master control of these forces and more firmly ensure that technology obeys YOUR needs and YOUR schedule, and not the other way around.
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Vitamin D supports whole body immune health and helps protect against infections. Studies have shown a deficiency in Vitamin D are associated with increased rates of upper respiratory infections as well as rates of influenza. Sun exposure is our best provider of the D vitamin, though be mindful of your exposure to maintain optimal skin health. We want your skin looking great regardless of whether you are receiving holistic facials or body treatments with us! If you cannot get the regular sun exposure, then look to get it through a Vitamin D3 supplement. (Yes, we sell that here to make it easy on you!)
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Elderberry provides antimicrobial and antiviral effects, and substantially reduces upper respiratory symptoms. Elderberry is one of the most commonly used medicinal plants in the world. Traditionally, Native Americans used it to treat infections, while the ancient Egyptians used it to improve their complexions and heal burns. It’s still gathered and used in folk medicine across many parts of Europe, and can be taken as a supplement to treat cold and flu symptoms. We sell Elderberry here at the Club! It’s local (Mindfully Made) and organic and made with real honey, and has been very popular!
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Quercetin bioflavonoid. Quercetin is a plant pigment (flavonoid). It is found in many plants and foods, such as red wine, onions, green tea, apples, berries, Ginkgo biloba, St. John’s wort, American elder, and others. Buckwheat tea has a large amount of quercetin. People use quercetin as a medicine as described on the Kaiser Permanente site here, and both the Eastern Virginia Medical School and other doctors have reported potential benefits as a preventative or early stage treatment for viral infections. We actually carry on our shelves a product that is dominant in Vitamin C while providing a Bio-Quercetin Phytosome. That way you get a double boost as Vitamin C supports immune health, collagen production, a healthy cardiovascular system and more…while Quercetin complements vitamin C’s health benefits, inhibiting oxidative stress and inflammation to support cardiovascular health.
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Limiting Unhealthy Drinking/Eating. Especially at this moment we do not need to engage in excessive anything. Too much alcohol or bad eating harms the body and seriously reduces the body’s ability to fight off infections, thus lowering our immune health. We have partnerships with local meal prep companies and restaurants who serve fresh, healthy, and often organic food. We can help connect you to these trusted resources!
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Consume Healthy Fats. Fats receive a lot of negative press, but for centuries people have embraced the benefits of healthy types of good fats, such as olive oil, avocado, salmon, and nuts. Pay just as much attention to the type of fats you are eating in your diet as you do the amount of fats. The healthy fats you want to eat are called Monounsaturated fats and Polyunsaturated fats because they are good for your heart, your cholesterol, and your overall health. Limit your consumption of Trans fats or Saturated fats, along with any deep fried food.
We hope you found this information beneficial, and hopefully allow you to choose some very simple and easy choices on ways to increase your immune health. As with trying out anything new, do your own research and talk to your doctor if you have concerns about what may be right for you, and finally- test out something new in small doses first.
We are the wellness club that connects your core life necessities. We simplify the process for you through our Spa, Salon, and wellness services. We understand how we have entered the cold and flu season, and how a new virus is to be respected. We know many of you are watching out for your health more than ever these days, and want to stay informed on what is best for you. We here at the Kansas City Wellness Club will make that whole process easy on you, whether through our guidance or through products/supplements that we sell.
We at the KC Wellness Club are very grateful for each and every one of you who have entered our doors and experienced our spaces, and we welcome the ones yet to come. We meet you where you are at in your wellness journey, starting with your existing lifestyle approach, with the ultimate intention to help you sustainably rise above the tidal wave of modern day life to sustainably offer the best version of both your inner and outer beauty.
Please call us or explore our website to find out more.
Stay positive, confident, do not be afraid, and enable that intelligent immune system of yours to be WELL!
Best regards, Life Coach Ramie Haas & Business Owner Heath Wessling