Made up of structural barriers, organs, white blood cells, proteins, and chemicals, the immune system protects us from foreign antigens and helps our bodies heal from infections and injuries. To do this, the immune system and the nervous system maintain extensive and elaborate communication.
This system has two pathways, a gas pedal (flight or fight pathway) and a brake (rest and digest pathway).
We know that the brain influences the process of inflammation as part of the immune system’s fight against injury or infection. Too much inflammation can lead to problems, like chronic pain or diseases. The brain can help keep this in check, but, if it’s overwhelmed by too much stress or illness, inflammation can cause harm.
What does the brain have to do with allergies?
The allergic response
In some cases, the immune system reacts by making antibodies to attack allergens that aren’t otherwise harmful. When someone with an allergy is exposed to the allergen, the immune system’s antibodies release histamine into the bloodstream that can cause symptoms, including inflamed skin, sinuses, airways, or digestive systems.
Allergy symptoms can occur for the first time at any age, and can be affected by hormones, stress, smoke, medications, perfume, or environmental irritants. Some allergies can be outgrown, such as children’s allergies to certain foods. Airborne allergens can strike seasonally, during pollination, or year-round in the case of dust mites and animal dander.
The brain’s role
The brain plays a key role in the allergic response by directing the immune system how to respond. During times of stress, illness, or other factors, such as hormonal changes, our immune systems may be weakened, causing allergic reactions to be more severe.
The brain’s inflammatory response to allergens becomes chronic with repeated exposures to the allergen, which creates long-term effects on the affected areas of the body, such as airways, eyes, and skin.
Brain health ties to allergies
Poor lifestyle habits—like lack of sleep, improper diet, chronic stress, and sedentary lifestyle—can lead to poor brain health, which, in turn, can result in higher sensitivity to allergens and more allergic reactions.
Other strategies for maintaining the health of our brains and, thus, our immune systems include:
Engaging in regular exercise and physical activity
Avoiding excess alcohol, smoking, and other chemical exposures
Continuing to challenge our brains as we age by learning new things, staying socially engaged, and promoting new neural connections
Staying aware of the impacts that common diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, and inflammation can have on brain health
Ensuring a well-balanced diet that avoids excess neurostimulants, like caffeine, and chemicals, and focuses on antioxidant-rich vegetables, healthy omega oils, and optimal hydration
Health has never been a more prominent topic or concern than in the era of COVID. But for all of us, supporting our immune system is the cornerstone of our well-being, whether we’re living in a pandemic or not.
“Health is defined now by most medical establishments as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity,” says naturopathic doctor Brian Davies.
Immune system redux
To best support our immune system, it helps to have a sense of how it works. Put simply, its job is to defend against disease-causing microorganisms. It has two main components.
Innate immunity, the immune system we’re born with, consists of physical barriers like our skin as well as cells that attack pathogens that enter the body, responding quickly via effects like fever.
Adaptive immunity is the part of our immune system that learns to react to foreign agents. When it’s exposed to a new germ for the first time, it responds by trying to fight it off; we might get sick, but our immune cells remember the invader and mount a more rapid response when it returns.
Having a healthy immune system doesn’t mean never getting ill. It’s quite the opposite, in fact. And remember that not all viruses are created equal, as we’ve all learned with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID.
“Having symptoms such as fever, cough, muscle aches, headache, and the like are indications that your immune system is working to fight off infection, not the infection itself,” says Ashley Stapleton, naturopathic doctor. Nevertheless, the global health crisis may have led to a greater awareness of the importance of taking care of ourselves, a wake-up call of sorts.
Immune system support
“When looking at key support for general immune health, a healthy lifestyle is a critical part of supporting our immune systems,” Davies says. Some people who should consider modifications to their lifestyle to better support their immune systems are those who
eat highly processed foods
don’t sleep well
are under excessive emotional or physical stress from injury or overexercise
consume excessive amounts of alcohol
smoke cigarettes
All of these factors put excess stress on the body, which is known to suppress innate immunity and dysregulate our adaptive immune system.
