We all know that a good offense is the best defense. Prevention is the best medicine, but when someone straight up coughs in your face, your immune system is the first line of defense, medicine (eastern and western) being the second. The stronger our immune system, the less need we have for external help from medicine. And let's be honest, does anyone actually enjoy taking medications? No. They certainly have their time and place, but if we can fight something off without their help, we become stronger and we're spared the "bubblegum flavor" that we all know is actually pink chalk. First, lets explain how the immune system works...

Like a football team, the immune system is comprised of 2 parts working together: innate (defense) and acquired (offense). Your innate immune system is non-specific and reacts almost immediately to the presence of antigens- any foreign substance which induces an immune response in the body. It includes physical barriers like your skin and mucus membraines, and cells like white blood cells, neutrophils, and macrophages which patrol the body for dying cells, infected cells, and bacteria, and ingest them. If the innate immune system can't stop the antigens from reproducing, they'll notify the more specialized string of the immune cells via the Helper T-cells. Now, the the acquired immune system is activated. It's antigen-specific, meaning it can recognize a particular foreign body if you've come into contact with it before. If you havent, your immune system will remember it after you've fought it off. Helper T-cells are the quarterbacks coordinating the most effective attack strategy, and your Killer T-cells and B-cells are like your runningbacks and wide recievers. Helper T's use cytokines (proteins important in cell signaling) to call upon Killer T's, which attack and kill viruses, and B-cells which are responsible for remembering antigens and producing the corresponding antibody. Antibodies are proteins that attach to the antigen and act like a beacon, calling on other proteins to attack. Helper T-cells will also tell the Killer T and B-cells to reproduce so they can attack more antigens.

So what can we do to support our body's natural defense? Well there's actually a few things and I bet you already know them...

Diet
A healthy diet seems to be the first answer to every problem. But what actually is considered to be a healthy diet is different for everyone. I could talk for an hour about the diet fads and supplements in this country but I'll save that for another post... Chinese dietary theory takes a very easy approach: imagine your plate, cut it in half and then cut one half into quarters. One quarter is a protein about the size of your palm, the other quarter is a grain, and half the plate is veggies. Stick with that, eat your colors, and you'll cover your basic dietary needs. To boost the immune system, however, you need several key vitamins and minerals:

Vitimin A can be found in dark leafy greens, or foods that are yellow or orange in color (carrots, sweet potatoes, mango, etc.). It helps to develop and regulate the immune system, and protects the epithelium (your skin) and mucus integrity.

Vitamin B, more specifically B6 and B12, can also be found in dark leafy greens, but additionally fruits, starchy vegetables, some animal proteins, nutritional yeast, and diary products. B6 aids in the development of white blood cells and production of antibodies, and B12 acts as an immunomodulator. 

Vitamin C is most frequently associated with citrus fruits but it can also be found in many red and green veggies and even cauliflower. It supports the epithelial barrier, aids in the function of neutrophils and macrophages, and is active in the development of B- and T-cells.

​Vitamin D can be found in some animal proteins, most dairy products (including plant based milks), mushrooms, but most importantly, the sun! This vitamin modulates both the innate and acquired immune systems and its deficiency is associated with autoimmune disorders and an increased susceptibility to infection.

​Vitamin E is present in many vegetable oils, green veggies, and added to some fruit juices. It's an important antioxident, helps to modulate the immune system and Helper T-cells, aides in development and increases the activity of T-cells.

Folate, also known as folic acid, is another B vitamin naturally present in dark leafy greens, other green veggetables like asparagus, oranges, and legumes. Folate is essential in the reproduction and repair of DNA and production of RNA. DNA is the blueprint for all the proteins your body needs to function, RNA is how the body reads the blueprint. Like the language and coding of a computer.

​Iron isn't limited to red meat. It can also be found in legumes, peas, nuts, and spinach. Iron is necessary for the development of immune cells but is also essential in bacterial and parasidic. Our body actually creates proteins that prevent bacteria and parasites from using our available iron. Cool, right?

Selenium is primarily found in animal proteins, dairy products, and grains. This is another antioxident but is the main ingredient for selenoproteins which are key to cellular function and protein developement.

Copper is present in some animal products, nuts and seeds, chocolate (score!), whole grain, potatoes, mushrooms, avocados, chickpeas, and tofu. It's uncertain exactly how copper aids immune function but it has been found that a deficiency in copper leads to a decrease in neutrophils and T-cells.

Zinc's bes source is oysters but you can also enjoy other animal proteins, beans, nuts, whole grains, diary, and some fortified breakfast cereals. It's crucial in the development of both innate and acquired immune cells and the production of antibodies. Its also an antioxident and necessary for DNA replication, RNA transcription (how the body copies information from DNA), and the division, activation, and death of all cells. 

