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BOOSTING IMMUNITY IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY

March 24, 2020 11 Comments

What difficult and uncertain times these are… Like all of us, I’m worried about family, friends, and colleagues – both near and far away. But while this cruel pandemic requires us to put distance between ourselves, it’s also a poignant reminder of how close we all are as humans and as a global community. In spite of the need for social distance and separation, I feel closer than ever to my fellow men and women. Struggling through this shared experience of uncertainty, anxiety and fear, will – I believe – leave us stronger, kinder, more compassionate and more grateful.

But that’s the future. And we’re not there yet. While uncertainty and fear are an inevitable reaction to the pandemic, it’s hugely important that we refuse to become their slaves. Panic and anxiety fuel two of the very things that most weaken our immune systems: stress and insomnia.

With no current cure or vaccine, we only have two weapons at our disposal:

  1. A strong and healthy immune system
  2. A sensible approach of staying at home, washing our hands and trying not to touch our faces or potentially contaminated surfaces (virus-avoidance in other words, which also means we avoid infecting others.)

If, like my family, you’re now on lock-down with your parks and green spaces closed, exercising is more challenging. But it’s also crucially important. To be immunologically fit you need to be physically fit, according to Professor Arne Akbar, the president of the British Society for Immunology and a professor at University College, London (quoted courtesy of The Guardian). “White blood cells can be quite sedentary,” says Akbar. “Exercise mobilises them by increasing your blood flow, so they can do their surveillance jobs and seek and destroy in other parts of the body.”

Research on mice suggests that those doing moderate exercise of 20-30 minutes a day during the incubation period (that’s the time between getting infected and showing symptoms) were more likely to survive than both sedentary mice and vigorously exercising mice. But that’s mice … how about people? A study carried out during the 1998 flu outbreak in Hong Kong found that those doing no exercise and those doing five days of strenuous exercise were at greatest risk of dying. Again, it’s moderate exercise that appears to be most protective, not exercising to break-point.

I’m jogging every other day, using my turbo-charged anxiety as fuel. But to keep my social distance I’m running at dawn (which was 5.30 this morning and upliftingly beautiful). This has the additional benefit of providing a sound-track: the dawn chorus. Birdsong is calming and life-enhancing, another of nature’s gifts. A recent study from Kings College London found that city-dwellers gained an emotional boost from birdsong that lasted up to four hours.

I’m also smiling and waving at anyone I pass – at a distance of two metres of course – although I didn’t pass many at the crack of dawn today. We know that smiling and laughing are small but mighty tools in our fight against disease, and wrote about it here.

Ten minutes of nature has been shown to improve our sense of well-being, so I’m trying to jog – where possible – alongside a few trees or beside the River Thames. We’ve written about the benefits of nature before (here and here), as well as the calming influence of being beside water. For those of you lucky to have access to unpeopled green space, make the most of it. From the concrete bowels of London, I, for one, am deeply envious!

In my house (currently an experiment in home-schooling, distance learning and indoor confinement), we’re playing table tennis, dancing, doing on-line yoga and fitness classes. You can find a full range of online classes here.

Being physically strong provides more than enhanced immunological fitness. It helps us sleep better. And we know that an exhausted body is infinitely more susceptible to viral infection. Exercise also sucks up stress, excess anxiety and anguish that otherwise have nowhere to go – eventually flooding our bodies with cortisol which eats away at our immunity.

But being physically strong also makes us emotionally strong. At this very strange point in history, we need to be as strong as possible, in every way. Lack of certainty (about almost anything) is emotionally and mentally debilitating. Feeling physically strong helps.

So I’m also continuing to do 10 minutes of weights every day. The point is to preserve strength, rather than to build it. Again, there are lots of short strength-building classes online. Otherwise grab a set of weights – or tins of baked beans – and devise a routine that includes bicep curls, shoulder raises, tricep lifts, squats, lunges and a plank-for-as-long-as-you-can-hold-it. There are more ideas for online classes and apps here.

Worried you can’t do much? “Anything’s better than nothing,” says Akbar. Just get up and move as often as you can. Dancing is particularly good, as we explained in our book. Try posting your dance moves on tiktok and sharing them with your not-so-near and dear. According to my 17-year old daughter, tiktok is the only thing keeping her sane while under house arrest. We’re posting daily clips (at @annabelabbs) to keep our morale up.

