This blog is going to veer from my typical dental health research and recommendations to suggestions for optimizing your physical health through the joys and challenges of the holidays. I would like to share with you tips that my staff and I practice to stay well so we are available to care for our patients. The focus is going to be on simple measures that you can acquire easily and are natural interventions to keep you feeling great.
With that in mind, I saw this recently and it struck me for its simple truth about the winter months:
In the US, we have a candy holiday,
followed by a pie holiday,
next a cookie holiday,
then a boozer holiday,
and we call it ‘flu season’
rather than a sugar poisoning season.
The Basics
Sleep—I am listing this first because it is the foundation of our health. If you’ve been under my care for some time, you’ve likely heard me talk to you about what your mouth can tell me about your sleep. Because our bodies heal and recover while we sleep, it is crucial to make the effort to optimize your nocturnal habits (also known as sleep hygiene).
Key components of sleep hygiene include:
- going to bed at the same time every night
- avoiding caffeine after lunch and limiting alcohol after dinner
- turning off screens after dinner. Best to read from an old fashioned book and avoid LCD displays.
- keeping your room cool and dark
- trying to get 7-9 hours of sleep daily
Exercise—plain and simple, we were created to move and use our bodies. Our modern lifestyles are guilty of making us more sedentary and often carrying a few extra pounds. If you don’t exercise regularly, talk to your provider about incorporating 20-30 minutes of exercise daily…walking, lifting weights, biking, etc.
Stress—managing stress is sometimes easier said than done. Be sure to take time for yourself to rest, breathe and pray. Make quiet time for relaxation.
Eat healthy foods—the saying we are what we eat is applicable. Consuming packaged, processed foods burdens our body’s ability to heal and recover. Try to focus on whole, raw foods when possible. Select a handful of nuts over the donuts someone brought to work. Try an apple or banana instead of dessert after a meal. It sounds silly but the more you avoid processed sugars, the less you will crave them.
Supplements and Why-I know there is much controversy whether one should use supplements in addition to a healthy diet or just rely on diet alone. I am SQUARELY in the camp that to achieve optimal health, utilizing supplements plays a key role. When I was in dental school, one of my favorite classes was biochemistry. We were taught by a phenomenal professor (Dr. Steve Chaney) who made the class applicable beyond the world of dentistry. He currently writes a health blog: Health Tips from the Professor that I have been following for several years.
Just like Dr. Chaney’s biochemistry class, I glean a tremendous amount of useful information pertaining to healthy living from his newsletters. In a recent newsletter, he breaks down how to choose the best multi-vitamin:
“With so many claims and counter claims in the marketplace, it has become almost impossible for the average consumer to know which claims are true and which are false. Everyone wants to get the best multivitamin-multimineral for their health at the least possible cost. Perhaps that is why I am so frequently asked for guidance on how to choose the best multivitamin.”
If you’re someone who gets overwhelmed by the sheer volume of options available when you shop for vitamins, I am hoping you will find Dr. Chaney’s advice helpful. With all of this in mind, listed below are a few key supplements that help to optimize the immune system for the cold and Flu season. This research article gives you a more in depth study of nutrients that can help you stay healthy this winter.
Vitamin D— is likely the most crucial supplement to be taking this winter and why I listed it first. There are many, many studies that show that low Vitamin D levels lead to more serious winter viral outcomes. Many Americans are Vitamin D deficient due to the overuse of sunscreens, our indoor lifestyles and our diets of heavily processed foods. In the fall and winter months our bodies are unable to naturally produce Vitamin D from sun exposure, this can make supplementing essential.
Vitamin D functions as an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and has neuroprotective properties that support immune health, muscle function and brain cell activity. For optimal health outcomes this winter, I would encourage you to have your Vitamin D levels checked by your doctor and supplement appropriately.
Vitamin C— is crucial for a healthy immune system. Its basic properties include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antithrombotic and antiviral activities. Vitamin C can act as an antiviral drug by inactivating viruses when taken in high doses. Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin which means you eliminate the excess in your urine. For best immune stimulating results, it is recommended that you take this vitamin twice daily.
Zinc–This is a key mineral that plays a vital role in our immune system’s ability to ward off viral infections. It functions by aiding immune cell production, like T cells and white blood cells that help our bodies fight off disease. Zinc has been shown to reduce the severity and duration of viral infections such as the common cold. Zinc deficiency has been shown to impair immune function.
Quercetin— is known as an ionophore and it is responsible for making Zinc more bioavailable to our cells. This in turn helps reduce a virus’s ability to infect cells, it reduces the replication of already infected cells and helps to inhibit platelet aggregation.
Omega-3 fatty acids–work to help orchestrate resolution of inflammation. A key component of respiratory infections is a strong inflammatory response (think of your scratchy throat, runny nose and persistent cough). Omega-3s can help to support healing as the body is recovering from infection.
Extra Steps
Nasal irrigation—viruses enter through our nasal and oral passages. A habit I got into during the winter months was to irrigate my nasal passages using a saline solution at the end of every work day. There is evidence that products like Xlear can inactivate viral particles in the nasal passages helping to reduce viral load. The reduction in load can decrease the chance of getting sick and/or decrease the time to recovery.
Oral rinse—similar to our nose, our mouth is another viral entry point. Gargling with a xylitol based mouth rinse can help to reduce viral load but also assist in nourishing the vital oral biome.
As the year draws to a close, I want to thank you for the opportunity to serve you, your family and your friends. It is both an honor and a privilege to care for you. We look forward to seeing you in the New Year!
With Gratitude!
Jessica
