5 WAYS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM THIS SILLY SEASON

Does your immune system function perfectly all year long, right up until the Christmas trees and tinsel come out of hiding? From family-induced stress and rising credit card debt to the excessive Christmas-feasting and drinking, it’s no secret that your immune system requires serious attention and care to make it through the Christmas period unscathed. So, what’s the secret? Unfortunately, there is no Christmas miracle for curing a poorly looked after immune system overnight, but thankfully, there are simple changes you can incorporate into your life to ensure your immune system is fit to fight through all the festivities, and bounce back even stronger in the new year.

In order to understand how to look after your immune system, it’s important to first understand why it’s so important to take your immune health seriously. Consisting of cells, proteins, tissues, and organs, your immune system plays an integral role in preventing infection and illness by defending against infectious organisms and other nasty invaders that enter your body. Not eating healthily, being sedentary, not getting enough sleep, and being under chronic stress can all contribute to a weakened immune system, and when your immune system is depleted, your body becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, viruses, and toxins. If you simply cannot afford to get sick around this time of year or don’t want a run-down immune system to get in the way of your hard-earned holiday, here are our 5 tips for supercharging your immune system this silly season:

Have you heard about Evolve L-Glutamine? This game-changing supplement is the ultimate immune boosting elixir and the closest thing you’ll find to a Christmas miracle. While traditionally used by athletes and bodybuilders wanting to preserve and grow muscle mass, in more recent years, science has proven that this non-essential amino acid is beneficial for much more than just muscle integrity.

Believe it or not, L-Glutamine is one of the most effective supplements for boosting your immune system. Whether you find yourself constantly coming down with a cold or struggling to shake the flu, increasing your Glutamine intake may be just the answer. Why? In more technical terms, Glutamine is required by your body to produce Cytokines, which are small proteins released by the white blood cells sent by your immune system. Increasing the number of Cytokines in your body, in turn, increases your resistance to disease and illness. Additionally, Glutamine plays a vital role in the health of your intestines. In fact, your small intestines require more Glutamine than any other part of your body, and given the majority of your body’s immune activity occurs in your intestines, there’s no debating how important Glutamine is for ensuring a healthy immune system.

You don’t have to be an athlete to benefit from the advantages Glutamine has to offer. Whether you’re a frequent gym-goer wanting to restore your Glutamine levels that are naturally depleted during exercise or someone wanting to maintain your health and ensure an optimally functioning immune system, Evolve L-Glutamine is your go-to immune-boosting supplement. Better still, you canbuy it in-store and online at your local ASN store.

Remember when mum used to tell you to eat your greens? Well, there was a good reason for it. As food is one of our most powerful tools for preventing disease and maintaining optimal health, it should come as no surprise that a healthy body begins with a healthy immune system. Did you know that nutritional deficiencies can impair immune function, which can increase your risk of infection? From minerals and phytonutrients to fibres, oils, acids, and more, vegetables play an important role in keeping us fuelled with quality nutrients, maintaining optimal functionality, combating inflammation and infection, supporting detoxification, and encouraging immune cell function. And with the help of Evolve Green Machine, you can enjoy your required daily intake of greens in the form of a delicious and convenient drink!

What’s Evolve Green Machine and what’s all the hype about? Green Machine is a premium blend of nature’s finest organic superfoods, and not to mention, one of the tastiest and most practical ways to incorporate more of mother nature’s health benefits into the average modern diet. Designed to improve overall health and wellbeing and to keep your body and immune system functioning optimally, Evolve Green Machine is naturally flavoured with 100% certified organic ingredients and rich in iron and Vitamins A, C and B12. Evolve Green Machine won’t only help to restore and maintain your immune health, but will also assist with promoting energy, radiant skin, and stronger hair and nails. Whether you struggle to get down your daily greens or simply don’t have enough hours in the day to prep nutritious meals, Evolve Green Machine is your one-stop solution for improving gut health and immune health, flushing out toxins, improving nutrient uptake, promoting radiant skin, and stronger hair and nails. And guess what? It’s vegetarian and vegan-friendly!

Add this delicious greens blend to your daily routine and enjoy optimal immune health all year round, even through the festive season. P.s. - Did we mention that you can also buy Evolve Green Machine in-store and online at ASN.

Did you know that poor nutrition combined with stress is a recipe for sickness and one of the most common causes of disease?

Whether it’s emotional, environmental, nutritional, or physical, when our body is exposed to stress, it sends out the stress hormone, Cortisol. Over an extended period of time, your body gets used to having too much cortisol in your blood, which encourages more inflammation and eventually an overworked and overtired immune system that struggles to properly protect you from serious threats. Likewise, stress decreases the body’s lymphocytes (the white blood cells that help fight infection), which greatly increases your susceptibility to illness and disease.

When it comes to Christmas time, there’s no denying that stress levels are generally at an all-time high. If it’s not the stress of hosting Christmas lunch or watching your debt rise, it’s the stress of juggling the holiday festivities with pressing work deadlines. Whatever the pressures and demands, the health and functionality of our immune system depends on our body’s ability to manage our stress. This festive season, try the following stress-releasing activities to help maintain your immune health:

Reduce your caffeine intake: Believe it or not, not everyone can handle the caffeine hit from their morning brew. As people have a different tolerance to caffeine, certain people may feel extremely jittery and anxious post-coffee. If this is the case, cut back on caffeine and see if that minimises the stress in your life. This also includes stimulant-based supplements!

Take a yoga class: For most forms of yoga, the common goal is to join your body and mind, which is generally done through increasing your body and breath awareness. Yoga is said to have a huge impact on mental health, particularly for enhancing mood and reducing depression, anxiety, and chronic stress.

Manage your time: Prioritising the important tasks can sometimes be enough to minimise the stress in our lives. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the tasks on hand, whether it’s Christmas or work-related, prioritise and diarise your tasks so you’re ticking the most time-sensitive and detrimental things off first.

Getting your sweat on is one of the most effective ways to help keep your immune system in check. Not only does it help improve the quality of your sleep, but it also helps to alleviate stress, which, as we know is a leading contributor to a weakened immune system. Exercise assists with lowering your body’s stress hormones, while simultaneously releasing endorphins, which improve your mood. Additionally, exercise is said to also enhance immune function through its involvement in stimulating a recirculation of cells from the immune system. However, it’s important to be mindful that overtraining will have the opposite effect on your immune system, leaving it in a compromised state. Find the right balance that works for you!

While you sleep, your immune system releases Cytokines, which can help to promote sleep. When there is infection, inflammation, or stress present in your body, certain Cytokines need to increase to help fight off the illness. However, sleep deprivation is known to decrease the production of Cytokines, as well as Antibodies and cells, which all play an important role in fighting infection. The solution? Rest up and ensure your body is getting the sleep it requires to stay healthy and fight off unwanted invaders.

What are you waiting for? Don’t let this festive season get the better of your health. Plan ahead and strengthen your immune system by adopting healthier habits and the ultimate immune-boosting supplement regime, including EvolveGreen Machine and Evolve L-Glutamine. To make the most of your Christmas festivities and to enter the new year with a bang, be sure to stop by your local ASN store or reach out to our online support team for more information about supplements and how to achieve your fitness goals.