Written By: Vegan Out The Mud
As we progress through this global pandemic, there is a lot of confusion on when we will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel. State to state, county to county, officials are deciding to open or stay locked down at their own discretion. With that being said, we will begin to intermingle to some degree as we did before and with no official vaccine we have to do what we can to build our natural defense up. As we discussed a few months prior, ginger and turmeric provide antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties that help your immunity system fight viruses. An unsung hero in immunity defense is vitamin D.
Vitamin D directly regulates your immune system, in fact your white blood cells have Vitamin D receptors. All of our lives the main source of Vitamin D we are presented with is dairy milk. The irony in that is almost half of the American population is deficient in Vitamin D. Re-evaluation of Vitamin D sources could lead to a change. Vegan sources include sunlight, orange juice and oatmeal. Sunlight is one of the most accessible sources when weather permits. Safe amounts of time with protection for your skin in sunlight is proven to boost Vitamin D. In fact they used to expose sick people to direct sunlight hoping to “burn” a disease away not knowing they were actually raising Vitamin D levels that were helping to fight. Most orange juices are fortified in Vitamin D naturally as is the grain used in oatmeal.
If we are working towards herd immunity we will have to get back in close quarters amongst each other. The best thing we can do for our communities is to individually boost our immune systems. Along with herbs and spices you can ingest to improve your defense, increasing your vitamin D either through supplements or natural sources will help you strengthen your system.