It is now more important than ever to focus on our health and how we can become more resilient as humans. Bio-resilience refers to the ability of whole species to adapt to change in both our natural and manmade environments. As humans we have the knowledge and power to constantly adapt and become effective power houses. When looking at how to improve our bio-resilience the most logical place to start is our immune system. This system is our key protector and provides us with the tools to recover from adverse health.
Your immune system is your body’s complex defence system and you have 3 warriors in this system:
Natural Killer Cells (cells tasked with fighting aggressors)
Macrophages (defensive cells within white blood cells)
T-Cells (immune response cells)
For optimal immune function these 3 warriors need to be provided with adequate nutrition. This comes in the form of both macronutrients and micronutrients which have vital roles throughout the immune response. To sustain immunocompetence the key micronutrients we need are: Vitamins A, C, D, E, B2, B6 and B12; folic acid; beta carotene; iron; selenium and zinc. To do this we need to focus on increasing our dietary intake of:
Grass fed meat
Organic chicken
Fatty fish such as tuna, sardines, mackerel, herring.
Dark green leafy vegetables
Cruciferous vegetables
Olive oil
Nuts and seeds
Pulses & legumes
Our mitochondria are one of the most important components of a cell as they provide the energy for many crucial biochemical processes which strengthen your immune system. They control how food and oxygen are converted into energy. They also send messages to other components within the cell to optimise your immune system’s ability to fight infection.
You can support your Mitochondria at home in the following ways:
Reduce sugar and refined carbohydrates. This weakens the immune response for approximately 3 hours post consumption.
Feed them with dark green leafy vegetables, wild-caught fish, nuts, seeds and olive oil.
Intermittent fast. Have a fast of at least 12-16 hours between dinner and breakfast or fast for 24 hours once a week. During your fast you can only consume water, herbal teas, black coffee or a high fat coffee.
Do high Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) 3 times a week. This builds up the number and size of your mitochondria in your system.
Get good quality sleep to preserve your mitochondria. Follow a good sleep hygiene routine every evening. This can include taking a warm bath or shower before bed; using a blue light blocker on your phone and laptop; switch off your phone when sleeping; use black out blinds and have the temperature of your room at 18 degrees Celsius.
We can optimise our immune system even further by adding in some key supplements. Our system becomes weakened by daily stressors such as environmental pollutants or a stressful job. These supplements will provide that extra bit of support.
Lysine Hydrochloride. Lysine is one of the seven essential amino acids and plays a critical role in supporting our immune system.
N-Acetyl Cysteine is essential for replenishing glutathione which is one of the most powerful antioxidants in your body.
Taurine is an amino acid and potent antioxidant that protects tissues from oxidative stress and inflammatory processes.
B vitamins – each B vitamin works in specific way to support your body’s immune response.
At Renua Nutrition our focus is on prevention of disease so we use a combination of approaches which truly boost your bio-resilience helping you adapt and perform at your highest level. To find out more about our approaches get in touch with us on social media or through our website.