A quick cull of recent blog posts from my favourite doctors means that I’m also:

Continuing supplementing with 2000 iu of vitamin D daily. Vitamin D is essential for optimal immunity and many of us are depleted after the winter months. Studies show that people with vitamin D deficiency are 11 times more likely to get a cold or flu. Meanwhile supplementing with vitamin D can reduce colds and flu by 42%.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables rich in Vitamin C, A and immune-busting phytonutrients. One of my favourite bloggers, Dr Mark Hyman, last week advised 2 servings of fruits and 8 or more servings of vegetables (a serving is half an American cup). You can read his full post on building immunity here.

Continuing with Zinc supplementation. As we wrote in our book, zinc is one of the few supplements proven to work. Include it in your diet with oysters and shellfish, nuts, meat, dairy and pulses.

Watching my intake of protein. Again, I’m quoting Dr Hyman…’Protein is critical for immune function and protein malnutrition is a big risk factor for death from infections. Eat approximately 1 gram per kg or about half your body weight in grams of protein a day, or about two four-ounce servings of organic, clean animal protein.’

Suggesting a Vitamin C supplement of 2-5 g daily to family with impaired health. You can read another of my favourite medical bloggers, Doctor Malcom Kendrick, on the subject of Vitamin C (and Corona in general) here.

Including garlic with just about everything. Garlic contains Allicin, known to boost our white blood cells when they respond to an invasion. Most of our recipes include garlic but this soup is a favourite of mine.

I’ve also cut right back on alcohol, much though I’d love a regular drink it’s a known depleter of numerous vitamins and minerals, including B12 and zinc.

I’ve started listening to more music, after a report out last week found this improves heart health and reduces stress. Patients who suffered episodes of chest pain soon after a heart attack, known as early post-infarction angina, had significantly lower levels of anxiety and pain if they listened to music for 30 minutes a day, according to this study from University of Belgrade School of Medicine. In fact the patients who listened to ‘soothing’ music (of their choice) had, on average, anxiety scores one-third lower than those on standard treatment. They also had significantly lower rates of certain heart conditions, including an 18% reduction in the rate of heart failure; 23% lower rate of subsequent heart attack; 20% lower rate of needing coronary artery bypass graft surgery; and 16% lower rate of cardiac death. That’s impressive!

As the Corona Virus affects those with underlying heart conditions, I feel this is an important study, as well as being cheap and easy to execute. I’ve been listening to the music of composer, Frederick Delius, with my (almost) undivided attention (when I’m not tik-toking to 1970s disco, that is).

Keep eating well, keep exercising, stay upbeat. Listen to music and birdsong, learn a new language, use technology to stay in touch with friends and family, help out where you can. One day this will be over…

Annabel

  • Conditions: Immunity
« AGEING WELL, STAYING POSITIVE AND THE CORONA VIRUS
SLEEP IN THE TIME OF CORONA »

Comments

  1. Antonia says

    March 24, 2020 at 10:41 pm

    Very helpful sound advice which I have forwarded to my family members and others.

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      March 25, 2020 at 4:24 pm

      Hope it helps!

      Reply
  2. michelle says

    March 24, 2020 at 11:35 pm

    Love this- thank you! I’d add the health benefits of enjoying time to make nutritious meals, soaking up the current sunshine for happy minutes weeding when not working on the laptop- and the joys of being able to do those tasks you normally put off!

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      March 25, 2020 at 4:25 pm

      Oh yes, the power of sunshine! And yes, cooking is more therapeutic than it’s given credit for… Thanks!

      Reply
  3. Jackie Davies says

    March 25, 2020 at 7:14 am

    Thank you Annabel, for taking the time to compile this amongst everything that is going on. I needed to hear this today. Being self employed and suddenly with no work, my cortisol levels seem similar to yours! Take care.

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      March 25, 2020 at 4:26 pm

      If only we could harness the world’s current excess cortisol and somehow redirect it… ! Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  4. ceri says

    March 25, 2020 at 10:59 am

    Thank you so much. Your web site and emails are a wonderful resource — you are doing a great public service especially at present.

