At a time when staying healthy is particularly important, I am sharing a few simple things to do to support your immune system this winter, as well as a few useful homeopathic remedies in case of illness.

When the immune system works well, you don’t even know it is there. You may get in contact with germs, viruses or bacteria, but your immune system is reactive enough so you don’t know your body has been near anything that could make you ill.

The immune system is affected by what we eat, how we sleep, whether we exercise and how stressed we are. So let’s see how we can easily support our immune system:

How to support your immune system

1. Stay hydrated.

Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Also get a few hot drinks. If you get a viral infection, try and increase your intake of hot drinks as viruses don’t like heat in general. Chicken broth, herbal teas or lemon and honey are preferable to tea and coffee.

2. Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit

Vegetables and fruit provide many nutrients for your body. Variety is a key word when it comes to nutrition. Aim for a “rainbow” of fruit and vegetables every day. This chart provides examples of what to eat for each colour of the rainbow.

Local and seasonal products will also contain more nutrients than those that have travelled the world and are out of season.

3. Get into a good sleep routine

A good sleep routine is essential so your body can rest and restore overnight.

As our bodies are stretched a bit more during the winter to fight the cold, we get more tired. It is important to acknowledge this and allow more time for rest than we would normally. Some might feel like hibernating altogether!

4. Add some vitamins and minerals to your diet

In the winter, and when illnesses are getting around, add some vitamins and minerals to your diet:

• • Vitamin C: it has powerful anti-viral properties. Start by taking 1000mg a day in several doses. If you get ill, you can increase the dose up to 10g daily (generally increase it until your stool is loose, this is your maximum tolerated level).
  • Vitamin D3: take 1000 to 2000 International Units (IU) per day in the winter. If you are deficient in vitamin D, then you may want to take more initially (up to 5000 IU a day for a couple of weeks). You can get a free test at your local surgery to get a better idea of how much your intake should be.
  • Zinc: 15mg daily
  • You may also wish to add Magnesium and Selenium.
  • Finally, probiotics also help to keep your immune system healthy. When your guts are healthy, they are more able to absorb nutrients.

5. Keep exercising

As long as it is possible, keep going out for walks, a jog or a cycle. This will help you physically and emotionally. If you are unable to go out, try exercising at home: there are many options on the internet. It is important to exercise regularly but also to choose an activity you enjoy.

6. Manage your stress levels

Stress can have a powerful impact on our health and immunity, so it is important to manage stress levels. Exercising will help you, but other ways include meditation and mindfulness, connecting with nature, having a good laugh and enjoying yourself.

 

3 homeopathic remedies for sudden onset of colds and flu

Homeopathic remedies help recover more quickly from an illness and are even more effective when taken at the start of the illness.
Here are 3 remedies particularly useful when the symptoms of flu and colds come on suddenly.

• Aconite

The illness is usually the result of being out in the cold and wind. If you need this remedy, you will feel restless, worse in a warm room and in the evening. You may also be frightened of death.

• Belladonna 

This is a good remedy when heat and redness are present (and so your face is flushed and red). The fever is usually high and your pupils are dilated. You feel better in a warm room but worse for lying down and at night.

• Baptisia

It is also good for high fever. You will feel bruised all over your body, sweat a lot and be very thirsty.

There are many more remedies to support anyone at the beginning and throughout the various stages of an illness. Get in touch if you would like to find out more.

Further advice

Get more advice on how to keep your children healthy and nurse them during illnesses by downloading my free eBook http://bit.ly/Priscille-Homeopathy-Ebook

Find out about fevers, why they are good and how to look after a sick child in this article.

I hope you have found these simple steps to support your immune system useful. Do contact me if you would like further advice.

With best wishes for a healthy life,

Priscille Francetti LCCH MARH

Homeopath

At a time when staying healthy is particularly important, I am sharing a few simple things to do to support your immune system.

When the immune system works well, you don’t even know it is there. You may get in contact with germs, viruses or bacteria, but your immune system is reactive enough so you don’t know your body has been near anything that could make sick. The immune system is affected by what we eat, how we sleep, whether we exercise and how stressed we are. So let’s see how we can easily support our immune system:

• Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water throughout the day. Also get a few hot drinks. If you get a viral infection, try and increase your intake of hot drinks as viruses don’t like heat in general. Chicken broth, herbal teas or lemon and honey are preferable to tea and coffee.
• Eat plenty of vegetables and fruit to get many nutrients into your body. Variety is a key word when it comes to nutrition.
• Get into a good sleep routine so your body can rest and restore overnight.
• In the winter and when illnesses are getting around, add to your diet some vitamins and minerals, preferably of good quality:
  • Vitamin C: it has powerful anti-viral properties. Start by taking 1000mg a day in several doses. If you get ill, you can increase the dose up to 10g daily (generally increase it until your stool is loose, this is your maximum tolerated level).
  • Vitamin D3: take 1000 to 2000 IU per day in the winter. If you are deficient in vitamin D, then you may want to take more initially (up to 5000 IU a day for a couple of weeks). You can get a free test at your local surgery to get a better idea of how much your intake should be.
  • Zinc: 15mg daily
  • You may also wish to add Magnesium and Selenium.
  • Finally, probiotics also help to keep your immune system healthy. When your guts are healthy, they are more able to absorb nutrients.
• As long as it is possible, keep going out for walks, a jog or a cycle. This will help you physically and emotionally. If you are not able to go out, try exercising at home, there are many options on the internet.
• Get more advice on how to keep your children healthy and nurse them during illnesses by downloading my free eBook http://bit.ly/Priscille-Homeopathy-Ebook

 

Find out about fevers, why they are good and how to look after a sick child in this article.

I hope you have found these simple things to support your immune system useful. Do contact me if you would like further advice.

With best wishes for a healthy life,

Priscille Francetti LCCH MARH

Homeopath

Would you like to learn more about the immune system, how to stay healthy and how to boost your immune system naturally? With the cold and wet weather definitely about, and the nights drawing in, it is particularly important to look after ourselves.

Join me on Tuesday 17 November to learn more. We will cover the following topics:

• how the immune system works (including what fevers are about and how to deal with them)
• the importance of eliminating toxins
• what you can do to stay health
• what you can do to boost your immune system naturally

There will be opportunities for questions and answers.

To register, click here. If you cannot make that day, you can register and watch the replay in your own time.

For more information, please contact me at priscille@priscillehomeopathy.co.uk or on 07387 422 848, or via my contact page.

Priscille Francetti LCCH MARH

Homeopath

Get my free guide for raising a healthy child by clicking here.

Constant sneezing, itchy eyes, streaming nose? Do these symptoms seem familiar to you?

Then perhaps you are a hay fever sufferer.

About 10 to 15% of children and 25 to 30% of adults are affected in the UK – so quite a large proportion! Additionally according to Allergies UK, people who have allergic rhinitis are at increased risk of developing asthma. So it is important to manage the symptoms and address the root cause of the issue.

This article sets out some useful information about hay fever and why it happens together with some tips to help with your symptoms and how to minimise hay fever.

What is hay fever?

Allergic rhinitis is a response from your immune system to pollens, grass and other allergens. It can become debilitating when the symptoms are intense. This may impact on work and school life, as well as disrupt social outings and perhaps even your sleep.

This over-reaction from our immune system happens when our body makes allergic antibodies (IgE) to react against airborne allergens. Such reaction occurs because there is an imbalance in the immune system and may start at any age, not just in childhood.

Whilst it is common to treat hay fever with over the counter drugs such as anti-histamines, these treatments only mask the issue. And sadly, they can produce side-effects and their effectivity is often of short-duration.

So what can we do to reduce our symptoms?

Closing our windows and staying indoors do not have to be our “go to” measures.

First thing first, stay well hydrated so that the mucous membranes of your nose remain damp and expel unwanted particles more easily.

You may also want to coat your nostrils with a bees wax ointment (or a similar natural ointment) before going out.

When you come back from outside, make sure your shoes stay on your door steps and you get changed into clean clothes. If necessary, have a shower and rinse your hair too as pollens tend to stay on your clothes and hair and you should avoid sleeping with them around.

Eat healthy fats, onions, garlic and spices which help keeping a healthy immune system and reduce inflammation caused by hay fever. And finally, I often recommend a daily intake of local raw honey during the winter. This helps to desensitise to local pollens.

What about homeopathy?

Some studies show the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies in treating hay fever symptoms.

Many homeopathic remedies are available: Nux Vomica, Euphrasia and Allium Cepa are typical examples. Choosing the correct remedy will depend on what symptoms you experience: are your eyes itchy? do you get a watery discharge from your nose? do you feel better outdoors? are your discharges burning, etc?

Those remedies will help during the acute flare-up and may even have dramatic results (I have witnessed symptoms disappearing within minutes of taking the remedy). They are great to have at hand should your symptoms take you by surprise or become less bearable. However they will not address the underlying cause of your allergy and probably will need to be repeated frequently.

Hay fever prevention

The best way to manage hay fever effectively is to build up your resistance to allergens and strengthen your immunity before the season starts. Ideally you should follow a homeopathic treatment at the start of autumn and repeat it during the winter. It involves various remedies which address your allergic disposition and remedies selected for you to help your immune system. Homeopathy is an individualised medicine so remedies are chosen based on your specific symptoms.

And being holistic, you will find that the treatment may also help with other troubles you may have!

For more information, please contact me at priscille@priscillehomeopathy.co.uk or on 07387 422 848, or via my contact page.

Priscille Francetti LCCH MARH

Homeopath