Caring for your immune system
Here are some other approaches to providing your immune system with support.
Cut out sugar
Avoid alcohol
Get plenty of good sleep
Reduce stress
Supplemental immune support
Always check with your health care practitioner before trying a new supplement. Supplements that may help support your immune system include:
Eating a rainbow of different fruits and vegetables each day is a simple way to make sure we get the essential nutrients our bodies need. With a handful of colorful recipes on hand, the path to a healthier you is just a forkful away.
Halibut Poached in Tomato Red Pepper Sauce
Lycopene is a potent antioxidant that also happens to provide foods such as tomatoes and red peppers with their characteristic red color.
Preheat broiler and set oven rack about 6 in from top of oven.
On baking tray, place red peppers and broil, turning occasionally, until blackened and blistered on all sides, about 5 to 8 minutes total. Remove from oven and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel off skin, slice pepper open, remove seeds and roughly chop. Place in small bowl and set aside. Peppers may be prepared up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated in airtight container.
In large skillet or large saucepan, heat oil and fennel seeds together over medium heat. Once fennel seeds are fragrant, about 1 minute, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until onion is translucent, about 4 minutes. Add canned tomatoes along with their juices, tomato paste, salt, oregano, coconut sugar (if using), and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring often, allowing tomatoes to soften and break down a bit, about 5 minutes. Stir in water and reserved chopped red peppers. While stirring, let mixture come to a simmer. At this point, you can adjust the consistency of your sauce. If you like your sauce to have some texture and be a bit chunky, leave as is. Alternatively, puree sauce in blender for a smooth consistency and return back to skillet, bringing to a simmer over medium heat.
Place halibut fillets in sauce, cover skillet with a lid, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook fish until it is opaque and beginning to flake easily, about 12 to 15 minutes. Check often to make sure sauce is not reducing too much. If it does, simply add a bit more water.
To serve, divide tomato red pepper sauce and fish among shallow bowls. Garnish with chopped dill or parsley, if desired, and enjoy!
Herb and Greens Frittata
Green foods have been shown to contain high amounts of antioxidants and nutrients that promote good cardiovascular health and can inhibit certain carcinogens.
Preheat broiler and set oven rack about 6 in from top of oven.
In 8 in cast iron skillet or oven-safe frying pan, warm 1 Tbsp grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Add leek and green onions and cook, stirring often, until softened and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add parsley, dill, cilantro, and mixed greens, and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until wilted, about 2 minutes. Tip herb mixture into fine-mesh colander placed in kitchen sink and let any leached moisture drain away. With spoon, press mixture down to ensure herb mixture is not too wet. Set aside. Wipe out skillet and set aside.
In large bowl, whisk together eggs, turmeric, salt, and pepper until well combined. Stir in drained herb mixture and pumpkin seeds.
Place skillet back over medium heat and warm remaining 1 Tbsp oil. Pour in egg mixture, cover with lid, and cook until sides of frittata start to pull away from skillet and have begun to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove lid and transfer to oven under the broiler until egg is set, about 2 to 3 minutes. While warm, carefully unmould onto serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve.
Enjoy!
Purple Cabbage and Apple Soup
Blue and purple fruits and vegetables (like those in this vibrant soup) contain powerful antioxidants called anthocyanins that promote health and proper brain function.
½large head purple cabbage, about 25 ozfinely chopped, plus extra for garnish
1medium yellow potatopeeled and diced
2applescored and diced
1tablespoonapple cider vinegar
4cupsno-salt-added vegetable stock
½teaspoonsalt
6tablespoonsour creamfor garnish
Method
In large saucepan, heat grapeseed oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté, stirring often, until softened and translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in cabbage, potato, apples, vinegar, vegetable stock, and salt. Bring mixture to a simmer, lower heat to medium-low, cover, and let slowly simmer until cabbage is tender, about 15 minutes.
Working in batches, if necessary, in blender, puree soup until very smooth. Return back to saucepan and warm over medium heat. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired.
