It’s that time of year when people look to immune boosting foods and winter wellness diets for natural immune support to ward off those inconvenient colds and flus. Missed school, missed work and missed social events are the norm during the cold and flu season where immune systems are notoriously low. Knowing what foods to eat to improve natural immunity and overall winter wellness can ensure you don’t need to cancel plans or call in sick this winter.

Immune Boosting Foods

When considering immune boosting foods, it is important for factor in what nutrients and compounds are found in each food. Vitamin C is the most commonly know immune supportive nutrient so naturally, people often gravitate towards foods high in this important antioxidant. Though, what if I told you, Vitamin C is more effective at reducing the duration of colds and flus rather than preventing them. Similarly, Zinc plays a role in reducing the duration of the common cold and flu as well as reducing its severity. So if you are working from home just need to get through a day, you might find a good zinc and vitamin c combination through diet and food to be effective. What foods are high in vitamin C and zinc?

Vitamin C

• Citrus (mandarins, lemons, oranges, limes)
• Kiwi fruit
• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Papaya
• Pineapple
• Capsicum
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Spinach
• Chili
• Parsley

Zinc

• Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• Sesame seeds
• Oysters
• Eggs
• Lean beef
• Quinoa
• Lentils
• Chickpeas
• Almonds
• Cashews

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is our key prevention nutrient. Large scale studies have shown that adequate vitamin D levels act as a preventative for frequent colds and flus, likewise, studies show those who have vitamin D deficiency are more likely to experience regular cold and flu occurrences.

Vitamin D food sources are limited, which is why safe sun exposure is so important to our immune health. Luckily, here is Australia, we have ample access to the sun, we just need to get away from our computers, phones and TVs and step outside, even in those colder months.

Some Vitamin D food sources we do have available are:

• Oily fish (cod, salmon, mackerel)
• Eggs (with the yolk)
• Fortified full fat dairy
• Mushrooms

Vitamin A & Beta-Carotene

Our mucosal tissue lining in the nose, throat and lungs are our first line of defense again viruses. They act as barriers, preventing viruses from taking hold. Research shows, Vitamin A and beta-carotene protect these mucosal tissues from succumbing to viral infection and spreading throughout the body.

Sources of Vitamin A and beta-carotene include:

• Carrot
• Sweetpotato
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Eggs (with the yolk)
• Capsicum
• Broccoli
• Rockmelon

Polyphenols

Antioxidant compounds like polyphenols, including flavonoids are another tool in our immune supportive toolbelt. These antioxidants are anti-inflammatory, supporting the modulation of immune responses and are supportive of gut bacteria.

You can find polyphenols in:

• Green tea
• Blueberries, strawberries and blackberries
• Dark chocolate
• Flaxseeds
• Nuts
• Onions
• Garlic
• Olives
• Leafy greens

Proteins as the building blocks of the immune system

Individual proteins known as amino acids are highly regarded as the building blocks of all body systems, but particularly the immune system. How exactly do proteins do this? Various types of amino acids play their individual and combined roles in tissue repair, creating antibodies and white blood cells to fight infection and improving microbiome health. Some examples of amino acids that are key to immune health include:

• Glutamine
• Arginine
• Leucine, isoleucine and valine
• Glycine and cysteine
• Histidine

How do we get these amino acids in the diet?

A varied diet with a combination of lean meat proteins, fish, eggs, quinoa, legumes, bone broth, nuts and seeds and dairy.

The Gut-Immune Connection

More than 70% of the immune system resides in the gut. Supporting healthy gut bacteria balance and gut lining integrity is one of the most effective ways of preventing frequent colds and flus. If your tummy feels a little funny, now is the time to do something about it to ensure you are well prepared for what winter brings.

Colds and flus aren’t the only viruses we see at wintertime. Gastroenteritis (gastro) also circulates more prolifically over the colder months. Having a healthy balance of supportive good bacteria can help to prevent gastroenteritis viruses from taking hold.

