As the coldness of winter creeps in, it's important to prioritise your immune health to ensure your training stays on track.

While a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle are crucial in supporting a healthy immune system, certain supplements can provide an extra well-needed boost.

This blog post explores the various vitamins, minerals, and supplements that may help support your immune health and keep you well this winter!

Vitamin C: A Powerful Immune Booster

Vitamin C is an essential micronutrient that aids in maintaining healthy cellular functions that support immune defense (Ac & S, 2017).

Incorporating citrus fruits, strawberries, and capsicums into your diet can increase your intake of this vital nutrient and boost your immune system.

Supplementing with Vitamin C can provide a convenient and effective boost to help support your immune system.

Vitamin D: Essential for Winter Wellness

Commonly known as the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D is one of the most underrated nutrients for maintaining optimal health.

Vitamin D deficiencies are commonly associated with increased susceptibility to infection, so ensuring adequate levels helps our immune system function optimally (Martens et al., 2020).

Getting at least 20 minutes of sun exposure daily or taking a quality Vegan Vitamin D3 supplement can help raise your Vitamin D levels.

Zinc: Strengthen Your Immune Defenses

Zinc plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy immune system and is necessary for developing, activating, and maintaining immune cells.

During periods of high stress and illness, the Zinc levels in your body can rapidly deplete, increasing your risk of Zinc deficiency (Maares & Haase, 2016).

Consuming foods such as oysters, beef, pumpkin seeds, and cashews can help get more Zinc into your diet.

Consuming oysters, beef, pumpkin seeds, and cashews can boost your dietary intake of Zinc. Those who struggle to consume adequate amounts of dietary Zinc may greatly benefit from a Zinc supplement.

Learn more about Zinc in this article.

Daily Greens: Packed with Essential Nutrients

Incorporating daily greens powder into your winter wellness routine can significantly boost your immune health.

Powdered greens contain essential vitamins, minerals, and immune-boosting phytonutrients to promote a healthy, resilient immune system.

While getting most of your daily greens through wholefoods is recommended, supplementing with a Greens Powder can help fill in the nutritional gaps you may miss!

Astragalus: An Ancient Guardian of Immunity

Astralagus is a powerful herb used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine for its immune-boosting properties.

This adaptogenic herb contains compounds that can enhance the activity of immune cells, strengthen the immune response, and promote overall immune system health (Zheng et al., 2020).

For this one, we tend to recommend herbal immune-supporting blends that contain Astragalus, such as Astra 8 or Immunity & Stress by Fusion.

The Takeaway

In conclusion, optimising your immune system is crucial for your overall health and well-being.

Incorporating vitamins and minerals such as vitamin C, vitamin D, Zinc, daily greens, and Astragalus can significantly boost your immune system and ensure you maintain your wellness this winter.

If you want other recommendations on maintaining your health this winter, don't hesitate to contact our Customer Service team!

References

• Ac, C., & S, M. (2017, November 3). Vitamin C and Immune Function. Nutrients. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29099763/
• Maares, M., & Haase, H. (2016). Zinc and immunity: An essential interrelation. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics, 611, 58–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2016.03.022
• Martens, P.-J., Gysemans, C., Verstuyf, A., & Mathieu, and C. (2020). Vitamin D’s Effect on Immune Function. Nutrients, 12(5), 1248. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12051248
• Zheng, Y., Ren, W., Zhang, L., Zhang, Y., Liu, D., & Liu, Y. (2020). A Review of the Pharmacological Action of Astragalus Polysaccharide. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.00349

Authors: 
Stephen Brumwell, Nutritionist (ANTA #40048)

Reviewed:
Teigen Faux, Exercise Phyioslogist (Honours) for Scientific Accuracy