To serve, divide soup among 4 serving bowls. Swirl 1 Tbsp sour cream into each bowl of soup and top with a sprinkle of shredded raw cabbage. Enjoy while warm.
Christine Waltermyer is a local and renowned Wellness Chef, private chef to celebrities, published cookbook author and founder of the Natural Kitchen Cooking School, which offers an online Plant-Based Cooking Program. She also loves shopping at Basil Bandwagon! Visit naturalkitchenschool.com to subscribe to her email newsletter for new recipes, tips, and FREE access to the Power of Veggies mini-course!
Did you know that gut health is essential for a strong immune system? Some of the best gut health boosting foods are those that are fermented and pickled! There are many health benefits of pickling, but the most talked about benefit is the fact that they are probiotic – and you can pickle so many different vegetables to change up your flavor profiles. Check out (& print!) these three simple homemade pickle recipes thanks to Christine Waltermyer!
Wide-mouth 16 oz glass canning jar with a lid (Make sure it’s really clean. You can even boil it for a minute to sterilize it.)
8 oz glass canning jar that fits inside the 16-ounce glass jar
Cheesecloth
Small pot
Ingredients
½cupwater
2 ½tablespoonstamari
2tablespoonsbrown rice vinegar
½cupbroccoli stems (peeled)sliced into thin rounds
½cupcarrot slices (thin)
½cupthinly sliced celery
1tablespoonmaple syrup
Instructions
Place the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil briefly, then shut off the heat and remove from the stove. Set aside to cool.
Once the water is cool, place it in the glass canning har. To make the pickling brine, add the tamari and brown rice vinegar. Place the lid on the har and shake well. Pour the pickling brine into a bowl.
Layer the vegetables in the glass jar. Pour the pickling brine over them. Place the smaller jar on top of the vegetables, inside the jar. The weight of the har will press the vegetables under the surface of the brine.
Cover the jar with a square of cheesecloth and secure it in place with a piece of kitchen twine or a rubber band.
Let the jar sit at room temperature for 24 hours. The room should be between 65 to 80 degrees F.
After 24 hours have passed, add the maple syrup. Place a lid on the jar and gently shake to mix the maple syrup into the brine. Refrigerate the pickles at this point. Enjoy a teaspoon or so at a time with a meal. Pickles will keep up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
16 oz glass canning jar with a lid (Make sure it’s really clean. You can even boil it for a minute to sterilize it.)
8 oz glass canning jar
Cheesecloth
Small pot
Ingredients
¾cupwater
¾cupfennelthinly sliced
¼beetthinly sliced
¼cupume ("umeboshi") vinegar
Instructions
Place the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil briefly, then shut off the heat and remove from the stove. Set aside to cool.
Once the water is cool, place it in the glass canning jar. To make the pickling brine, add the ume vinegar. Place the lid on the jar and shake well. Pour the pickling brine into a bowl.
Layer the vegetables in the glass jar. Pour the pickling brine over them. Place the smaller jar on top of the vegetables, inside the har. The weight of the har will press the vegetables under the surface of the brine. If the liquid is too high in the har, you can remove it as long as all of the vegetables are submerged under the brine liquid.
Cover the har with a square of cheesecloth and secure it in place with a piece of kitchen twine or a rubber band.
Let the jar sit at room temperature for 24 hours. The room should be between 65 to 80 degrees F.
After 24 hours have passed, place a lid on the jar. Refrigerate the pickles at this point. Enjoy a teaspoon or so at a time with a meal. If you find the pickles too strong tasting, rinse a small amount before serving them. Pickles will keep up to 10 days in the refrigerator.
32-ounce glass canning jar with a lid (Make sure it’s really clean. You can even boil it for a minute to sterilize it.)
Small pot
Ingredients
2cupswater
2cupsthinly sliced radishes (I used purple daikon radish and watermelon radish but red radish works too)
1 ½tablespoonssea salt
1teaspoonpickling spiceOPTIONAL – In the video I used 1 tablespoon but it’s a little strong tasting so I recommend using less for most people’s taste.