Winter Wellness Diet

A winter wellness diet consists of a variety of the above listed foods to ensure diversity of gut bacteria, proteins polyphenols and antioxidant nutrients such as Vitamin C, zinc, Vitamin D. Variety and eating enough to avoid nutritional gaps is the key to winter wellness. Great ways to balances these out include foods like:

• Curries (add 3-4 vegetables (e.g. broccoli, mushrooms, spinach) onion, ginger, garlic, lean protein and/or legumes)
• Soups (again pick 2-3 from each list of immune nutrients)
• Stews
• Eat antioxidant fruits daily (1-2)
• Drink green tea and bone broth (this will also support hydration which is also vital for immune health)

Natural Immune Support

It is possible to achieve healthy immunity with natural immune supports discussed above. Sometimes though, you can be so run down that you body is not able to keep up with food-based nutrients alone, this is where you may bring in supplemented natural immune supports to do just that, “supplement” your immune boosting diet. Supplementation should always be done with care of quality and therapeutic dosages but can be an effective complimentary measure to ensure those nuisance, life limiting viruses stay away.

A healthy diet can be an effective way of supportive positive health outcomes and keeping you in the game. On the other hand, a nutrient poor, inflammatory diet can be detrimental to your overall health and leave you feeling rundown, tired and sick. If you needed motivation, to improve your diet and health this is it. As the great Hippocrates, the ancient Greek physician once said, “Allow food to be thy medicine.”

The Gold Coast has been plagued with some of the most common health issues affecting the wider Australian population. A Naturopath plays a supportive role in managing these chronic conditions and for support of their accompanying fatigue yet is often overlooked in healthcare. Before looking into how a Naturopath can help, lets first look at what the common health conditions are.

According to reports from Gold Coast Health and Primary Health Network these common health conditions include:

• Mental health
• Diabetes
• Arthritis
• Heart disease
• Obesity
• Stress
• Preventable conditions in pregnancy (e.g. anaemia, gestational diabetes etc.)

If these were on check-list form, many Gold Coasters could tick multiple of these common health issues as existing concerns. This is largely due to their holistic nature.

Obesity → mental health → diabetes → heart disease → arthritis

For example, obesity often contributes to an increase in mental health presentations such as depression and anxiety or inattention in the case of neurodiversity. Obesity is also a predisposing factor for diabetes and heart disease placing pressure on joints resulting in arthritis.

Stress → mental health → obesity → diabetes

The link between stress and mental health is easy to draw. However, stress can also trigger increases in cortisol (the main stress hormones). This increase in cortisol disrupts blood glucose levels and fat storage, regularly resulting in insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to diabetes and increases in fat storage results in obesity. Important anti-depressant and antianxiety medications can also contribute to weight gain in some people.

Arthritis → Stress → Mental Health

The inflammation associated with arthritis places stress on the body, contributing to the above stress cascade. Further, pain all too often results in stress and mental health conditions due to discomfort and sleep disruption. Some pain medications such as NSAIDs can disrupt how the gut functions, resulting in reduced nutrient absorption. Those nutrients are supportive of a healthy nervous system to reduce mental health presentation.

Pregnancy

Poor diet, unmet increased nutrient requirements and hormonal shifts in pregnancy can result in anaemia, gestational diabetes, obesity, natal and postnatal mental health disorders and other pregnancy related conditions that can be prevented with dietary guidance.

As you can see these common health conditions are not mutually exclusive conditions, rather a whole-body response. Targeting these conditions body holistically with diet and natural treatments can improve outcomes.

Naturopath for Fatigue

All common health issues mentioned are taxing on the body, regularly resulting in fatigue. A naturopath can utilise evidence-based herbal prescriptions to safely manage fatigue with dose specific/situation specific herbs including but not limited to:

• Rhodiola rosea
• Eleutherococcus senticosus
• Panax ginseng
• Withania sominfera
• Cordyceps
• Glycyrrhiza glabra (Liquorice Root)
• Holy Basil

Herbs work to balance the nervous system, improve stress adaptation and others have been researched as anxiolytic (reduce anxiety), anti-depressive, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity and cardiovascular supportive.

When a naturopath formulates a herbal prescription, they do so with a holistic mindset considering all the health aspects and presenting conditions of the individual person in front of them. Liquid formulations allow for very specific and targeted treatments.

It is important to work with a Naturopath when incorporating herbal treatments to avoid interactions with medications.

