5 Natural Ways to Support Your Immune System This Season

Every October, like clockwork, the same customers start coming in asking about immune support. "What should I take so I don't get sick this winter?" I have been answering that question for almost 30 years now, and my answer has gotten simpler over time, not more complicated.

Vitamin C Goes Way Beyond Orange Juice

Most people reach for OJ, but honestly, bell peppers have more vitamin C per serving. So do strawberries and broccoli. I had a customer a few years back who was drinking three glasses of orange juice a day thinking she was loading up on vitamin C. She was mostly just loading up on sugar. A whole-food vitamin C supplement fills the gaps without the blood sugar spike — especially during cold and flu season when your body burns through it faster.

You Cannot Out-Supplement Bad Sleep

I tell people this all the time and they do not want to hear it. Seven to nine hours. That is what your body needs to repair and rebuild your immune cells. I used to push through on five or six hours myself until I caught every cold that came through the store one winter. Now I take magnesium glycinate about an hour before bed. It is our most popular supplement for sleep and I understand why.

Your Gut Is Running the Show

Most of your immune system is actually in your gut — something I did not know when I opened this store in 1995. A daily probiotic with multiple strains helps keep the good bacteria balanced. Pair it with garlic, onions, and bananas (prebiotic foods) and you are giving your gut what it needs to do its job.

Move Your Body, But Be Smart About It

Walking, yoga, swimming — moderate stuff supports your immune system. But I have seen customers who train for marathons get sick more often than the ones who just walk their dogs every morning. Your body reads intense exercise as stress. Find something you actually enjoy and can stick with.

Herbs That Have Earned Their Place on Our Shelves

Elderberry, echinacea, and astragalus have all been used for a long time and there is real research behind them now. Our Elderberry Immune Support is probably our number-one seller from September through March. A regular customer, a schoolteacher, told me she went from catching three or four colds a year to maybe one since she started taking it daily. That is one person's experience, not a clinical trial, but I hear stories like hers a lot.

What I Tell Everyone

Eat real food. Sleep enough. Move your body. Manage your stress. Supplements fill in the gaps around those basics — they do not replace them. If you want help putting together something that makes sense for your situation, come by the store. That is literally what I am here for.