Over the past eight weeks, I have tried to provide you with solid, useful information on caring for your immune system at home. But when life gets back to something resembling normal, and we are able to open our doors again, we will be in a position to provide you with more. Peak Recovery & Health Center can be a resource for your immune health. We aspire to help support the recovery of our community.
Here’s how we can be a resource for your immune health by supporting you in practicing the eight fundamentals of immune health.
Stress Control
In the blog post on stress and your immune system, I showed that stress reduces the immune response. By definition, stress reduction strengthens the immune response. You should practice stress control techniques at home. But when things open up again, you can also take advantage of the stress management technologies at Peak Recovery & Health Center. We happen to be very good at helping you manage the sources of stress in your life. Whether you want to relax and sweat in our infrared sauna, use cryotherapy to give yourself a rush of endorphins, raise your energy level with photobiomodulation, turn the world off for a time in our float pod, or treat yourself to the tension relief of a skilled massage… you can find stress relief here.
Diet
More and more research is beginning to show that a healthy immune system depends on healthy gut bacteria. Your gut bacteria eat what you eat, of course, and you can keep them at their healthiest with a Mediterranean Diet. Peak does not offer nutrition services right now, but we have begun to organize some activities around nutrition, and we may explore this area more in the future. Watch our email newsletters and social media for developments.
Weight
In this blog post, I reported on the relationship of body weight to the immune system. It turns out that belly fat significantly increases chronic inflammation, which undermines immunity. Peak is not a weight reduction center, but several of our services can support your weight management efforts. Whole-body cryotherapy activates brown fat, which burns the white fat responsible for excess weight. Infrared sauna facilitates weight loss by increasing metabolism and reducing stress. Photobiomodulation helps with weight control by draining lipids from fat cells.
Sleep
In this post, I described how sleep deprivation reduces the effectiveness of immune cells. Healthy sleep, on the other hand, improves immune response. If you have any difficulties sleeping, Peak can help. There is no better cure for insomnia than float pod. I won’t go into detail here, but research has proved float pod’s ability to improve sleep again and again. Furthermore, the improved sleep persists for weeks after a single float pod session.
Exercise
The best research to date shows that regular exercise contributes to immune health in a big way. At Peak, we support regular exercise by providing services that accelerate recovery so you can get out there and exercise again. Whole-body cryotherapy has been proved to speed the healing of stressed muscles. Infrared sauna facilitates recovery by flushing toxins from your cells and relaxing your body to increase range of motion. Massage enhances recovery by breaking up tiny adhesions and promoting the drainage of lactic acid. Incidentally, if your ability to exercise is restricted by injury or excess weight, we may be able to help you with that. Our zero-gravity treadmill allows you to run with little to no impact.
Smoking
When I covered smoking as a detriment to the immune system, I was a little surprised at just how directly smoking can damage your immune cells and your immune response. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your immune health. Peak does not offer smoking cessation services. But if you smoke and you need support to quit, you may find that our ability to help you manage personal stress (see above) can be part of that support.
Alcohol
The evidence on drinking alcohol and the health of your immune system is mixed. The best advice we can give is that if you drink, do so in moderation. This is one of the few immune system fundamentals that Peak doesn’t get involved with.
Hygiene
Research is beginning to show that excessive hygiene may not be entirely good for the immune system. But when I say “excessive,” I am talking about the overuse of antibiotics and antimicrobial products. The best advice on hygiene is still to maintain four habits. Wash your hands frequently with plain soap and water, cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, wash and bandage any cuts, and avoid picking at healing wounds. And you can rest assured that when you are able to come to Peak for your next appointment, you will be in a place that observes the highest standards of hygiene. From the constant changing of the water in our float pod to the cleaning of the photobiomodulation bed after each use, Peak Recovery & Health Center is sanitary.
A Resource for Your Immune Health
As I write this, there is still no way to know when we can return to the life we left behind when Covid-19 appeared. At Peak Recovery & Health Center, we will take our re-opening cue from the most authoritative sources, and we will observe the best evidence-based protocols in providing our services and dealing with our clients. We’re here to help you maintain your health, and we take that mission seriously.