    Reply
    • Annabel Streets says

      March 25, 2020 at 4:22 pm

      Thanks for your kind words!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. YOUR LOCKDOWN BRAIN ON READING, RED WINE AND VITAMIN D - The Age-Well Project says:
    April 29, 2020 at 2:40 pm

    […] on the matter of COVID, I wrote in my last post about the need to keep taking vitamin D to maintain strong immunity. A small study of serum levels […]

    Reply
  2. WHY I’M EATING MORE MEAT AND MY NEW FAVOURITE SALAD - The Age-Well Project says:
    August 28, 2020 at 1:35 pm

    […] Annabel wrote about the importance of adequate protein intake to support immunity (particularly important as we head into an autumn rife with the possibility of infection) in a  blog post this Spring. […]

    Reply
  3. BOOST THE COVID JAB (HOPEFULLY!) AND A FREE MASTERCLASS - The Age-Well Project says:
    March 18, 2021 at 3:22 pm

    […] in vitamin C such as citrus, greens and peppers – and a vitamin D supplement. Annabel wrote a detailed post about immune support last year and you can try my favourite immune-supporting recipes for soup,  salad and a raft of […]

    Reply

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Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points Everything we’ve learnt about ageing well points to a time (for women at least) in their mid-60s when the chronic conditions of ageing, like diabetes, heart disease and dementia, are - statistically - more likely to kick in. 

And we know that our reproductive hormones do so much more than prepare us to have periods and babies, we have receptors for them throughout our bodies and brains. 

Oestrogen, in particular, helps keep bones strong, blood vessels flexible, brains firing and inflammation levels low. Essentially, it wraps us up in a cosy protective cloak to keep us safe and healthy while we're able to reproduce, but once the eggs have run out - we're on our own! 

Between the average age of menopause at 51, and that time in our 60s when the chronic conditions of ageing are more likely to kick in, we have a decade or so in which it’s vital to focus on our health.

And how to do that? It’s on the blog - link in bio

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #menopause #menopausehealth #postmenopause #postmenopausefitness #postmenopausal #oestrogen #hormonalhealth
If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic he If you’re lucky enough to have good metabolic health you might want to thank your Mum today. Recent studies have found that women who move around during their reproductive years and during pregnancy and then breastfeed for a bit pass on a compound in their milk called 3SL which provides lifelong protection against poor metabolic health. The offspring of moving, breastfeeding Mums appear to have a lower lifetime risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and other chronic metabolic disease. Even gentle strolling during pregnancy and while nursing can produce this compound. So today we thank our Mums for that - as well as everything else.  Susan’s mum in the hat. Annabel’s mum in the pony tail. 

#mothersday #mothers #move #agewell #goodhealth #longevitylifestyle #longevity #walk
There’s been lots of good news for walkers recen There’s been lots of good news for walkers recently. A study published last month found that over-60s who walked between 6000 and 9000 steps a day cut their risk of heart disease (including strokes and heart attacks) by 40-50 percent, when compared to a more typical 2000 steps a day. In fact this study found that for every additional 1000 steps walked, the risk fell still further. 

How far are you walking to age well? Let us know in the comments and there’s more on the power of walking on the blog - link in bio

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A big hug from us to you to mark International Wom A big hug from us to you to mark International Women’s Day! 

The campaign this year reminds us to embrace equity as a way to recognise that each of us has different circumstances, and we need different resources and opportunities to reach an equal outcome. Of course, this is as vital in ageing and health outcomes as in every other field.  

So we’re embracing our age and hoping to grow older in a more equitable society ❤️

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We’ve learned to love walking backwards! So many We’ve learned to love walking backwards! So many benefits when it comes to ageing well. 

If you’re not sure how to start or are worried about looking silly (we were) - there are lots of tips on the blog, link in bio. 

If you’re a backwards walker, let us know in comments below! 

If you’re planning to start, save this post for when you’re ready for some reverse walking 

#longevity #womenover50 #agewell #ageingwell #agingwell #longevityblog #healthblog #agewellblog #over50bloggers #womenover50 #healthspan #womenover60 #walking #womenwhowalk #womenwhohike #reversewalking #backwardswalking #walkingbackwards
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