Digestive Issues as a Hidden Driver of Most Health Complaints

Understanding of the importance of good gut health is gaining traction in the science world with increased research coming to light. Naturopaths have recognised the importance of good gut health in disease and holistic health conditions management for hundreds of years. The good thing about newer research is gaining a deeper understanding of its importance.

A Naturopath will assess and address the gut in almost every treatment. Gut issues can be seemingly asymptomatic or go unnoticed by a patient. In-depth questioning and gut testing where relevant can bring some of these issues to the forefront and allow for natural treatments to improve gut function for reducing inflammation, improving healthy hormone production, regulating glucose balance and to maximise vital nutrient absorption.

Hormonal Shifts and Different Life Stages

The different stages of life bring about shifts in hormones that can contribute to conditions such as heart disease, mental health conditions, blood sugar dysregulation, stress, weight gain and fatigue.

Hormones are in a constant state of flux. Whether you are a teenager, trying to conceive (men and women), pregnant, peri/menopausal, post-menopausal or an older male experiencing changes in male sex hormones, these changes can significantly impact your life.

Naturopaths have hormone modulating herbs on hand to support these frequently debility hormonal shifts in both men and women to improve balance and quality of life.

A Naturopath Uses More Than Just Herbs     

Herbs are powerful arsenal in the toolbox of a Naturopath. Though they are not the only tool at their disposal. A dually qualified Naturopath who is also trained extensively in Nutrition can utilise both herbal medicine and dietary changes to maximise outcomes for patients experiencing many health conditions. Ensuring dietary diversity, adequacy, quality and specificity to the person and presentation can significantly improve health presentation.

Why Use Herbs?

Herbs offer a ‘little more oomph’ to the treatment that can lack in dietary changes alone. They can be highly targeted and specific to the individual person and their health complaints. That’s not all they offer. Herbs can speed up outcomes while dietary changes are being made. It is difficult to change habits. Herbs give you time to make dietary changes that are not overwhelming and restrictive while continuing to work towards improved health outcomes.

Working with A Naturopath

A Naturopath offers a supportive and natural treatment aspect to health improvement that is holistic in nature, considering all aspects of your presenting health complaint. You will be educated and supported from a dietary, lifestyle, nutrition and herbal perspective that you can implement with long term, sustainable changes for long term, sustainable success.

If you’re looking for a naturopath for fatigue or ongoing health concerns on the Gold Coast, a personalised, holistic approach can help uncover what’s really going on.

Using food for better sleep is not often considered when you are in the depths of insomnia or restless sleep. However, specific foods contain nutrients that have long been used to aid better sleep outcomes.

Poor sleep can be caused by a range of different health conditions including:

• chronic pain
• digestive discomfort
• reflux
• stress
• anxiety and depression
• an overactive nervous system
• neurodiversity
• diabetes associated nocturia
• alcohol
• poor dietary intake
• low nutrient status (e.g. iron deficiency)
• sleep apnoea

Many of these ailments can be supported with adjusting the diet to ensure adequate dietary intake of wholefoods and increasing foods containing sleep supportive nutrients.

Food for Better Sleep

What are these sleep supportive nutrients and what foods can you eat to improve your sleep?

Melatonin is a well-known hormone required for sleep. You can even buy prescribed and over the counter lower dose melatonin in gummies and capsules. However, what if I told you, you could assist your body in making this natural, sleep supporting hormone without the need for medication?

Interestingly, melatonin is converted from serotonin, the ‘happy’ neurotransmitter produced in the gut from amino acids. The conversion from serotonin to melatonin happens mostly in the brain during darkness (the signal to produce melatonin to promote sleep).

This means, when serotonin is low, this has downstream effects on melatonin production and therefore sleep initiation. Stress, anxiety, poor gut health and inadequate tryptophan all impact serotonin production. Managing stress, anxiety and optimising the microbiome and gut function improves serotonin production, ultimately improving sleep outcomes including:

• difficulty falling asleep
• difficulty staying asleep
• overall sleep quality
• dysregulated circadian rhythm

Both dietary and supplemental nutrients work for you to improve serotonin and melatonin production, including:

• tryptophan (from adequate protein intake)
• vitamin B6 (in suitably prescribed doses)
• magnesium glycinate
• zinc
• folate & B12

Foods to Improve Sleep

Kiwi fruit is one of my favourite food prescriptions for both the gut and sleep. It has natural melatonin and serotonin to support mood and sleep.

