As much as we’d all love to be perfectly healthy all of the time, sometimes we find that our body becomes vulnerable and gets ill. Sometimes it gets ill again, and again. There’s no doubt it totally sucks, however it’s a big sign from your body that something needs to change.
It’s normal to catch cold and flu sometimes and nobody is totally immune from illness, but I believe there’s a lot of things we can do to support our bodies to have a more robust immune system and certainly to support it so that illnesses are minor and not caught constantly.
Over the last 4-5 months I’ve definitely not been my healthiest self. I was ill in December and then again in February and March, and not just the sniffles, I was full on laid up in bed each time! I knew this was my body yelling at me to take action after a period of stress and general full-on-ness. In addition I felt lacklustre and just not the healthy, vibrant feeling person I wanted to be.
Here’s a video, which is a little lengthy but worth it (promise!) where I talk about some of the changes I made to my diet, exercise and self care to bring myself back to health:
To recap the main points from the video, these are the key things I added in:
Generally improved diet
I really cut back on processed foods (even the ‘healthier’ ones) and made an effort to eat more vegetables.
Juicing
I began juicing 2-3 times a week with a blend of apple, celery, cucumber, ginger and lemon.
Herbs
I’ve been including fresh herbs in more meals, juices and smoothies including parsley (very detoxifying), mint, basil and coriander.
Drinking Lemon, Ginger and Honey Tea
I make fresh ginger, lemon and honey tea by boiling and straining fresh root ginger with lemon juice, hot water and honey.
Supplements
I started taking:
Probiotic: I’ve been using Symprove
Vitamin C: this one from Amazon
Vitamin D + Magnesium: from Natural Nutrients
Cod liver oil: I’ve been trying this super pure (but expensive!) Dropi cod liver oil
Superfoods
I’ve included maca powder, turmeric and ginger in smoothies and recipes like my turmeric latte.
Bone Broth
I’ve made bone broth from organic chicken bones and grass-fed beef bones for extra nutrients to add to soups and curries.
Apple Cider Vinegar
I drink raw, probiotic rich ACV, just a couple of tbsp in water when I remember. I get this one from Amazon.
Meditation
I started meditating for just 5 minutes a day using guided meditations from YouTube or the Mindfulness App 5 minute meditation and body scan.
Exercise
I did more exercise but at a gentler intensity so more yoga, walking and strength training.
All of these changes have really added up, and although that looks like a long list, it hasn’t been difficult to fit them in. I’m feeling so much better for it, and whilst there’s no guarantee I won’t get ill again (I am a Mum to a toddler at nursery!) I feel like I’m actively participating in my health which makes a huge difference.
Have you had a period where you’ve caught everything that’s going? How did you get back to health? What do you struggle with when it comes to immune health?
Wow sounds like you went on a powertrip of health there! All good stuff for definite. I’m very very lucky in that I rarely get ill (the last time I was ill was from food poisoning February 2015!) – but then I’m not around children and as busy as you I expect!! If I do start to feel rundown I tend to up my veg intake a bit, avoid the crappy food and sleep a bit more. Sleep definitely helps me. I appreciate that might be more tough for you though, being a busy supermum!
Haha, yes I went to war on those viruses! Yep sleep is really tough, but just one of those things I can’t do much about right now, he is slowly getting better though :-)
I find that I rarely get ill but when I do it’s really frustrating – I feel like it’s somehow my fault for not eating or sleeping properly but sometimes it’s just bad luck! I drink fresh ginger tea and find that really helps when I’m feeling run down (and now I’ve got used to it I love the taste!) and I definitely need to buy some ACV as I keep reading about the benefits of it. x
I think a lot of people who make an effort to be healthy feel like it’s their fault when they get sick, as you say it’s just one of those things. Love ginger tea :-)
What a great list! I know I need more sleep but it is just very hard to fit everything in, so at the moment I am trying not to worry as that makes it worse too! I do take probiotics when I remember, and if I feel tired I also like to add blackstrap molasses to my porridge as that is a big boost of iron. A walk in the sunshine (or fresh air) is also helpful.
Ha, definitely I’m guilty of that, worrying about lack of sleep when the worrying just stresses me out even more! Great reminder about the black strap molasses!
I enjoyed this! I wasn’t eating very healthily recently but now that I have a working kitchen, I have been juicing again which makes me feel so much better. You definitely look gorgeous in that video though! xx
Clem // ravacholle.blogspot.com
Oh thanks so much! That’s lovely of you to say :-)