Exercise and Sleep 
A regular exercise routine is imperetive to a healthy mind and body, but what many don't realize is that incorporating periods of rest and sleep is of equal importance. Hightlighting it's effect on immunity, exercise induces the release of the patrolling neutrophils and macrophages, and cytokines that are produced in your sleep.​ Additionally, your immune system is activated and your body produces T cells and antigen-presenting cells during sleep. Sleep also enhances your adaptive immune response (aka cell memory, aka antibodies).

Stress
Global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic cause stress in more ways than we realize. It's not just the microsopic invader, it's the economy, being forced to stay home, and the inability to see our loved ones or find toilet paper. When our body is stressed, it basically shuts down all systems in an effort to conserve energy to either fight or run. Cortisol, one of the major stress hormones, causes a decrease in the blood T cell count​ and also suppresses the immune system in an effort to decrease inflammation so you can run faster or fight harder. You can read more about stress and it's effect on your body in my blog post, but here are some ways you can mange it at home...

Meditation
Studies show that meditation has a wide array of benefits like...

-Alleviating stress, anxiety, depression, and PTSD
-Improved focus
-Lowering blood pressure
-Managing acute and chronic pain including fibromyalgia
-Regulating digestive distress

One study found that meditation can help your body produce more antibodies after an influenza vaccine. This suggests that meditation may improve the functioning of your acquired immune system. The best part about meditation is that it actually changes your brain activity. With regular practice, these changes become permanent. Need a place to start? Try the Nine Breathings of Purification. 

Therapy
A wonderful tool with a bad reputation. Societal norms make us believe that if we need therapy it's because we're "crazy" or "hysterical" or that we simply can't handle our lives, and that couldn't be further from the truth. We seek therapy every day in the counsel of our friends and family, so what's wrong with seeing a professional? Many are still offering tele-health treatments and can provide you with tools to help manage stress, anxiety, depression, flare ups of conditions associated with stress like obsessive compulsive disorder, etc. The moral of the story, don't be afraid or feel ashamed to seek help. We all need it.

Exercise
Yup. Exercise is so important that it's getting a second shout-out. It releases endorphins which are the neurotrasmitters that make you happy. More endorphins means less stress and depression, and increased self confidence and a sense of accomplishment. It can also help you to relax which leads to better sleep, and improve your focus. Since we can't go to the gym at this time, many fitness instructors are offering classes online for free through Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Zoom. This is a perfect opportunity to try new exercise techniques such as Qi Gong, Pilates, or maybe even a ballet class, and don't forget that we can still go outside! Whether you like to walk, run, bike, or just dance in the sun and rain, you'll be exercising your body and your connection to mother Earth. Just make sure you are still practicing social distancing.

Last, but certainly not least, see your doctors regularly. We're not here to only help the sick and suffering, we're here to promote the health and wellness of everyone. Be it your GP for your annual physical, the GI for a colonoscopy, your therapist, nutritionist, or acupuncturist, going regularly will keep your body at peak performance and catch anything that may be brewing before you start to feel symptoms. Prevention is the best medicine, and your medical team can help you with that too.

As I mentioned in my last post, the silver lining of COVID-19 is how it's bringing us together in new ways. However, it may be difficult to find those new ways with limited interaction. So, here's a list of things we can do to help each other!

Donate a school meal
Many children rely on their schools to get their breakfast and lunch. Now that they're closed, donation centers like No Kid Hungry are dishing out the meals these children need. You can also donate food through Island Harvest and Long Island Cares.

Turn your trash into tresure
Also mentioned in the last post, this is an opportunity to welcome change and that means letting go of our old junk. As the saying goes though, one man's trash is another man's tresure, so don't throw it all away! Donation centers like Savers, Vietnam Veterans of America, and Habitat for Humanity are currently closed but will be accepting donations again ASAP so hold on to those items for a little longer. If you can't wait that long, check community Facebook groups or share your items on Facebook Marketplace or Letgo. You can then coordinate with buyers, traders, or anyone who will take that damn thing out of your home while still practicing social distancing. 3 cheers for recycling!
 
Retail therapy
Thats right! According to The Washington Post, small businesses in are responsible for almost half of America's employment and for 99% of her employers. That's a lot of people and shopping locally helps keep them all working. Not to mention, small businesses generate 44% of US economic activity. So essentially, you're saving the economy and the world by online shopping mom and pop shops. Go you.

Connect with your library
Did you know that libraries are for more than just reading and being shushed by grumpy librarians? They offer everything from yoga and cooking classes to arts and crafts for the kids to Anime viewings and story time. And now, many are offering their programs online with live streams through Facebook, Zoom, and YouTube. You can even download e-books and access streaming services for free using your library card. 

