Cold Season? Not Today
Cold weather + viral spikes = not a good vibe 🤒. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to white-knuckle your way through flu season. I'm here with tips
As winter sets in and viral illnesses rise, immune health takes center stage. Catching a cold isn’t a sign of ‘weak immune health’— even the healthiest person on the planet gets sick, it’s just part of life. What matters is how quickly we bounce back, and that’s where a resilient immune system shines.
I’m here with my proactive, science-backed approach that I use to help my body stay strong and recover faster when illness strikes. This guide is for educational purposes only and isn’t a substitute for medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider to determine what’s safe and suitable for you.
🎯 The Game Plan
I’m dividing this post into two parts:
Maintenance: What I do to keep my immune system strong year-round.
Acute Care: What I grab the second I feel off.
MAINTENANCE MODE: Build Your Immune Fortress
Here’s what I do daily to stay ahead of the game:
1. Vitamin D ☀️: A common deficiency
If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, it’s time to check your Vitamin D levels if you haven’t already. This powerhouse nutrient isn’t just about bones; it’s essential for immune function, energy, and mood. I get my levels tested and supplement [code: DRVIV10] based on my doctor’s recommendations (yes, I have a doctor, and I listen to him! 😄)
2. Eat Like You Mean It 🍎
If you read my Lung Health post (link below), you’ll already know that our gut is the command center of our immune system, and there is a lung-gut axis, so nourish it well. My strategy? Focus on vibrant 🌈, whole foods full of antioxidants that strengthen our immune system, and fiber that feeds our friendly gut bugs:
Citrus & Peels 🍋: Don't toss that lemon or orange peel! It’s packed with flavonoids like naringenin and hesperidin. If they are organic, I zest them, then freeze them in little bags and add them to teas, salad dressings, or soups.
Onions, Garlic, & Leeks 🧅: These sulfur-rich alliums are not only your liver’s bff, they are immune-loving dynamos. Bonus? They make every meal taste incredible. Get it in at every opportunity.
Herbs & Spices 🫚: Think turmeric (with black pepper for absorption), rosemary, thyme, and oregano. These are anti-inflammatory superstars. Thyme deserves a special mention here, it is my favorite for its lung-supporting, anti-microbial properties. I have a thyme plant at home - it is a very hardy herb, but you can always use dried. I love throwing it into broths, soups, and pasta sauces. If you eat meat, it goes GREAT with a little bit of that lemon zest as a chicken marinade.
I love carotenoid-rich (i.e., Vitamin A) squash and pumpkin 🎃 this time of year. If in doubt, eat what’s in season. Nature always provides us with the right nourishment for each season!
I also love cozying up with a homemade chai latte loaded with spices.
The Winter Nutrient Dream Team:
Vitamin A : From sweet potatoes, carrots, to pumpkin.
Vitamin C: Think berries, bell peppers, and kiwis. 🥝
Zinc: Load up on pumpkin seeds, lentils, and legumes.
Selenium: Two Brazil nuts a day keep the deficiency away. 🌰
Omega 3: Oily fish like salmon, anchovies, flaxseeds, or walnuts if you are plant-based. 🌱
3. Exercise Smarter, Not Harder 💪
Move your body daily, but listen to your body. This time of year is very hectic and busy, and most people are carrying stress on their shoulders. If you add lack of sleep and stress to extra hard workouts - your cortisol is likely to spike, which is not great for blood sugar regulation or our immune system. Over-exercising can also temporarily lower immunity (although exercise in general, over the long term, is immune healthy).
If you are feeling depleted, know that a brisk walk in nature can do wonders for your immune system too. It doesn’t have to be HIIT.
4. Sleep Like It’s Your Job 🛌
Your body repairs and regenerates during sleep. Without it, your natural killer cells (your immune system’s elite squad) go on strike. Aim for 7–9 hours and keep your sleep routine sacred. ⏰
5. Chill Out (Literally) 🧘♂️
Chronic stress is like kryptonite for your immune system.
I use breathwork, yoga, and meditation to bring my nervous system back to calm. Bonus: I love combining this with my LUMEBOX to unwind and rejuvenate my skin at the same time.
I know this can all start to sound like a lot, and if it felt overwhelming to you - please remember you do not need to do ALL of these things every single day. We all have different habits and life demands. If you are a shift worker, you may not be able to get the sleep you need - and that's ok. Work on the other stuff that you CAN do. If you have young kids, you may not be able to get much exercise in every day - just do the best you can with what you have.
Acute Care: What I Do at the First Sign of Illness
When the sniffles hit, here’s the protocol I rely on for myself and my family. (Always check with your doctor before trying these, as they may not suit everyone.)
Quick Summary
Supplements: Vitamin C & elderberry, Oscillococcinum, Vitamin D, zinc lozenges, Medicinal mushrooms, and oil of oregano (all linked below).
Therapies: Red light therapy on throat, chest, and neck; infrared sauna if no fever.
Home Remedies: Minced raw garlic + honey, turmeric/ginger chai, lots of liquids, and REST.
Now, let’s dive into the details.
1. Rest & Stay Hydrated 🛌
Ever wonder why getting sick leaves you feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck? This is not a mistake. Rather, it’s your body’s genius way of hitting the brakes so you can recover.
When a pesky virus barges in, your mitochondria—those little energy factories in your cells— sound the alarm. They temporarily shut down energy production to create a hostile environment for invaders. Pretty clever, right?
This superhero move is called the ‘cell danger response.’
As part of this defense mode, your body releases cytokines - chemical messengers that rally the immune troops to help you fight the virus. The downside? These same cytokines also zap your energy, leaving you exhausted… but hey, that’s just a clever way of your body telling you to REST - so listen! 📢 This is why you’ll never find me downing cups of coffee to power through if I’m sick…
Instead, I:
Rest: Seriously, embrace the nap life.
