How tough are you?

YOU can impact the strength of your body’s defense system against foreign invaders, such as viruses.

Is your body battle ready?

Certain nutrients enable the body to block, catch, and kill unwanted intruders. Unfortunately, most people are deficient in vitamins and minerals needed to build strong barricades and booby traps.

Would you like a simple step to improve your immune health this week? Include one “super food” into your diet.

Here are 3 great options.

#1. Raw Sauerkraut

• Benefits: This power food provides your digestive system with a dose of good bacteria, also known as probiotics. More than 70% of your immune system stems from your gut.
  
  A healthy digestive system leads to a strong body capable of fighting off viruses. A body suppressed by digestive woes will struggle to battle viral invaders.
  
  
• Notes: Make sure to buy RAW sauerkraut. Pasteurized kraut will not contain probiotics. Raw fermented veggies, such as carrots or naturally fermented pickles, will also work just as well.
  
  
• Good Brands: Bubbies, Wildbrine
  
  
• Where to Buy: Costco, Trader Joe’s, your local health food store

#2. Bone Broth

• Benefits: During the cooking process, minerals and gut healing nutrients are pulled out of the soup bones and into the broth.
  
  The minerals found in this golden liquid help the body to combat stress, including the stress of a viral attack.
  
  Broth is an amazing therapeutic food for the digestive system. Again, a strong gut is vital for fighting off illness.
  
  Digestive problems such as acid reflux, gall bladder pain or stones (or the absence of your gallbladder), constipation, or diarrhea are all red flags that your immune system is weak and needs some serious, tailored support. (We can help!)
  
  The digestive system has a number of barriers to destroy viral or bacterial invaders. These natural lines of defense help prevent the body from getting sick. When those chemical (e.g. stomach acid) and mechanical (e.g. lining of the small intestine) walls are down, it leads to a leaky gut. Very basically, this means that “holes” have been created in the inflamed digestive tract, enabling bacterial and viral invaders to easily get into the blood stream and take over.
  
  The nutrients in bone broth help to patch up the problematic holes in a leaky gut.
  
  
• Recipe: Hereis a great website on all things soup.
  
  
• Good Brands: Vital Proteins (powder option), Fields of Athenry Farm (liquid broth)

#3. Ginger/ Lemon Juice

• Benefits: These foods stimulate the stomach acid needed to kill off bad bacteria and viruses that enter the digestive system. Over 90% of the clients I test for stomach acid sufficiency are not producing enough acid for proper digestion or immune function.
  
  Ginger and lemon also stimulate the liver and gallbladder, which help to eliminate toxins. When the body has a low toxic burden, it is freed up to more effectively fight off viral or bacterial infections.
  
  Toxic overload is an incredibly common issue I see in my clients.
  
  Why?
  
  A high stress lifestyle, poor quality sleep, processed food, medications, constipation, and dehydration all curtail the body’s ability to detoxify.

• Recipe: If you own a juicer, go here for the recipe.
  
  
• Good Brands: Farmhouse Culture Ginger Beet Gut Shots
  
  
• Simple Swap: Add a few drops of lemon essential oil to your water.

Take Action:

#1. Pick a super food / drink and boost your body.

Try it out this week. If you don’t care for the one you picked, try another.

I ingest these 3 foods / drinks on a weekly if not daily basis year round to keep my body in tip-top shape. They enable me both to prevent bugs I’m exposed to and to quickly fight off the occasional illness.

#2. Please SHARE this information with your loved ones.

You are largely in the driver’s seat when it comes to your susceptibility of getting infections or a disease and your ability to fight off viruses or bacteria that have entered your body.

This needs to be shouted from the rooftops!

But few are talking about effective ways to build up the body’s natural defense mechanisms. It’s time to empower yourself and others.

***Bonus Action Step: If you haven’t read my COVID-19 immune game plan, check it out by clicking here.