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Meghan Birt

Meghan Birt

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January 25, 2014 ·

6 Strategies to Strengthen your Immune System

Chiropractic Care/ Body Work· Nutrition· Stress Management· Women's Health

woman-legs-flowers-summer

Right now it is the prime time of the year to know strategies to increase or boost your immune system. Here are my 6 favorite immune building strategies that can help keep you and your family healthy. I use these in my life, with my patients/ clients and I want to share them with you too.

Chiropractic Care

A highly functioning nervous system is the foundation to keeping us in overall good health. Our brain contains all of the information in our bodies. The brain speaks to the body by your spinal cord and the nerves coming out from the spinal cord. And those nerves go to every part of your body! Your spinal cord is surrounded and protected by our spinal column. Our spinal column needs to be in proper alignment and each vertebra aligned right above and below the other. Proper alignment to your spine is crucial to the health of your body. It’s also crucial to the strength of your immune system. A study was done on immune system strength among people who were adjusted on a regular basis vs people who do not get adjusted. Guess what? The people who were adjusted have an immune system that is 200% stronger than a non-adjusted person. Regularly adjusted people also have 600% stronger immune systems than cancer patients.

I see a strong immune systems all the time in practice. My patients get sick less than the average person And if they do get sick it is milder and healing happens quicker. Getting adjusted is invaluable to your body. I personally get adjusted 1-3x per week. I have since 2006. And I will (and my family will) for the rest of my life. I want that for you too!! Find a good chiropractor and wellness office and plug in there. I can help you find one if you need me to!

Low Inflammatory Foods

Another strategy to build and strengthen your immune system is with foods. Eating a diet low in inflammatory foods will build and sustain a powerful immune system. The main keys are to extremely reduce and limit sugars and things that turn to sugar (grains), increase good and healthy fats along with eliminating chemicals and preservatives in processed foods. I personally believe that we all should cut wheat out of our diets (Article here). That takes some inflammation out of the mix with cutting wheat alone. But many of us should cut all grains out of our diets. They are very inflammatory and often times out bodies have been so damaged because of past health choices (most of the time without even knowing it) that we should stay away from these foods. For example, people with autoimmune diseases like Hashimotos thyroiditis and celiac disease should much a grain free diet for life. Too much damage has been done and the body can’t handle the glycemic load and the amylase irritating the digestive system. Foods are powerful and can be a powerful tool to use against inflammation. 

Gut Health

Our digestive systems are critical to our overall health, even our immune systems. About 60-80% of our immune system is in our guts. Our bodies “good” bacteria determine this. They specialize in fighting off foreign invaders and run the intricate balance of communication with your brain, cells and organs. Our digestive system actually secrete an immune cell and they a part of the lymphatic system and are called Pyers Patches. A healthy microbiome in the gut also creates T-cells that protect the body from invaders (Immune Cells).  A majority of us have gut dysbiosis, or leaky gut, and that decreases the functioning of our guts. The more unhealthy our guts, the lower our immune system is. The body doesn’t have enough raw material to boost the immune system and then we get sick. From having a cold to building worse diseases like cancer a major cause of a depressed immune system is the health of the digestive system. (About The Gut Article Here)

Exercise

Exercise can be an amazing tool for boozing the immune system. Many of you may know the immune system increasing result of exercise and others may not. Exercise is amazing because when you sweat you detox your cells, gets your lymphatic system moving, your digestive system can heal and you also increase your T-cells which are known to kill cancer and other diseases. One of my favorite ways to exercise is by Burst Training (Article Here). It burns fat for hours and it only takes 10-20 minutes. I also love yoga, pilates, BarreAmped, and weight lifting. If your body is symptomatic and you are having some health struggles you can still exercise. But take is slowly and easily, don’t overdo exercise, it can make your body feel a lot worse! And in general, even if your body is very strong, exercising too much can breakdown your body and actually decrease your immune system. But exercising to the fitness level of your body can be extremely beneficial and can keep your immune system high and your body healing.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is a popular topic in the news right now. And there’s good reason why. Vitamin D is a vitamin (which seems obvious) but it is also a hormone. And because of that it has a major affect on our genes and can affect proper gene expression. It also triggers about 200 antimicrobial peptides in your body. It has also been shown to increase the immune system by 3-5x. And the majority of us are very deficient in Vitamin D. The worst being the northern climates where there’s not a lot of sun and is very cold year round. People with darker skin also need more vitamin D because their skin doesn’t absorb as much. We all need to take a supplement for vitamin D (unless you are in the sun a lot). I recommend a Vitamin D3 with K2. We also need K2 to absorb D3 and to have the vitamins together are very important.