Hydrate: Sip on broths, lemon-ginger tea, or plain old water to keep your fluids up.
Listen to your body: Not hungry? Skip the meal—your body knows best. If I don’t eat, I just make sure I sip on broth or electrolytes.
Bonus fun fact: Did you know your sleep hormone, melatonin, doubles as a powerhouse antioxidant that supports the mitochondria?
Prioritize rest and sleep to optimize that natural melatonin!
2. Food & Supplements 🫚
Throat Gargle
At the first sign of a sore throat, I turn to this potent throat gargle rinse.
½ red onion 🧅
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Pinch of cinnamon
1 cup water
Blend, strain, and gargle. I don’t swallow—it doesn’t taste the best and may worsen reflux if you are sensitive… be sure to rinse your mouth afterward. (P.S.: Skip this if you have open wounds or ulcers—it can sting!)
If I don’t have time to do this, I take this Oil of Oregano or the Immunity tincture (code: platefulhealth) which has oil oregano, elderberry and other anti-microbial herbs.
Garlic & Honey
Crush a small piece of garlic 🧄, let it sit for 5 minutes, then mix it with local honey 🍯. This combo is antimicrobial, and honey contains many immune-healthy compounds too!
Key Supplements & Foods
Vitamin C & Elderberry: I supplement with Vitamin C and Elderberry at the first sign of illness. You can also get vitamin C from food like bell peppers, berries, kiwis, and citrus. Camu Camu and Amla are also great sources.
Zinc: Pumpkin seeds, lentils, and hemp seeds are my food sources. I also supplement with a zinc lozenge (code: DRVIV10). P.S. Green tea or matcha helps zinc work better, thanks to compounds like quercetin and EGCG that drive zinc into our cells, so you’ll always catch me taking it with a green tea or matcha.
Vitamin D: One-time 5,000 IU dose at the onset of illness, based on testing and doctor guidance.
Ginger & Turmeric: (code: platefulhealth for 15% off). These are anti-inflammatory, immune-supporting and can help with mild aches and pains. I also like their ‘Immunity’ tincture - but note, it does contain some of the things I mention above, like elderberry, so just make sure you are not overdoing it and double-dosing.
Oscillococcinum - this one is more out of the box because there is not much evidence to support homeopathy… But on the advice of my kid’s holistic pediatrician, we tried it and have always felt it worked well to curb symptoms (whether it is because of the other things we do above & therefore placebo, I do not know) BUT I feel it helps, and I now take 2-3 doses at the onset of illness.
Medicinal mushrooms - I take a couple of capsules of this (code: platefulhealth) or add 1 tsp of the powder into my broths to sip on - this is a blend of immune-supporting medicinal mushrooms I love.
3. Fermented Foods 🫙
I lean on kimchi—a powerhouse of probiotics, garlic, ginger, and scallions. Studies suggest it may help fight Influenza A & B. Unlike limited strains in probiotic pills, fermented foods offer a diverse microbial boost.
4. Let the light in 🌟
Red Light Therapy or get into sunlight!
I use my LUMEBOX on my throat, chest, and the back of my neck for 1–2 cycles per area per day. Full disclosure: there are no clinical trials using LUMEBOX for cold/flu.
However, it’s helped me personally, and I first decided to give it a try after reading this study1 which looked at 30 patients with Covid-19.
They treated half of them with a NIR LED vest on the chest and found that those who received NIR treatment for 15 minutes a day for 7 days had a reduction in hospital discharge time, and statistically significant improvement in partial oxygen saturation, tidal volume, respiratory rate, heart rate, systolic blood pressures, maximum inspiratory pressure, and maximum inspiratory pressure (markers of lung health) - a small study, therefore more research is needed, however, it feels so amazing and I haven’t experienced any downside… so why not?
Infrared Sauna
If I don’t have a fever, I’ll use my sauna to raise core body temperature. If I have a fever, I do not sauna.
P.S. An infrared sauna is VERY different from red light therapy.
Infrared light utilizes mainly far (but also some mid) infrared light to heat up tissue and raise body temperature, with the goal of inducing a sweat.
Red Light Therapy like LUMEBOX, on the other hand, utilizes mainly red or NIR wavelengths and is designed to work WITHOUT heating the tissue.
In fact, some researchers say some of the benefits of red light therapy might be mitigated if the tissue temperature goes too high… so I personally never mix the two and keep a two-hour gap between my sauna sessions and my RLT sessions to maximize their individual benefits.
The sauna I’ve had in my home for 7 years now is this one (mention code: platefulhealth for a BIG discount).
5. Avoid Refined Sugar 🍰
Sugar can weaken white blood cells—the immune system’s soldiers. During illness, I cut it out completely.
Bonus Tools to Have at Home
Pulse Oximeter: To monitor oxygen levels especially if you have known lung conditions like asthma.
Thermometer: For tracking fevers and sharing accurate data with your doctor.
Final Thoughts
Illness happens—it’s part of life. What matters is how you support your body to recover. Rest, hydrate, and let your immune system do what it’s built to do.
Stay well, my friends! 😊
Pereira PC, de Lima CJ, Fernandes AB, Zângaro RA, Villaverde AB. Cardiopulmonary and hematological effects of infrared LED photobiomodulation in the treatment of SARS-COV2. J Photochem Photobiol B. 2023 Jan;238:112619. doi: 10.1016/j.jphotobiol.2022.112619. Epub 2022 Dec 5. PMID: 36495670; PMCID: PMC9721157.