Instructions
Place the water in a small pot. Bring to a boil briefly, then shut off the heat and remove from the stove. Set aside to cool.
Once the water is cool, place it in the glass canning jar. To make the pickling brine, add the sea salt and pickling spice. Place the lid on the jar and shake well. Pour the pickling brine into a bowl.
Layer the vegetables in the glass jar. Pour the pickling brine over them. Make sure that all of the vegetables are submerged under the brine liquid.
Cover the jar with the lid.
Let the jar sit at room temperature for 3 days. The room should be between 65 to 80 degrees F.IMPORTANT: Unscrew the lid of the jar once a day to release some of the air that naturally builds up inside. At that time make sure the veggies are all submerged and if not, gently push them down under the liquid.
Taste after 3 days and if you want to let it ferment longer it should become more sour in another day or two. These pickles are salty so I recommend rinsing the pickles before serving. If you want to balance the flavor with some sweetness just add a tablespoon or two of your favorite sweetener and it will make them a little more mild tasting. Pickles will keep for 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
Thank you to Christine Waltermyer and the Natural Kitchen Cooking School for working with us to help promote healthy, nutritious meals and products that are affordable, full of nutrients, and simple to make at home!
Take your immune health to the next level with Country Life Vitamins
It’s not always easy to eat a balanced diet with all the nutrients we need, and something as important as our immune system needs extra attention. To fill the gaps we might be missing, adding in certain vitamins to our daily wellness routine makes sure we’re covering all our bases without the added stress. Thanks to Country Life Vitamins, we can trust that the ingredients they use in their products follow their 5 pledges – Authenticity, Cleanliness, Freshness, Consistency & Accuracy.
Immune Support When It Matters
Vitamin D
Also known as the Sunshine Vitamin, Vitamin D aids in the absorption of calcium, helping to form and maintain healthy bones and teeth, as well as promote immune health.*
Multivitamins
Get the essential nutrients you need for health and wellness. Their Core Daily-1 multivitamins simplify your daily nutrition with support across seven key nutritional areas.*
Minerals
Minerals are elements used by the body that are not produced by plants, and play an important role in metabolism and other various bodily functions.* Many of their minerals are chelated (bound to amino acids) and they provide both single forms as well as multi-mineral formulas.
Calcium
Formulated to maximize your body’s calcium absorption for healthier teeth and bones, their calcium supplements may also be blended with minerals for total-body utilization. Adequate calcium and vitamin D as part of a healthful diet, along with exercise, may reduce the risk of osteoporosis later in life.*
Looking for a great way to add vitamins into your daily morning routine?
Check out this refreshing smoothie recipe!
Immune Boosting Berry Orange Smoothie
Gluten-Free & Dairy-Free ~ Serves 2
This delicious smoothie is rich in antioxidants, Vitamin C, with an added boost of sunshine – Vitamin D!
Ingredients
1 1/4 cups fresh squeeze orange juice
1 cup of your frozen berry of choice – we used blueberries (can use fresh but will not be as thick)
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen strawberries
1/4 cup of almond or coconut milk (we used almond)
1 banana
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon of honey or maple syrup
4 sprays Country Life Vitamin D3 spray (2 sprays = daily serving size but this recipe yields 2 servings)
Method
Blend all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into 2 glasses and enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
UPDATE 5/5/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Due to supply issues, we are limiting certain items as follows (we are unavailable to special order these items as well):
LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER:
Yeast
LIMIT 4 PER CUSTOMER:
Eggs
UPDATE 4/30/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Due to high demand with curbside orders, our phone extensions have changed! Please listen to our NEW phone menu as they have changed for ALL stores.
UPDATE 4/17/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Due to supply issues, we are limiting certain items as follows (we are also unavailable to special order these items as well):
LIMIT 1 PER CUSTOMER:
Hand sanitizers and related products (glycerine, tea tree oil, etc.)
All immune-related and anti-viral supplements
Whole chickens
LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER:
All household cleaning products, toilet paper, etc.