Shop my Favorite Vitamin D3 + K2 Supplement

Prayer/ Meditation

Prayer is an important piece to our lives, but also our immune system because of stress. Prayer decreases your body’s stress response. Prayer has power, prayer can actually activate molecules in your nervous system and cells of the immune system. It’s amazing that is how God wired our bodies to work. The more we pray to him and lean on him and are in prayer it has a positive effect on our physiological body and also us mentally and emotionally. Don’t underestimate or negate the power of prayer. Lean on this strategy often and on a regular basis!

Philippians 4:6-7 says “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

How many do you use on a daily basis? Any ones that you need to start doing? 

Sources:

http://www.mercola.com

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com

 

 

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About Dr. Meghan

Hi, I’m Dr. Meghan. I love Jesus. I'm a wife to Phil, mom to two little girls, chiropractor, and healthy living encourager. Oh, and I adore a cup of weak coffee with (lots of) heavy cream. I’m passionate about inspiring women to fall in love with natural health. I break down the complex world of healthy living into simple steps you can take wherever you're at with your wellness journey.

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Simplifying health: take action from freedom, not fear
👏🏼On IG break👏🏼
Healthy Living Encourager
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Everything you need ⤵️

Well, I have to start somewhere. Celebrating the l Well, I have to start somewhere. Celebrating the little victories (that are actually really big) and trusting God in the process!!
Do your attempts to get healthy borders on obsessi Do your attempts to get healthy borders on obsession or orthorexia? Somehow you are now stressed about EVERYTHING being a toxin and brain is swirling with that all day, every day?. 

Does that sound like you? Or maybe just me 🤷🏻‍♀️ (please tell me I'm not the only one!)

I just don't think that's the Lord's plan for our lives and thought lives. I think there is another way to do health differently than our country and yet not become fearful and all-consumed with it all. We can be aware, make wise decisions, and let the rest be in the Lord's hands.

Most of you know I've taken 7 months off of posting regular content on my Instagram page. I only intended to stop posting for 2-4 weeks. But I realized I was stuck in this mental loop of always thinking about my health and my symptoms and then I was in a business where I only posted about health. That needed to stop. And when I slowed that loop I realized hey, I don't even want to post, so I didn't. 

Are you living in that balance now? Or teetering in the imbalance? If you are feeling imbalanced, the first thing is to NOT beat yourself up about it. If you have had chronic symptoms, I think it is our body's protective mechanism to put us in this loop. But the lie is that we aren't safe with symptoms... but we are safe if things medically check out fine. 

To get out of that mind loop, I would encourage you to take these thoughts captive. When they come in, give them to the Lord, and choose to think about something true and lovely and beautiful. Do this as often as you need which will probably be numerous times per day! 

It sounds easy but it isn't. Simple, yes. Easy, no. Put your faith in Christ and trust that he can renew your mind back to a healthy balance of holistic health. And if you suffer from symptoms... I do believe this is foundational for symptom resolution too.
I am totally a fair weather Minnesotan. I wish I w I am totally a fair weather Minnesotan. I wish I wasn’t, but I have been my whole life. 

So when the sun peaked through the days of dreary cloud cover I bundled up and bolted outside for a walk. It was 35 degrees and felt so nice. 

The 1 mile walk and the sun on my face was what I needed. I miss my nice weather walks. Only 4.5 more months of the cold here 🤣

Ps. Yes, I know that there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes. But really, I get cold easily and don’t like it. So it’s bad weather to me 🤷🏻‍♀️.
I didn’t realize that Beautycounter shutting dow I didn’t realize that Beautycounter shutting down was going to be the catalyst for me stepping back from social media.

It was. And it was one of the best things I’ve done in a long time. 

Why? I didn’t realize I was addicted to it. To checking. To learning. To creating content. It all. The business part and the learning about health. (Ouch that hurts a bit admitting it). 

It was all tied into nervous system dysfunction for me. Just feeding the circle of vigilance. And that wasn’t good for me body, mind, spirit. 

And it was SO hard to step away from this account. It took me about 6 weeks to stop picking up my phone to take a B roll video. Or to think “hey, I want to share with IG”. 

I really do miss you all… that’s what I miss the most. Interacting with you all! 

But my brain needed the time away. And honestly I’m still away. I just have felt like sharing a few things lately because of the November holiday sales. 

