Chris Grier

When your body encounters the coronavirus, how will it respond? Will it struggle against the invasion, or will it kick the virus out with a strong immune response?

In sport and in health, we need to think about both our defense and our offense.

A lot of ink has been used telling Americans how to play defense against the coronavirus, including social distancing, staying at home, limiting travel, washing hands, keeping your hands out of your face and many more measures designed to decrease your risk at coming in contact with the virus.

These are all excellent advice, and I support them fully. Excellent advice is coming from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Iowa and Washington County Departments of Public Health. Please follow their advice.

Those defensive measures are only half of the game though. In order to be truly successful against coronavirus, we must assume that we are going to encounter it and take measures to be at our strongest and healthiest when that time comes.

Here are five areas of life we can all improve today to boost our immune system and be ready to have the upper hand against coronavirus and all other invaders.

• Sleep: There is no more important habit for building and maintaining a strong immune system. Aim for being in bed for eight to nine hours for adults, and nine to 10 hours for children with a consistent bedtime. To improve the quality of sleep, shut off all digital stimulation at least 60 minutes prior to bedtime.

• Move: Moving your body every day is an essential component of health and having a robust immune system. Aim for walking outside for at least 15 minutes each day and move your body at least 10 minutes every hour of the day. Keeping your spine mobile and healthy is important and chiropractic care is shown to support immune system health. Kalona has three chiropractic offices: Bright Futures Chiropractic, Washington Chiropractic and Errthum Chiropractic.

• Eat: What we eat moves us either toward health or away from it. What to specifically avoid: sugar, vegetable oils and flour all interfere with immune system function. Eating three cups of vegetables daily, including many different colors will provide your immune system with most of the nutrients it needs to be ready for battle. Healthy fat in the form of fish (sardines, mackerel, anchovies, herring, wild caught salmon), coconut oil, olive oil and avocados boosts cellular health. Drinking water supports all body functions. Supplementing with Vitamin D, Vitamin C and fish oil is a proven strategy to decrease the chance of viral infection, according to Grassrootshealth.net.

• Breathe: Fresh air and full lung function is crucial right now. Be aware of your breathing habits, particularly when you use technology devices like computers or smartphones. Exercise helps use more of your lungs and taking several one-minute breathe breaks during the day is helpful.

• Focus: This pandemic has created a lot of fear and a sense of lack of control, with news and social media reports of concerns from around the globe. An alternative response is to have a focus of managed concern, which is more grounded and healthier, according to HeartMath.com. Head there to learn and use a technique for reducing and overcoming fear by using directed focus and breathing techniques.

The human body is truly amazing. We have fought off scores of novel viruses and bacteria for generations. Your innate immune system is specifically designed to identify invaders and mount a response to kill and kick them out, and it relies on your overall health to be at its best.

So, when you do encounter coronavirus, I urge you to have used the strategies above to be fully prepared to win the fight.

Dr. Chris Grier is a Kalona chiropractor. He is a member of the Washington County Board of Public Health.