Family bonding
It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. Be it from the official Red Ryder carbine action two-hundred shot range model air rifle, or a fight between the kids, tolerating our loved once can be a challenge. Luckily, there's about a million ides for crafts and activities on websites like Pinterest and MEL Science to keep everyone entertained and engaged in learning about the world around them and each other. Want an even simpler idea? Comedian Vic DiBitetto suggested teaching your loved ones life's basics. Things like cooking and sewing which many kids don't learn in school anymore. Don't know how to cook or sew? Pull up a YouTube channel and learn together! Have a passion for crochet? Drawing? Writing? Wine? Teach it! But maybe save the wine for those 21 and older...Need a break? Share (or maybe keep this for yourself) a DIY spa day for when you all just want a bit of quiet.

I'm going to be honest with you...unless you're showing severe symptoms, the doctors don't want to see you! It's nothing personal, there just really isn't much they can do for you. While understandable, that still leaves us with the question of, "well then what are we supposed to do?" The answer: home remedies. Chicken soup, epsom salt baths, tea with honey, warm olive oil in the ear, the list goes on...and the reason why we all know and use these? THEY WORK. In a time where the safest thing we can do is stay inside, it's time to put these tried and true treatments to work.​

​Ginger Scallion Broth: used to promote sweating, this broth will help you sweat out the symptoms. It can be used for colds, flus, fevers, sinus infections and upper respiratory infections.

Chicken Soup: If you don't already have one from grandma, this one is the next best thing. Studies suggest that chicken soup has anti-inflammatory properties which help treat the symptoms of colds and flus, and warm liquids also help to alleviate mucus. Not to mention, chicken soup simply warms the soul. This psychosomatic relief may be a placebo effect, but hey, it works!

Bone Broth: Not just a buzzword, bone broth is a great tonic for revitalizing those who are sick or getting over sickness. It's also great support for weak constitutions (anyone who gets sick easily).

Vegetable Broth: Not a meat eater? Then this is for you. You can even use vegetable scraps to make it. Whever you cook, save the vegetable scraps (onion ends, carrot peels, etc) in a gallon sized freezer bag and pop them into the freezer. You can also add any veggies that may be overripe. Once the bag is full, make some soup! 

Chai Tea: Nutritious and delicious. Chai tea is full of warming herbs that support the digestive and respiratory systems. There are three versions of this recipe, two of which include mushrooms: chaga and reishi. Mushrooms are wonderful immune supporters and are considered adaptogens which help protect against physical and emotional stressors. Chaga even has anti-retroviral properties, meaning it protects against RNA replicating viruses (like coronavirus). 

Steaming: This can be used for upper respiratory infections and sinus infections. Simply boil water, pour it into a bowl, cover your head and the bowl with a towel and breathe in the steam for about 5 minutes once per day. You can also add a few drops of eucalyptus oil to the hot water or combine half a cup of apple cider vinegar with half a cup of water and boil that together. Both the apple cider vinegar and the eucalyptus oil have antimicrobial properties.

Rescue Remedy: Keeping our stress levels down is one of the best things we can do to support our immune system and overall wellbeing. Trust me when I say, rescue remedy is your new best friend. From serious trauma to everyday stressors, this stuff works immediately. How does it work so well? The secret is in their formula's flower essences. Flowers are the highest evolutionary state of a plant. Stress isn't ours. Injesting flower essences brings our body to it's highest evolutionary state: peace. This can be purchased online or can be found at most natural foods stores, including Whole Foods.

Summer is finally here! It's time for sun, and beaches, and barbecues, and more sun! I love the sun and it loves us too! Without it, life wouldn't exist, but too much? Well there is unfortunately such a thing as too much sun. Sunburn is only one of the side effects. Overexposure to sun can lead to sun poisoning, heat exhaustion, skin cancer, eye damage, and even speed up the look of aging. Does that mean we should avoid it? Absolutely not! Getting out in the sun helps alleviate symptoms of depression and seasonal affective disorder, regulates sleep, and can even support weight loss (and your mood) by increasing the levels of serotonin being released. It's also our best source of vitamin D which is crucial in calcium absorption and phosphorous regulation (meaning healthy bones and muscles), supports the brain, cardiovascular, immune and nervous systems, regulates insulin, and supports lung health. So how do we get all these benefits without going overboard? The key is to limit (NOT eliminate) your exposure. Our skin makes vitamin D from the UVB rays from the sun and this requires some unprotected exposure. In my research, I've found that the recommended amount of unprotected sun per day ranges from 1 to 15 minutes but overall, that amount of time is determined by skin tone. As we all know, darker skin tones will absorb more light before getting damaged. That doesn't mean you're exempt from using sunblock! What I recommend is applying sunblock just before going outside. By the time it kicks in, you've met your unprotected sun quota. Be sure to re-apply because it does come off with sweat and water and you will burn. For those who are of lighter skin tones, wait the full amount of time before going out. Broad spectrum SPF 50 blocks about 98% of the UVA and UVB rays, so that 2% is probably all the "unprotected" sun you really need.

