I used to have a love/hate relationship with the shift toward the colder months. I loved the bright colors of the leaves, a cozy AF night-in snuggled up with blankets and a fire, or a good snowball fight with the kids, but I hated HATED the sore throats, clogged noses, and vomit that came with it. Sorry, that took a gross turn but life with kids is…well, gross. With three little gross provoking children, the sick season was inevitable. I think parents to get a tax rebate for the amount of days our kids have missed from public school.

But then one miraculous day, it all stopped. But my kids became regulars at school again! Life went back to normal and I no longer had to play nurse each and every week. It was effing glorious. So what happened? Was there a magic pill they took? Did we take their tonsils out, bleed them with leeches, or did I start making them wear masks to school every day? No. No, no, and no. There was work that led up to it but it was worth it!

It actually started with something I had found out for myself which then in turn I could help my kids. I had been down a long road of chronic sinus and bronchial infections which had become worse after moving to Kansas City. This is actually a little embarrassing to say but I truly thought I just got a cold each fall and spring which I let get out of control thus turning into a raging sinus infection or über phlegmy cough. I often had to sleep propped up with pillows which then turned into a horrible kink in my neck or ache in my back. I was a mess, y’all.

I didn’t set out to fix my immune system—I did it by accident. To quote Bob Ross, it was a “happy accident.” Before I share with you what I did, just know that we are all different. Your body is very different from my body which is way different than Aunt Judy’s. This isn’t an exact science and we are all experiments. But what I hope you take away from this blog post is to just try one thing. And then try something else. But most importantly, don’t give up until you feel like you want to feel or you want your kids to feel. Okay? Okay. Here we go.

Get your gut in check

Literally. Our immune system depends on the health of our gut, more specifically our gut microbiota and the integrity of our intestines. Nothing else can happen until we start there. Which is where my health journey began and sort of by accident.

So I had been seasonly sick, like I said, for a number of years after moving to Kansas City. I was usually hopped up on DayQuil, NyQuil, Sudafed or antibiotics at any given moment. My medicine cabinet was legit a closet, not a teeny tiny behind a mirror type of cabinet. It was a six shelved closet that had more over the counter meds than 90% of gas stations west of the Mississippi combined. As I was preparing for a couple’s vacation to Mexico. I started taking a probiotic to help protect me from Montezuma’s Revenge. I had only been to Mexico once before, during our honeymoon, and we BOTH got it at different times. Kipp got it at the beginning and mine came at the end which made it SUPER fun traveling home. So I was determined to not deal with that again. I had heard that eating yogurt would be helpful because of the healthy bacteria in it. However, that seemed like a hell of a lot of yogurt. So I decided to just take a probiotic supplement instead and found one that had 15 different strains of bacteria with a sh*t ton of colony building units. (No need to explain all that but just know that that was a rare find in Probiotic Land at that time.) Long story short, after sharing a romantic shell fish meal by the marina, my husband visited his old friend, Montezuma while I hung out with our friends down by the pool. Probiotics for the win!

But when we returned home, like an idiot, I stopped taking it. It wasn’t until the next year when I had major gastrointestinal issues that I revisited the probiotics. My gut health improved greatly but more importantly, I didn’t get my fall sinus infection. And I didn’t get bronchitis that year. And then spring came and I didn’t get my usual spring sinus infection. I didn’t put 2 + 2 together because I didn’t understand that those chronic infections stemmed from allergies. I never had them back in Nebraska so I just thought I was very punctual with my sicknesses. But as I did some research, I learned those allergies were a direct result of my poor intestinal health. (Google “Leaky Gut Syndrome” to learn more.)

My whole world changed when I learned how gut health and immune health were all tied together. I read everything I could about gut bacteria and how the typical American lifestyle created an unhealthy balance in the gut. Along with all of us taking probiotics, I started shifting my entire family’s lifestyle.

Here’s what I did and you can, too:

*Sidenote: For those germaphobes out there, when you clean like a crazy person and wash your hands and all the things incessantly, you jack up your microbiome. Not only are you wiping away the bad germs, but you’re wiping out all the good ones, too. You need the good ones to create a barrier so the bad ones can’t make their way in. I know, I know. I’m asking a lot of you but when you visualize how it all works, you’ll see that all that cleaning is doing more harm than good.

Cut the crap

By crap, I mean what you are putting in your mouth, both food AND drink. The quality of your food affects your immune system, which I remind you, resides in the gut. It’s ALLLL connected. We have bad and good bacteria in our gut and when we eat crappy food, we feed the bad. When we eat healthy, nutrient dense food, we feed the good. It’s really very simple but very hard to do. Until you do it. Then you will feel better and you’ll wonder why you never did this before. I promise you’ll love the way you feel when you do.

So what crap am I talking about exactly? Let me give you a few items and explain why they need to go.

Sugar

It’s the devils work. You have a taste of it and you need more. And more. And more. Quitting sugar will be one of the hardest but most rewarding things you can do for yourself. Let me tell you why.

