Every fall the same thing happens in Bellingham: the rain settles in, the days get short, and coughs start making the rounds. In the U.S., flu season most often peaks between December and February. Before it does, it helps to understand the team working to keep you well.
Your immune system isn’t one thing. It’s a team that works in stages, and each stage has everyday habits that support it.
Stage 1: Barrier
Your skin, the mucus lining your nose and throat, and the lining of your gut are the front door. Mucus traps germs, and tiny hair-like cilia sweep them out. Most invaders never get past this stage.
Support it: wash your hands for 20 seconds before eating and after being out, drink water through the day, and run a humidifier if your heat dries out the air. Barrier tissues also rely on nutrients like vitamin A, zinc and protein.
Stage 2: Alarm
When something slips past the barrier, your first-responder immune cells detect it and sound the alarm with chemical signals. That’s where the fever, fatigue and achiness come from. They feel miserable, but they’re signs the system is responding.
Support it: rest. Pushing through often stretches out recovery. Keep fluids up with water, broth and herbal tea, and lean on simple, nourishing meals like a vegetable soup with some protein.
Stage 3: Attack
White blood cells move in to fight the invader. They hold high concentrations of vitamin C and use it up while they work. Vitamin D also helps immune cells do their jobs, and it tends to run low in Northwest winters.
Support it: eat vitamin C foods every day (citrus, red peppers, kiwi, broccoli, strawberries), and ask us whether checking your vitamin D makes sense.
Stage 4: Cleanup
After the fight, your body clears out damaged cells and debris and calms inflammation back down. It uses antioxidants to manage that cleanup, many of which come from colorful plants.
Support it: eat in color. Aim for three colors on your plate at most meals.
Stage 5: Remember
Specialized T cells and B cells keep a memory of what they fought, so your body can respond faster if it sees the same germ again.
Support it: protect your sleep. In one study, people who slept under six hours a night were about four times more likely to catch a cold than those who slept more than seven.
Where we fit in
We believe a healthy spine and nervous system support how your whole body works, including your immune system. If you’d like to learn more about how chiropractic adjustments may affect immune function, Dr. Dan Murphy talks about it in this interview. Along with adjustments, we help you stay comfortable and moving through a busy season, and talk through nutrition and daily habits that support the stages above.
When to call your doctor
Self-care is fine for an ordinary cold. Call your medical provider for trouble breathing, chest pain, a high fever that won’t come down, or symptoms that improve and then return worse, and call early if you’re pregnant, over 65 or managing a chronic condition.
Questions about staying well this season? New patients get a free 15-minute consultation. Book online or call (360) 922-0626.
General education, not personal medical advice.
Sources: CDC: Flu season · UCSF: Short sleepers and colds
Top photo by Fran Jacquier on Unsplash