Confession time: I prefer getting all my nutrients from food rather than popping supplements and powders. I focus on eating healthy and this used to be enough. I’d rarely get sick. Since becoming a Mum it’s a different story. Of course I took supplements prior to conceiving, during pregnancy and most of breastfeeding (I forgot here and there), and I irregularly take them now. Experience is telling me, though, that diet alone isn’t doing enough to build up my nutrient stores post children. It’s hard not to get a cold from a toddler child that needs cuddles and kisses and likes to give cuddles and kisses back. Pre-children I never got sick. I was dedicated to my fitness, ate a pescatarian whole food, low sugar, anti-inflammatory diet, and went years without so much as a cold.

After two pregnancies and four and a half years of continuous breastfeeding (that’s a lot of nutrients sucked from my tissues) and, 5 years later, I still have my sleep interrupted by babes. I also have a child in day-care a couple of times a week who’s exposed to new pathogens constantly. It feels like I get sick A l l t h e t i m e. I’m actually embarrassed about how often I get a cold. This is postnatal depletion syndrome.

I’ve had enough.

I’m boosting my nutritional profile by taking some concentrated vitamins and minerals, essential fatty acids and probiotics RELIGIOUSLY. And of course, botanical medicine. Medicinal Mushrooms are renowned for boosting the immune system, but intuitively, they don’t resonate with me at this time. Rather Echinacea, Baical Skullcap, Japanese Knotweed, Siberian Ginseng, Lemon Balm, Nettles and Withania are here to help me. I feel like my immune insufficiency is caused by nutrient depletion, and once I have those stores up, the mushrooms may be ready to help me.

So here’s 7 lifestyle tips to overcome immune insufficiency caused by postnatal depletion:

Antioxidant rich foods. Antioxidants modify your immune response. The phytochemicals that antioxidant rich foods provide the body help repair damage to your tissues caused by your immune response to infection. When you see colour in your fresh produce, you can safely assume that’s antioxidants, so that’s why the phrase ‘eat the rainbow’ is so popular.
Getting adequate sleep: , the sleep hormone melatonin performs as a potent antioxidant, repairing and restoring your body. I know this is easy to say and not do when you mother small ones, so ask for help where you can, and do your best. It may mean turning off netflix and getting into bed earlier. Your sleep is much too valuable.
Protein: Inadequate protein is linked to dysfunction in the immune system. Protein is available in meat, dairy, beans, legumes, wholegrains, eggs, nuts and seeds.
Wholefood diet - one that is based on foods that are as close to their natural state as possible. Not only do whole foods contain a wide array of nutrients, wider than foods that have been segmented, they also retain their vital force, or prana. Nutrients in their natural state work synergistically in the body to benefit the immune system.
Leave out
Sugar: Sugar is an immune suppressant with studies showing intake of sugar reduces the capacity of white blood cells to function properly, so therefore your immune response is weakened. Studies have shown that eating sugar can deplete the immune system for up to two hours after consumption. So that’s every time you eat sugar, you’re weakening your immune response for a time.
Caffeine: Chronic and excessive intake of caffeine is likely to function as a stressor to the already depleted immune system. HOWEVER, in small amounts it’s actually anti-inflammotory, antioxidant and helps modulate the immune system, and may be particularly helpful in auto-immune conditions. Yes I love caffeine. It’s been a saviour for me these past 5 years as I’m woken up often in the night and unnaturally early as well, that cup in the morning is supportive. If you’re having a lot, or having it with heaps of milk and sugar, then any anti-inflammatory effects may be lost. I try and keep to under 200mg of caffeine a day. For me this means using nespresso pods at home and rarely buying a coffee when out, as the caffeine content can vary greatly in cafe coffee.
Preservatives: additives and colourings - Foods with these additives have, for the most part, long lost their vital force. Overly processed foods, while do provide calories to keep you going, do more harm than good in the long run. Often high in the wrong kinds of fats, sugars and a driver of inflammation, these kinds of foods wear you out.
If you’re rundown or experiencing repeated illnesses, nutritional and herbal medicine will help you build up your immune system and resilience. Nature has everything you need to thrive. Please book in for a naturopathic appointment for health coaching and a herbal and nutritional plan to restore your vitality. Life is too short to waste it feeling awful.