Sugar feeds the bad bacteria in your gut. When the bad bacteria grows, your immune system goes down the drain and you might as well roll out the welcome mat to the sniffles and sore throats. Sugar causes major inflammation in the body and is what cancer feeds on. So not only are you welcoming in the illnesses like a hostess with the most-ess, but you are upping your chances for cancer to thrive. Are you freaked out yet? You should be. Let me tell you a little story. When I learned about the delicate balance of good vs. bad bacteria in my gut and how it was contributing to the state of my health and how sugar impacted that, I cut it cold turkey. I stopped drinking pop, all the pumpkin lattes, and drinking the sugary sweet alcoholic drinks. Yep, it was goodbye to those margaritas.

I know how hard it is with kids to cut out the sugar. It’s been a struggle for me, too. But my kids hated being sick so the more I explained how sugar affected their immune systems, they stopped fighting me so much. We stopped buying pop and having dessert at the ready in the house. Our kids have pop occasionally when we are out to eat and we let them have licorice on road trips. We keep it as an occasional thing rather than a staple. It makes a HUGE difference.

Next up…

High-glycemic carbs

I started clearing my diet of things like white bread, rice cakes, chips, crackers, bagels, cakes, doughnuts, croissants, packaged breakfast cereals, and my beloved popcorn. Yes, I gave up popcorn. I KNOW. But these type of carbs basically turn to sugar once digested. This diet change along with adding probiotics back to my daily regime changed EVERYTHING for me. My intestinal issues went away, my skin cleared up, my recurring UTI/yeast infections disappeared for good. These changes were the best thing I ever did for myself and my family. A lot of these foods, along with the sugar, are a source of major inflammation in the body and when the inflammation is high, the immune system gets overworked. Again, think welcome mat.

Sidenote: I have eaten all those high-glycemic foods again but they are few and far between. They are no longer staples which makes a huge difference.

Alcohol/beer/wine

I know. This is a tough one but this also very necessary to boost your immune system. Here, take a read:

The gastrointestinal (GI) system is typically the first point of contact for alcohol as it passes through the body and is where alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream. One of the most significant immediate effects of alcohol is that it affects the structure and integrity of the GI tract. For example, alcohol alters the numbers and relative abundances of microbes in the gut microbiome (see the article by Engen and colleagues), an extensive community of microorganisms in the intestine that aid in normal gut function. These organisms affect the maturation and function of the immune system. Alcohol disrupts communication between these organisms and the intestinal immune system. Alcohol consumption also damages epithelial cells, T cells, and neutrophils in the GI system, disrupting gut barrier function and facilitating leakage of microbes into the circulation (see the article by Hammer and colleagues).

You can read more of the research here…

Basically, you cut back on alcohol and your immune system will love you for it. Sorry, I know that sucks to hear but now you know.

detox your life

When we bombard our livers with toxins, whether from our food, products we use on daily basis, the air we breathe, or the things we drink, it can’t keep up so something’s got to give. Guess what that is? Yep, your immune system.

eat whole, clean, nutrient dense food

Think super simple. Ditch the 12,000 ingredient recipes and get back to the basics. Buy as many organic fruits and vegetables as you can (less toxins) and less packaged stuff. Basically, more food straight from the earth. Does that help? Let’s face it, deep down we know what we are suppose to eat but we don’t want to. Just know that when you choose the drive-thru diet, it’s doing a number on your immune system. I highly recommend checking out this food chart from Alkamind.

clean up your cleaning products

Going green in your home will keep the toxic chemicals out of the air which you breathe. We don’t usually keep the windows open in the winter so the air quality inside your home is über important. Ditch the chemical cleaners and the plug in air fresheners. Before you have a coronary thinking about letting go of your Clorox, just know that the volatile chemicals released when you use that and others are creating a toxic soup in your home. Great replacements are DIY versions that use a few drops of essential oils (lemon, lime, wild orange are great to start with), white vinegar and filtered water. Buy a diffuser and use the best quality essential oils (not the cheap junk ones from the local big box store) to clean the air in your home or to make it smell pretty. Those little molecules of goodness will make their way from diffuser to the air to your nose and you want to make sure there is nothing but pure plant perfection happening there. If you need guidance on where to start on the essential oil route, I’ve got you. Just drop me an email and I guide you any way I can.

Let it go

Stress does a number on our immune systems as well. So detoxing from stress and worry are just as important! Don’t believe me? Go check out this research article, read really fast then come back. I know, I know…bills need to be paid, kids will always drive us nuts, our marriages won’t always be rock solid, and the car will break down at the least convenient moment. It’s in how we handle these moments that can help us reduce our stress load. Deep breathing for ten minutes, meditation, a walk in nature, a dance party in the kitchen, a daily gratitude journal, hot yoga or a kick your butt workout will all help get your mind right. The worse thing you can do is to hold onto it. It will just bounce around inside like you like you’re a trampoline park, leaving a trail of bruises. LET. THAT. SHIT. GO.

Okay, so how are we doing? I know we have a lot of info here but I want to let you know you don’t have to suffer anymore. It’s time to turn those gross, snot-nosed, school missing kids into happy, not vomiting, school attending little weirdos like God intended. You, too. Life is too short to feel like crap during this festive time of year. There are pumpkins to be carved, hay wagons to be ridden, and wreaths to be hung! Sniffling and sneezing do not need to be a part of it.

in AWE,

Hal