Protein staples, and beef products
Chicken, eggs, milk
Yeast
LIMIT 4 PER CUSTOMER:
Cascade toilet paper
UPDATE 4/15/2020: Here is the latest important information:
In order to shop inside all of our stores, state mandated masks must be worn inside.
The coffee/tea stations and nut butter machines are no longer self-service. To use these areas, please ask an associate for help.
Want to change up your routine at home, check out our blog, social media accounts and our Pinterest page for fun ideas! There is something new everyday! Make sure you check out Women’s Voice magazine & the Non-GMO Project’s streaming of the award-winning documentary film Modified, available for FREE until April 22nd! For more information, check out our social media pages (Facebook and Instagram).
UPDATE 4/11/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Please wear a mask if you leave your house. All of our team members are wearing masks and we are encouraging all customers to wear masks when they shop inside with us.
All stores will be closed tomorrow for Easter and we will reopen on Monday.
Our Curbside Pick-Up program will be unavailable from 6pm tonight until Monday morning. If you have a Curbside order in process or ready for pick-up, you must come get it before 8pm on Saturday as we will be CLOSED on Sunday for Easter and you will have to wait to pick-up on Monday. However, all stores will remain open until 8pm tonight if you need to grab a couple of last minute groceries for tomorrow!
Regarding our Curbside Pick-Up program, orders may take more than 24 hours to fulfill. Please check your email for receipt of order and kindly DO NOT place a repeat order to insure we got your first one- it confuses the system too much. Thanks for your patience.
UPDATE 4/9/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Please be patient with us! In order to practice proper social distancing, we are limiting the number of customers in the store at a given time.
Curbside orders may take extra time to be fulfilled – we thank you for your patience and cooperation. Our stores are still open for walk-in business but please practice proper social distancing.
UPDATE 4/7/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Effective today, 4/7/2020, our cafe hours have changed! Cafes will be open from 9am-4pm everyday. If you would like to place an order, you can place the order inside, call or order online through www.shopbasil.com.
Please be aware of certain policies for our Curbside Pick-Up program:
We will process orders as quickly as possible, but please understand that it might take us several hours (or longer) before your order is ready for pick up.
Depending on volume, some orders may not be available for collection until the following day.
Orders placed after 6pm will ONLY be available for collection the following day.
Orders are available for pickup from 9am-7pm daily.
All orders are final. We currently do not have the ability to revise the order after it is submitted.
UPDATE 3/31/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Need a quick and easy dinner for two? We now offer F2M Dinner for 2 for only $19.99! To see what’s on the menu, please call the stores directly:
Flemington: 908-788-5737
Clinton: 908-735-3822
Lambertville: 609-460-4500
UPDATE 3/23/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Regarding our Curbside Pick-Up program, your tips are applied to our round-up program as generous gift to our local organizations. Each of our stores are “rounding-up” at the registers for different local groups (as follows):
Flemington = The Flemington Food Pantry
Clinton = The Open Cupboard Food Pantry
Lambertville = Fisherman’s Mark
Our cafés are still open! To order from the café, you can come in, call ahead, or order online by visiting www.shopbasil.com!
We are asking all customers to follow these guidelines in order to help our staff and community stay as healthy as possible:
Practice social distancing (6 feet) at all times (and when possible)
Shop quickly
Please limit shopping to one family member when possible
Due to supply issues, we are limiting certain items as follows (we are also unavailable to special order these items as well):
LIMIT 1 PER CUSTOMER:
Hand sanitizers and related products (glycerine, tea tree oil, etc.)
All immune-related and anti-viral supplements
Whole chickens
LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER:
All household cleaning products, toilet paper, etc.
Protein staples, and beef products
Chicken, eggs, milk
LIMIT 4 PER CUSTOMER:
Cascade toilet paper
We’re working on our checkout terminals so that physical touching of pinpads are limited. What do we mean by this? When paying with a card (debit or credit), all cards are to run as credit. This means that for debit transactions, customers must press ENTER when prompted for a pin (but DO NOT enter your pin).
