3 Self-Care Routines to Kickstart Your Immune Resilience

Spring is a time of renewal, but for some people, it can also bring allergy symptoms and other health issues.

The word inflammation comes from the Latin root inflammare, to set on fire.

If you’ve ever hit your thumb with a hammer, you can see how inflammation works. In the context of our immune system, when we injure ourselves the result is heat, redness, pain and swelling.

When it comes to “acute” illness, such as colds and flu, the swollen glands and puffy eyes and nose that most of us experience in response to those virus infections clearly show the immune system at work trying to banish the disease from the body.

What could the health consequences of persistent chronic inflammation happening all over your body–all day, every day–be?

Inflammation has now been linked to many serious illnesses, including:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Various forms of cancer
• Arthritis, especially rheumatoid arthritis and gout
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Thyroid conditions that can lead to slow metabolism, which can make sufferers gain even more weight and feel worse
• Mental health & early aging
• The point is having a taxed immune system that is chronically inflamed drains our energy resources and makes us beyond tired. We’re exhausted, things
• hurt, our brains fatigue & our decision processes begin to falter.

Our immune system is therefore a delicately balanced system, with inflammation being a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can be helpful in keeping germs under control so we do not get sick. On the other hand, if the immune system gets confused, inflammation will increase as the body starts to attack itself. Studies have shown that inflammation can affect almost every system in the body.

Your Immunity Starts in the Gut

Even though the immune system is a complicated health instrument, and is on constant surveillance to protect you, there are really only 3 main categories where it’s focused: infections, food-borne pathogens, and environmental antigens.

The good news is that a big chunk of your immune system resides inside you, called your gut, where life happens. Your gut is made up of trillions of bacteria, all hard at work shaping you to be you. They respond to all life’s forces and, believe it or not, are quite responsive to small, even subtle shifts in the moves you make & the food you eat.

Fortunately, there are ways to reduce inflammation by rebuilding your gut terrain, learning how to avoid foods that trigger an immune system attack, steering clear of harsh chemicals, inhalants & fumes, reducing your stress, stopping smoking, and exercising more. And while you might not have the stamina to do it along, a team of health experts well-versed in the principles of functional medicine are standing by to help!

If you suspect inflammation is coming from the gut, or if you’ve grown increasingly intolerant to food, are more sensitive to the environment, and finding that even your sleep rhythms are off, you could run a few tests, checking not only your beneficial bacterial, but also your levels of inflammation inside the gut and your brain that might lead you down a specific path.

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