You know what I feared if I stepped away? I was scared I’d miss something shared about health that was what I needed. That I would miss some kind of magic bullet or clinical pearl and I wouldn’t heal without it. 

Guess what? That wasn’t true. 

I actually could think and focus on my health in a different way. I could surrender to God in a different way. I wasn’t cluttered with all sorts of thoughts on here. I’ve made some really good decisions about my health and healing with deep confidence. 

And I didn’t peace out of IG fully. I check mostly non-health related content on a private account. (Hello politics, I need some IG fill for that 😂). 

But I did take ALL of August off of IG and broke my dependence and need for it. It was SO good. I thought I’d kiss out so much. I didn’t miss anything. I found all the news and learning I needed from podcasts. And I bought less because I have no idea what’s trendy 🤷🏻‍♀️

I still like social media and Instagram. But I do think many of us need much better boundaries. It sucks you in… it’s supposed to! 

I share because I want to invite you to do something similar if you feel the pull in your spirit. 

Step back, you’re not going to miss anything. 
And think of what you may gain?!?
Robert F Kennedy Jr. was just named Secretary of H Robert F Kennedy Jr. was just named Secretary of Health and Human Services. And I am so excited. 

It's been a full week watching Trump make his cabinet selections but this one felt surreal. 

The corrupt natural of the medical system and Big Farma has been on my radar for almost 2 decades. And it has seemed to get worse vs better (ie covid jab mandates). 

Now we see this cabinet selection for this big position be a man who has fought for decades for children's health, for real meaningful healthcare reform, and spoke endlessly about jab side effects... it just takes my breath away. 

WHAT?? Is this real? 

I have so many thoughts. So many memories flood my mind about talking with my patients when I was a chiropractor about our medical system. The need to educate yourself about holistic and alternative health and to make better decisions than the standard american way of health. And of course, the endless conversations about the risks of jabs to new moms and dads so they can make the best decision for their kids. 

It used to feel like there were so few voices speaking out. And has now grown to a very large and loud group. 
I'd love to see the data on how many people voted for Trump because of the MAHA movement. What kind of needle moving did the partnership with RFKJ bring? I think it was quite a lot! 

Coming soon could be real change. And I'm not sure how much he's actually able to do. How deep does the corruption go? I don't know. 

But I do know that for now I am going to have hope and celebrate because this is a BIG win for medical freedom and the health of our nation. 

MAHA friends!! For ourselves, our families, and our country! 

#MAHA #makeamericahealthyagain #rfkj #houseinhabit #chronicillness #invisibleillness #healthykids #healthyfuture
I wanted to give you a link to shop the Beautycoun I wanted to give you a link to shop the Beautycounter in-between sale. I will give you the link first and explain the sale and my thoughts below.

Here is the link to shop with me: https://www.beautycounter.com/MEGHANBIRT​  and it is also in my bio. 

Beautycounter is not open, but has a month long sale. while they wait to reopen. My link is different and all products are there but many could sell out.

When is the Sale: November 1-December 2

How do you shop: You need my link above. It is good for 72 hours and if you shop again, you need to choose my link again. You can't look me up and you're not attributed to me like you were when I was a brand advocate. 

Also, I wanted to share a few thoughts, I am participating in this Beautycounter in-between sale to give you opportunity to purchase your favorite Beautycounter products. I don't know what the future of Beautycounter looks like yet and haven't decided if I will pursue anything in the future.

I still really love my Crunchi products, and will be sharing Crunchi also. But I am choosing to give you the opportunity to choose both companies. Some of you want to shop Beautycounter and some people want to move on and not support it anymore, and for right now I'm here for you with both. 

Thank you for choosing me and my links, it makes such a big difference and I appreciate it.
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Disclaimer

Consult your practitioner before beginning or making changes to your diet, supplements, exercise program, diagnosis or treatment of illness or injuries and for advice regarding medications. Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Nothing on this website should be taken as medical advice. This is all information on this website is based on the opinion of Dr. Meghan Birt, DC. The information on this website isn’t to replace a relationship with a qualified health professional. It is only information to encourage you to make your own health decisions based on your own research. You can read the full Privacy Policy here. 

Disclaimer

Consult your practitioner before beginning or making changes to your diet, supplements, exercise program, diagnosis or treatment of illness or injuries and for advice regarding medications. Statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Nothing on this website should be taken as medical advice. This is all information on this website is based on the opinion of Dr. Meghan Birt, DC. The information on this website isn’t to replace a relationship with a qualified health professional. It is only information to encourage you to make your own health decisions based on your own research. You can read the full Privacy Policy here. 

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