Until further notice, CASH BACK IS SUSPENDED.
UPDATE 3/20/2020: Here is the latest important information:
Starting Saturday 3/21/2020, the first hour (8am-9am) of all stores will be open solely to seniors (62+), pregnant mothers and immunocompromised individuals. If you do not fit under any of these, please wait to shop until after 9am!
In an effort to protect our most vulnerable Community Members, we are now offering curbside pick-up. Please call us directly at the following numbers to place a phone order:
Flemington: 908-788-5737
Clinton: 908-735-3822
Lambertville: 609-460-4500
Unfortunately, we do not have our catalogue online currently available. However, you can place a cafe order for pick-up at shopbasil.com. We are working on getting the rest of our catalogue online.
Our curbside pick-up is a work in progress and we greatly appreciate your support and patience with us as we work through the “kinks” of this program! We are trying to process orders within a timely manner.
We are not selling self-serve kombucha until further notice.
We are also “rounding up” at the registers for local food pantries in the area. The following stores that we are “rounding up” are for the following food pantries:
Flemington = Flemington Food Pantry
Clinton = Open Cupboard Food Pantry
Lambertville = Fisherman’s Mark
UPDATE3/19/2020: In support of a healthy community, we are updating some store policies:
Please be expedient with your purchases and exit the building. While you are shopping in the building, we appreciate the practice of social distancing (maintaining a distance of about 6 feet from others) when possible.
To limit the time it takes to wait for your cafe orders, you can place your order, pay for it, and select a pick-up time online! To do so, please visit www.shopbasil.com. Please make sure that you select the correct store before ordering!
If you’re feeling “under the weather,” please be mindful of others and stay home.
We have temporarily suspended our refund and return policies. To ensure the health and safety of our employees and customers, ALL sales are final.
In order to reduce the spread of germs, we are asking that all customers and staff to not bring in any reusable containers, drinkware, or bags. However, if you are using a reusable bag, we would like to ask you to bag your own items.
Due to supply issues, we are limiting certain items as follows (we are also limiting special orders of these items as well):
LIMIT 1 PER CUSTOMER:
Hand sanitizers and related products (glycerine, tea tree oil, etc.)
All immune-related and anti-viral supplements
LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER:
All household cleaning products, toilet paper, etc.
Whole chickens, protein staples, and beef products
Chicken, eggs, milk
If you’re staying home and would like to invest in a future purchase with us (once we all nip this thing in the behind), please consider ordering a gift card! You can purchase a gift card atshopbasil.com!
We appreciate your cooperations and your local support!
UPDATE 3/17/2020: This is an evolving situation that we will continue to closely monitor on a daily basis. When updates arise, we will notify our staff and customers as soon as possible. We want to thank our staff and customers for the endless love and support that we have received over the past couple of days. We appreciate your understanding of our various supply issues and our constant updates. Here are the updates as of today:
We have sent out a company wide update informing all team members of CDC recommendations for preventing the spread of germs. In that same communication we are putting a strong emphasis on team members adhering to the Basil Bandwagon Handbook sick policy, which reiterates many of the CDC’s recommendations.
As always, our team members will continue to frequently wash their hands and will be wearing gloves at checkout lanes. Cashiers will also have cleaning supplies at the registers to frequently wipe down checkout lanes, pin pads and other frequently touched surfaces. Our teams will also be wiping down frequently touched surfaces throughout the store, including doorknobs and handles.
All seating areas have been removed.
All cafés will continue to have take-away service.
We will not be offering any food samples and all vendor demos have been cancelled in an effort to reduce the spread of germs and reduce person-to-person contact. We have also removed all testers (grocery, wellness, and beauty areas) from the shelves and will replace with new ones in the future.
All kombucha stations are no longer self-serve. We ask that all customers do not refill your personal growlers at this time. Please ask an associate to fill a growler or cup. We will be providing free growlers soon- until then, please use to-go cups only.
Our staff is working hard to keep the store fully stocked as possible. We are working with our distributors to maintain inventory, although we may experience temporary out of stock issues with some essentials. This is an unprecedented event and volume of sales.