Turkey is naturally high in the amino acid tryptophan to help improve stress adaptation and melatonin.

Bananas may aid in healthy sleep due to their high magnesium, potassium and tryptophan, all of which help to relax muscles and the nervous system, boosting melatonin and serotonin. The carbohydrates in bananas can also help to balance blood glucose levels, reducing disruptions to sleep throughout the night.

Pumpkin seeds or pepitas are a great source of both zinc and tryptophan.

Walnuts are a good source of tryptophan as well as microbiome supportive fibre.

On a nutty note, almonds are another great sleep aid, with their high magnesium content, protein and healthy fats, a small handful of almonds shortly before bed can improve blood sugar balance and improve overall sleep quality. Almonds are a natural source of melatonin, only adding to their sleepy benefits.

Oats are a powerhouse for gut health, stress and anxiety reduction as well as enhancing sleep outcomes.

Nutrition for Stress Relief

Balanced nutrition has many benefits when assisting with stress relief goals. The above-mentioned highlight some of the common nutrients involved in stress reduction strategies. However, healthy blood glucose levels are just as important as these specific nutrient inclusions. High or low blood glucose levels can be disruptive to sleep and likewise, poor sleep can result in reduced insulin sensitivity, creating a vicious cycle.

While high blood glucose levels, otherwise known as hyperglycaemia, can result in frequent urination (nocturia), thirst and a wired feeling, low blood glucose (hypoglycaemia), can cause night wakings in the form of sweats, nightmares and confusion.

These blood sugar fluctuations and the resulting lack of sleep ultimately ends with reduced stress responses while increasing the primary stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol signals the liver to release more glucose to provide energy to ‘fight the tiger or take flight from the tiger’, only that sugar energy is not used up by the body and is left floating around in the blood. There continues the cycle of the highs and lows of blood glucose levels, insulin resistance and poor stress responses.

A diet with a healthy balance of protein, healthy fats and complex carbohydrates is key to regulating stress. 2-3 servings of oily fish, 1-2 servings of lean red meat, 2-3 servings of poultry and ample plant-based proteins per week will ensure you achieve the right amino acid (smaller proteins) combinations. While again, oily fish, nuts and seeds, extra virgin olive oils and avocado will see that healthy fats are covered to reduce the inflammation associated with stress. High quality complex, fibrous carbohydrates promote the gradual release of glucose, stabilising stress hormones, increasing neurotransmitter production (like serotonin) and glucose levels.

Diet for Cortisol Balance

A Mediterranean diet, high in those previously mentioned anti-inflammatory healthy fats, leafy greens and complex carbohydrates is highly regarded in research to support cortisol balance. Focus your eating on legumes, fruit, vegetables, wholegrains for stress supportive vitamins and minerals that counter disruptions to blood glucose and the release of cortisol in stressful situations.

Gut health is another key factor in cortisol balance. The stress that causes elevations in cortisol can be damaging to gut bacteria, resulting in inflammation and the reduction of microbes responsible for serotonin production (remember that healthy hormone we spoke of earlier?). Elevations in cortisol can cause weaknesses in the gut lining, resulting in ‘leaky gut’. This allows toxic materials to pass into the blood stress, causing further stress, cortisol release and inflammation. A damaged gut lining can reduce vital nutrient absorption for managing stress and cortisol.

A diet rich in fibre, prebiotic and probiotics foods will improve cortisol balance and maintain healthy gut function. Foods such as sauerkraut, tempeh, and low sugar yoghurt as well as legumes, lentils and wholegrains/rye.

Using foods for better sleep outcomes is a useful tool for not just sleep, but from regulating cortisol, stress and overall health, with poor sleep and stress being primary drivers in many health conditions, both chronic and acute. Incorporating some of the strategies mentioned in this blog post will set you on the right path. If you need further assistance in understand nutrients required for sleep, speak with a nutrition professional.