My mother always told me, "prevention is better than cure". If we can prevent disease by preparing our bodies and creating an ideal environment for our cells to thrive, why not? Imagine an ideal world where all of our internal environments were so strong and equipped to fight off disease on its own with little to no intervention. How perfect would that be? Since a world like that seems a little far-fetched and with disease being ever present, I've decided to share some things you can do within your daily lives to build up your immunity naturally. Before we start..... Infectious disease vs. communicable disease vs. chronic disease:
Now that we know the differences, let's understand how to build up our body's defenses against them. 🥰 1. Clean Eating "But what does this mean Chérie? Does it mean I have to go vegan?" No, absolutely not, choose whatever lifestyle works well with you. Simply, clean eating means reading the ingredients that are in the foods you decide to eat. If you cannot pronounce or understand what is on the label, nine times out of ten, what you are looking at are chemicals, additives, and preservatives. The fewer ingredients the cleaner. An apple should only have an apple in it, you know? Try incorporating more foods with color onto your plate: local farm grown produce, organic produce, produce in general can be a start. Limit foods with no color. As the late Dr. Sebi would say, "carbon is the source of all life, foods that lack color lack carbon, they lack life." (paraphrased) When we ingest our food, it breaks down into molecules and antioxidants our body can use. Try to avoid foods with low "vibrations". Here's what I mean, foods with higher vibrations are more negatively charged and have more unstable molecular compounds. The molecules that make up alkaline foods, ESPECIALLY minerals like iron which fortifies our blood, like to attach themselves to positively charged molecules (e.g. acids and free radicals) to neutralize the molecule. When these positively charged particles are neutralized, our body is happy again. Our body performs best under a slightly basic pH (7.35-7.45) already, so eating slightly basic or alkaline foods from time to time will keep our bodies functioning at its optimal level and combat oxidative stress. Think of the body's pH level as a pendulum that does not like to be moved. When a shift occurs your body will tell you. Above all listen to your body, if something doesn't look, smell, or feel right something in your internal environment might have caused a shift. 2. Supplements Through doing my own laboratory research on antioxidant capacity and hearing testimonials from friends and family, I can attest to the fact that antioxidant-rich, dietary supplements build immunity against disease. What are antioxidants? Antioxidants are compounds typically found in plants that help to remove free radicals from the body. What are free radicals? compounds that are found within your internal and external environment that are associated with disease formation within the body. The body is always under constant oxidative stress which is linked to an overabundance of free radical formation and cell damage. Free radicals can also be found in the air we breathe, the food we eat, the substances we drink, etc. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals on the cellular level optimizing organ function. However, not all antioxidants are created equal. Quercetin is currently known to be the most potent and fast acting antioxidant. Foods rich in quercetin are as follows: GREEN TEA, black tea, broccoli, red onions, peppers, green apples, and grapes. Other supplements that are antioxidant/antiviral rich include: black seed oil, moringa, elderberry, mullein, spirulina, and echinacea. These are POWERHOUSE supplements. Most of these supplements can be found in tea or pill form and requires daily consumption to build immunity. Below you will find a list of cell enriching foods provided by Dr. Sebi, the closer to the earth the cleaner the food. Dr. Sebi's High Vibration, Alkaline Food List 3. Staying Hydrated This one might seem slightly redundant BUT! hear me out.... your body is made up of majority water. For cells, organs, joints and muscle tissues to function properly they need water. To move nutrients through your body you need water. More than that, for our internal plumbing systems (lymphatic and digestive system) to function properly they need water. Dehydration inhibits your body from excreting toxins and wastes effectively. Alcohol, sodas and juices saturate our blood with sugars and toxins. The easiest way to flush that out is to drink water. Alternatively, we can simply abstain completely from drinking anything other than water or follow the golden rule: "everything in moderation". ✅ Long story short, drink more water, room temperature spring water preferably. I'll get into the different waters in another post. 4. Exercise For many reasons, similar to those stated above for staying hydrated. Exercise promotes the flow of toxins out of the body through sweat. It also boosts the body's metabolism which allows us to break down foods faster, absorb nutrients faster and move waste out of our body faster. It is recommended to get some sort of physical exercise for at least 1 hour a day. Do keep in mind, sweating opens up the pores in your skin, so take caution at the gym by sanitizing gym equipment before and after use. enrich the blood, strengthen the immune system, flush the lymphatic system 🎯 5. Stress Less Stress encourages free radical formation in the body. Minimizing or consolidating your life into manageable portions will help alleviate some stress. Also, taking a minute to meditate, talk to a therapist or doing something to take your mind off of your stress will be beneficial. Find what works for you. 6. Sleep Sleep and stress reduction go hand-in-hand. Prioritize sleep, napping, and meditation. Sleeping gives your cells time to turn over and rejuvenate. Adequate sleep will ensure that your body is ready to take on the next day's challenges. Researchers at the National Sleep Foundation say, proper sleeping habits will boost your immunity and even prevent chronic disease. Here's how.... When we sleep our body produces cytokines, a type of protein which helps our immune system target and defend itself against infectious disease and inflammation effectively. The National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-8 consecutive hours of sleep at night. If you are unable to get consecutive hours of sleep, make it up in 30 minute naps. 7. Practice Good Hygiene Wash your hands, wash your body, sanitize your home and work spaces with alcohol based sanitizers, grab door handles with paper towel, burn sage to purify the air, etc. We can wear face masks all day, but public areas that we touch daily without recognizing it are riddled with germs and bacteria. When we touch these surfaces then subconsciously place our hands near our mouth, nose or eyes, that's the easiest way for pathogens to enter our body. Here are CDC's five easy steps to handwashing, don't forget those nails and cuticles!:
It's important to know that this list is not all there is to protect your body. I will start a series commenting specifically on the health benefits of the different antioxidant/antiviral rich supplements I named above. But for now, check out my in depth analysis of Black Seed Oil, known as the cure for everything except death! The links below will take you to other relevant blog posts. ✨✨✨✨✨ I hope this post enriches your life and your palate. Prepare your bodies, prepare your minds, continue to do your research to find which diet/lifestyle works best for you. Above all listen to your body and give it foods you know it will love. Also, it's very important that we pass this knowledge down to enrich generations after us. Comment below if you found this post helpful. If you're in Atlanta, check out @yourvitaminlady_101 they are amazing! Thanks for joining me. 💚 Till Next Time, Chérie Jade ***Disclaimer: Please consult with your healthcare professional or do your own research before taking any of the supplements listed above. I am not a healthcare professional, simply speaking from personal experience and my own laboratory research. Also, if you have access to vaccines highly consider getting vaccinated along with the daily tactics listed above.****
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AuthorHello world! I am Chérie Jade, I am passionate about promoting a holistic lifestyle and encouraging preventative practices for day to day healthy living. Archives
April 2023
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