Due to supply issues, we are limiting certain items as follows (we are also limiting special orders of these items as well):
LIMIT 2 PER CUSTOMER:
Hand sanitizers and related products (glycerine, tea tree oil, etc.)
All immune-related and anti-viral supplements
LIMIT 3 PER CUSTOMER:
All household cleaning products, toilet paper, etc.
LIMIT 4 PER CUSTOMER:
All meat and protein staples, eggs, milk
UPDATE 3/7/2020: Hey there Basil Bandwagon shoppers! We know coronavirus is the talk of the town lately and while we don’t want to make light of it, we want to remind everyone that there’s no reason to panic! Even in China where most cases have occurred, there is only 1 case for every 85,000 residents that live there. And the other good news is that in 80% or more of those cases, symptoms are like a bad cold.
How is Basil Bandwagon Natural Market Doing Their Part to Limit the Spread of Germs?
Cashiers have wipes at the registers to frequently wipe anything that may be touched by our shoppers (keypad, register belts, etc.). As always, our employees will continue to frequently wash their hands with hot water and soap, and we will continue to make sure that café tables and other frequently touched areas of the store will be washed and disinfected to help avoid the spread of germs.
Tips for Staying Healthy in General:
Wash Your Hands – Frequent hand washing with just soap and warm water is important for protecting against all infectious diseases and use hand sanitizers and disinfectants when soap and water are not available. Hand sanitizer is becoming harder to find as distributors cannot keep up with such high demands. Click here for some DIY recipes you can make at home!
Disinfect Surfaces – Coronaviruses can persist on surfaces for up to 9 days! Make sure you disinfect surfaces in your home, especially if you think someone might be infected.
Strengthen Immunity – Unfortunately those folks who are older and/or are immune compromised have a much higher rate of death from all viruses, and so doing what you can to strengthen your immune system is vital.
Strategies to Boost your Immune System
Exercise, stress relief, a balanced diet and certain supplements are all effective ways to boost your immune system:
Exercise – Regular exercise mobilizes T cells, a type of white blood cells which guard the body against infection. However, continuous rigorous workouts can actually weaken the immune system, so moderation is a key.
Sleep – A solid 7-8 hours is needed to avoid reducing the activities of T cells in your body.
Less Stress – Stress can release the hormone cortisol, which negatively affects T cell reproduction. Try yoga, meditation or deep breathing each day to reduce your stress levels. If you would like some recommendations, ask some of our staff members – there are lots of local businesses who would love to work with you!
Moderate Alcohol Intake – while moderate consumption of alcohol can positively affect overall health, excess intake (more than 2 drinks/day) can negatively affect the immune system.
Stop Smoking – Smoking impairs the immune system, and you have a significantly higher chance of being seriously affected by virus infections.
Healthier Diet – Vegetables, fruits, seeds and nuts are loaded with nutrients essential to immune health. A diet rich in colorful food typically will be higher in valuable vitamins. These foods all can help you strengthen your immune system: citrus, red bell peppers, broccoli, garlic, ginger, spinach, yogurt, almonds, turmeric, green tea, kiwi, poultry, and sunflower seeds to name a few!
Herbs, Vitamins and Supplements – While the hope is you can get many needed nutrients from your diet, supplementing can help improve your immune system. Here are just a few things you may want to include in your daily regime:
Vitamins A, B6, C, D & E all help strengthen your immune system, and especially Vitamin C, which you can get from citrus fruits, spinach and strawberries. And although it’s cold here now, consider getting outside during sunny days to help your body produce more Vitamin D. Even just 15 minutes in the sunlight will help!
Mushrooms and mushroom supplements – rich in essential nutrients and very good for your immune system.
Herbs, Vitamins, & Supplements
Household Cleaners
Healthier Diet
We all hope that the spread of Covid-19 is curtailed as soon as possible and if so, great, but if not, we look forward to helping you as you reduce stress, improve your diet and strengthen the ever important immunity system. All of which is good regardless of what season we are in!