Lets talk about vitamin D deficiency. Firstly, sunscreen doesn't cause vitamin D deficiency. Spending your life indoors or hiding in the shade does. Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency include osteoporosis, osteopenia, and brittle bones, chronic pain, fatigue, increases in blood pressure, weak muscles, and decreased endurance. In Chinese medicine, we call this yang deficiency. If you're unfamiliar with what yang energy is, read this blog post before continuing on. Now that we're all on the same page, symptoms of yang deficiency include everything above in addition to cold limbs, loose stool, and spontaneous sweating. Yang deficiency in specific organs can lead to crashing periods in the day, heart palpitations, difficulty focusing, poor appetite, sexual dysfunction, and difficulty urinating. If it gets extreme, you can develop what we call yang collapse. This conditions exhibits symptoms similar to heat exhaustion: cold body, cold sweats and chills, low blood pressure, confusion, dizziness, and a very weak pulse. Heat exhaustion might sound like it would be an excess of yang energy but think of it like your computer overheating and shutting down- the overload ends up causing the collapse. 

Finding the right balance of sun is going to be different for everyone. If you're sensitive, use an SPF of 50 and make sure you're taking breaks in the shade, especially between 10a-3p when the sun is at it's strongest. If you're not, a minimal SPF of 15 has been shown to decrease your chances of melanoma by 50%, and premature aging by over 20%. When picking the right sunblock for you, always make sure it's a broad spectrum and try to pick one made with mineral zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Popular ingredients like oxybenzone, octinoxate and methyl paraben are damaging to the coral reefs and therefore, the ocean ecosystems. You can read more about this topic and discover reef safe sunscreens here thanks to Badger Balm.  Lastly, if you do burn, treat it with aloe! You don't need to get fancy bottles with extra ingredients. Just get yourself a plant, leave it on your windowsill, and break off leaves as you need. If you follow all the guidelines above, you shouldn't need much! 

C'mon now, 2 more episodes would have filled in the blanks and we all wouldn't be nearly as upset with the writers of Game of Thrones. The unfortunate reality is they didn't and we were left with a very confusing and disappointing finale. If you're still feeling the sting (as I'm sure you are now because I just re-opened the wound), never fear, the Nine Breathings of Purification is here! The Nine Breathings of Purification is a Buddhist meditation technique that works to release the three root poisons: anger, attachment, and ignorance. These poisons are understood to be the root of all suffering and if you can release them, you will no longer suffer. I would like to make it clear that a lack of suffering doesn't mean you'll enjoy perfect health. Health and wellness are two sides of the same coin but I'll go into that in another post..."No longer suffering" means your maladies and frustrations in life (or with poor writing) won't affect your emotional health.

Anger poison is being angry about things (obviously), but in an obsessive way. You know that one person who is simply mad all the time and lashes out about every little thing? They are consumed by the anger poison. Being angry has it's time and place, but to constantly stay in that state is exhausting for everyone and can actually affect your physical health. Conditions like hypertension, heart disease, and adrenal fatigue are frequently found in people with a tendency towards anger. 

Attachment is a reluctance to let go of things. I say reluctance because no one has an inability to let go, it's just a difficult thing to do and we usually don't want to do it. This isn't just about holding grudges, it's holding on to past relationships, lost loved ones, guilt, and all the rest of the emotional baggage we feel the need to carry with us. Why? Yes our scars teach us life's lessons, but the lesson itself is what we want to hang on to, not the pain and suffering we went through to learn it.

Ignorance can also be understood as self doubt or fear and it's the biggest poison of them all. Doubting ourselves is what leads to regret. A surprising amount of people will stay in a toxic environment because they don't believe they can do better outside it. Staying in an "okay" relationship because you don't think you can do better? Self doubt. Want to start your own business but afraid to? Self doubt. Ultimately, all of our suffering comes down to self doubt: "what if I don't have what it takes?" We get angry with ourselves when we fail (anger), we refuse to forgive ourselves of our failures (attachment), and it continues to fuel the "but what if" conversation (self doubt). It's time to start a new one...

The technique itself is simple and you can read all about it in Awakening the Sacred Body by Tenzin Wangyal Rinproche. Simply put, you take three deep breaths to clear out each channel of it's poison, and abide in the light of your true self; one that is free from self inflicted suffering. To close (and you should do this with every meditation in your repertoire), you dedicate your merit to whomever you so desire. The book also includes a second meditation called the Tsa Lung exercises for the chakras, and comes with access to an online video where the author demonstrates and guides his readers in the meditations. So let's release our anger towards the writers, let go of the past eight years, and maintain our faith and hope that someone out there will write a great spin-off. #TyrionForTheIronThrone