Winter is coming. My immune system needs a boost.

With the onset of winter we will be spending more time indoors staying warm. This means less sunshine and less vitamin D. Less local vegetables and produce. Our diets will change to incorporate comfort foods.

This could result in compromising our immune systems. Maybe?  Maybe not?
It's been my observation that colds and flu are more prevalent during our fall/winter season.

I must say that there are other ways to boost the immune system and we should explore those as well. For example, drink beet juice, take fish oils, eat lots of veggies and stop eating processed sugars and take vitamin C. But, one thing we can't manufacture on our own is "D" or D3 to be exact. Vitamin D3 has become the trendy thing to take and there are all kinds of research that supports this. Where things get hazy is dosage. How much to take and how often? I subscribe to the moderation rule and my personal lifestyle. I spend a lot of time indoors all year round so I take 1000-2000 a day in the warmer months and 5000 every other day during the colder months. It works for me. When I get my levels tested I'm always in the "Normal" range. Whatever that is.
Which leads me to say… I strongly advise you to see your doctor, get your blood work done and ask specifically for the vitamin D levels test. Do this before you start supplementing because, like everything else, too much of a good thing can be dangerous.

I'd like to mention exercise as well. When it gets colder the last thing I want to do is be outside riding my bike. Hat's off to the hard core fitness folks that are out no matter what the weather is. This advice is for the mere mortals like myself who would rather wrap up in a blanket and have cocoa instead of getting in any miles this week. Go take a swing dance class! or any dance class really. You get a great cardio work out and your brain gets a challenge and it's fun at the same time. Or youtube has tons of videos on everything fitness or otherwise. Staying in shape improves overall well being period and if you can do something indoors during the cold weather bonus! I should mention that exercise helps mitigate seasonal effective disorders too. Having said all this, It is important that you get outside some. Really, it's good for you. Your body needs exposure to the weather to create adaptive responses this includes your immune system.

one love,
chuck