Essential Supplements for Supporting Your Immune System

What steps are you taking to make sure your body is prepared to fight off any invaders that threaten your health?

Staying home and washing your hands may not feel like enough. I know these COVID-19 times we are living in are scary…we’ve never seen something like this in our lifetime.

As always, I am here for you. Whether it’s to help you reset your hormones or protect yourself from viral and seasonal threats, I promise to continue offering natural solutions that put the power back in your hands.

When fear kicks in, the best thing you can do is take a step back, breathe deep, and center yourself on your own power to protect your health. We can’t control so much in our crazy world right now, but there are things we can do to set ourselves up for health success in order to prevent the spread of sickness.

Especially now, as things are beginning to re-open and you may find yourself with other people for the first time in a while (even though the threat of infection is certainly not over), it’s super important to prioritize your immune health. Here are some of my best tips:

MY STELLAR IMMUNITY RESOURCES:

On the blog:

• How to Boost Your Immunity and Combat Seasonal Threats with Essential Oils
• How to Immediately Boost Your Immunity and Stay Healthy
• Quarantine Essentials: How to Make the Most of Your Time at Home

On the Essentially You Podcast:

• Episode 172: What You Need to Know about the Coronavirus and How to Boost Your Immunity with Dr. Elisa Song
• Episode 175: Top 10 Ways to Immediately Boost Your Immunity and Stay Healthy
• Episode 177: How to Boost Your Immune System by Healing Your Gut with Dr. Vincent Pedre
• Episode 179: How to Thrive During a Pandemic and Quarantine with Mary Clifton

WHAT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM NEEDS

One common thread through ALL of these is the importance of specific vitamins and minerals you need to support your health. Your immune system, just like any other system in your body, relies on an ideal balance of nutrients to function at its best.

On a regular day when life hasn’t been as chaotic as it is now, it may be possible to get a majority of these things through food alone.

But stress, exhaustion, and extra possibilities of exposure all take their toll on your body’s ability to respond to threats. While stress is depleting your body of essential nutrients, supplements can step in to restore healthy levels to make sure your body has what it needs. They bridge the nutritional gaps that leave you vulnerable to infection and help you maintain necessary levels in your body to support your health.

Here are the top supplements you can be taking now to give your body what it needs to defend itself:

Vitamin C

We all know that vitamin C is important for immune health, but what does it actually do (and why do you need to supplement)?

• Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. Inflammation slows down your immune response, and antioxidants are the way your body cleans out buildup in your cells and makes sure all the pathways are clear for your immune system to do its job.

• Vitamin C boosts your immune cell response. It stimulates your body to produce more of the invader-fighting cells that protect your health by literally swallowing up the harmful substances.

• Your body can’t store extra vitamin C for when it needs it. While your body stores some excess vitamins in your fat cells for later use, vitamin C is water-soluble, which means your body excretes any extra through your urine. In order to give your body the vitamin C it needs, you need to consume it every day (even more so when there is a direct threat to your health, like we are facing now).

While some foods like citrus fruits, bell peppers, kale, strawberries, and broccoli provide high levels of vitamin C, when you’re looking for the extra immune boost, natural supplements are going to be your best bet.

Unfortunately, a majority of vitamin C supplements you’ll find on the market are loaded with added sugar, GMO’s, preservatives, fillers, and other nasty things you want no part of. These ingredients take so much of a toll on your body that it’s better just to stay away!

I was fed up with the ingredient labels I was seeing, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and custom-formulate a natural vitamin C supplement that delivers only the BEST support for your body (without any added junk). Click here to get Essentially Whole® Vitamin C to give your body what it needs to protect your health!

Vitamin D

Right behind vitamin C, vitamin D is the next biggest player for your immune health. It’s a critical component in your body’s ability to fight off infection and protect your cells. All of your white blood cells (the ones that do the dirty work of protecting you from sickness) have receptors that require vitamin D to activate them effectively. Studies show that people who are deficient in vitamin D are significantly more likely to develop respiratory issues and are at a much higher risk of catching colds, flu, and viruses.

While the primary way we get vitamin D is through sun exposure, a majority of us can’t get enough in that way alone. Work, bad weather, and other commitments trap us indoors, limiting the time we get in the sun. Most Americans are deficient, so I recommend that EVERYONE take a vitamin D supplement with at least 5,000-10,000 IU every day. (This will benefit WAY more than just your immunity….your mood, hormones, PMS, and energy levels will thank you too!)

In times like this where there is a higher risk of getting sick, it’s a good idea to step up your dosage to 10,000 IU twice every day.

One of the biggest problems with vitamin D supplements is that your body can’t put it to use very efficiently, so there’s a lot of waste and you don’t get the benefits. That’s why I created Essentially Whole® Vitamin D Complete to be formulated with pure vitamin D along with vitamins K1 and K2. These are essential co-factors your body relies on to metabolize the vitamin D and deliver it to every cell in your body. Click here to get Vitamin D Complete now!

Magnesium

Inflammation is the #1 thing that gets in the way of your body’s health. It’s behind chronic diseases, autoimmunity, hormone imbalances, and, yes, even catching more viruses and colds that go around. Magnesium is a non-negotiable for keeping your body’s inflammation under control. 

Plus, it is a powerhouse to help you sleep better. Lack of sleep puts you at a MUCH higher risk of getting sick, so supporting your body’s rest should be a top priority right now especially. Taking magnesium about 30 minutes before you go to bed gives your body some extra support to help you wind down and sleep peacefully.

There are MANY different kinds of magnesium available and, frankly, most of them do literally nothing for you. If you’ve tried magnesium supplements before and didn’t notice a difference, I’m not surprised! You want to look for a magnesium that is formulated for bioavailability so your cells can put it to use efficiently. 

Essentially Whole® Magnesium Restore is my own blend of magnesium bi-glycinate and magnesium oxide to give you the BEST support, without digestive side effects like diarrhea that come with other types. Magnesium Restore is perfect to build up magnesium levels in your body so you can sleep better, reduce inflammation, and maintain your health! Click here to shop now.

B Complex Vitamins

B vitamins are essential for hundreds of processes in your body, including immune support. Supporting your body with a good B-complex vitamin provides your body the building blocks it needs to fight off invaders, keeping your body energized and your immune cells active. Your body also uses B vitamins to recognize infections so it knows when to dial up the immune response to protect your health.

When looking for a B complex vitamin, you want to ensure it is activated, or methylated so your cells can put the nutrients to use immediately. Essentially Whole® Activated B Complete offers all the essential B vitamins in an ideal balance to give your body what it needs. Click here to get Activated B Complete now!

Iron, Zinc, and Selenium

These three important minerals are critical components of your immune response. Iron helps your body recognize invaders and kill them off, while zinc and selenium help your cells keep up their barriers. Zinc and selemium also act as antioxidants to clear out waste products. The best way to get these is in a quality multivitamin.

The Bottom Line

Researchers are all finding that supporting your body’s immune response with essential vitamins and minerals like the ones I’ve just listed should be a top priority, right along with hand hygiene and social distancing. Your body needs all the help you can give it during this time, and these supplements are the best way to do that!

Click here to shop the full line of Essentially Whole® supplements now!

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