A Nutritionist Explains the Best Ways to Boost Your Immune System

In this video, Rebecca, a Certified Nutritional Practitioner and manager of our Lindsay store, and Jonathan, our Marketing Assistant, discuss all things immunity!

They get into how immunity supplements work during the cold months and some things you can do to help recover when you get sick! There are also some great recommendations of the many immunity options we have here at Jo Anne's Place!

Here's a full transcript of the video here:

Wellness Wisdom Episode 3: All Things Immunity

Jonathan: Hi, I'm Jonathan Tessier, and we're back here with some of our health tip videos with our nutritionist, Rebecca. How are you doing today, Rebecca?

Rebecca:  Good. How are you doing, Jonathan?

Jonathan:  I'm doing great. So today we're going to be talking about immunity. Since it is the cold season, people are getting sick a lot more and want to know how they can prevent that from happening.

Rebecca:  So let's talk about immunity before we get into your questions. Just have to do a little disclaimer before we get into it — we’re going to talk about supporting our immune system today and supplements that can be really helpful for that. But I also want to emphasize that we should be supporting our health, stress, and overall wellness all year round, not just during cold season.

It really starts with your foundations in general. What does your diet and lifestyle look like every day of the year? That’s the first place to start in supporting your immune system — by supporting your body all year round.

Are we making proper dietary choices? Are we getting enough sleep? How are we managing our stress? Are we moving our bodies?

Once we’ve got those pillars covered or are making strides toward them, then we can look at supplementation to help strengthen those areas even more.

Our immunity supplements are especially beneficial this time of year. This is when we’re more susceptible — there’s just a lot more floating around — so it can be helpful to give your immune system some extra support.

Jonathan:  Do you need to take them every day or just when you’re feeling sick?

Rebecca:  You can actually do both. There are supplements that support the immune system all season long, and others that help you get through something specific, like a respiratory issue. Depending on what’s going on, you can add in certain herbs to target particular symptoms.

Jonathan:  Are there any common misconceptions about immunity supplements?

Rebecca:  Definitely. One misconception is that they’ll completely prevent you from getting sick — unfortunately, that’s not the case. It doesn’t mean you’re unhealthy if you get sick; you actually want your immune system to respond properly.

Another misconception is “more is better.” Sometimes, taking too much of certain immune-supportive supplements can overstimulate your immune system and do more harm than good. It’s important to be mindful of dosage and use.

Jonathan:  Are there immune-boosting foods that pair well with supplements?

Rebecca:  Yes, certainly. This ties into what we talked about in our previous episode. There are foods that can suppress the immune system — like those high in sugar — so you want to be mindful of that.

Immune-supportive foods include fermented foods and those high in soluble and insoluble fiber to support your microbiome. Eat a diverse diet — “eat the rainbow” — so you’re getting a wide variety of nutrients. Warming foods like teas, broths, and soups can also help your body get through the season.

Ingredients like ginger and turmeric are especially beneficial, as are cruciferous vegetables high in vitamins A, C, and E, zinc, and antioxidants. Whole, colorful foods are key.

Jonathan:  What immunity supplements do you recommend from our store, and why?

Rebecca:  We have a great immune section with lots to choose from — a lot of tried and true products we really stand behind. I’ve pulled a few to highlight different approaches. These two here are more for when you feel like you’re coming down with something: elderberry and an antiviral formula. The antiviral blend includes echinacea, astragalus, reishi mushroom, licorice, and lomatium — an herbal mix that helps take down viruses and support your immune system. Elderberry is also great in that way.

These are things I tend to reserve for when I feel like I’m getting sick. Some supplements like elderberry and echinacea shouldn’t be taken constantly — they’re better to keep in your tool belt for when you really need them.

There are also lots of supplements for general immune support that you can take regularly. I pulled a couple of those as well. And beyond that, make sure you’re getting your essential nutrients — whether through eating the rainbow or taking a multivitamin with immune-supportive vitamins and minerals with things like zinc, vitamin C, quercetin, and acetylcysteine — those are some formulas that are really helpful as well. But I pulled a couple of mushroom formulas and an herbal formula here.

This is a really tried and true favorite at Jo Anne’s: Deep Immune by Saint Francis. There’s also a kids’ version as well, just a slightly different formula for children. This is a great herbal formula to help support your immune system throughout the season.

What it’s doing is supporting your immune system, but it’s also supporting your stress response. There are a lot of what we call adaptogenic herbs in there as well. What adaptogenic herbs do is help your body adapt to stress. And like I said at the beginning, that’s an important factor in how your immune system functions.

If you’re not responding to stress very well — if you’re run down in general — your immune system isn’t going to be responding very well either. So that’s where this supplement helps do a bit of both, supporting you with those adaptogenic herbs.

Similarly, this next one is more of an herbal formula, although there’s some reishi mushroom in here as well. These are two different supportive supplements from a couple of different mushroom companies.

We’ve got a newer formula called Immune 8 by Living Alchemy. The difference between these is that the Purica brand uses micronized mushrooms. They’re broken up very small in a machine so your body can absorb them really well. Living Alchemy takes a slightly different approach — they ferment their mushrooms.

Fermenting makes it easier for our body to absorb the nutrients, but it also helps unlock more of their natural power. So both are mushroom-based immune formulas, and while they work a bit differently from the herbal blends, they achieve similar immune support. The beta glucans in mushrooms are the active compounds that help stimulate immune response. So there are a couple of different options here to help get you through, on top of maintaining a healthy diet and nutrition as well.

Jonathan:  It sounds like we have a lot of products here that can help people with immunity. Is there anything else you’d like to tell our audience before we wrap up?

Rebecca:  Yes — if a virus does get you, there are still lots of things that can help with symptoms and recovery. I’m just getting over whatever virus has been going around, and I think a lot of us here are as well. If it does get you, make sure you’re taking care of yourself through that time. We always want to push through and hustle, but rest is one of the most important things — even before reaching for a supplement.

Jonathan:  That’s absolutely right — get your rest, stay healthy, and make sure you come into Jo Anne’s for any of your health needs or immune support products. And stay tuned for more of our health tip videos. We’ll be back soon with a couple more. Thank you, Rebecca.

Rebecca:  Thanks everyone — have a good day.