Boost Your Body’s Defences
The summer holidays are over and as we return to offices, workplaces and schools, we brace ourselves for the annual exchange of coughs, colds and bugs that come with people spending more time together indoors. However, we can help our bodies deal with any germs or viruses that start to circulate by boosting our immune systems with diet and, where necessary, a little extra help. This month, we look at what’s available to help individuals and families keep their bodies fighting fit.
VITAMINS & MINERALS: Supplements for the Season
As we move into autumn, the days get shorter, the weather colder, and our immune systems often need a little extra support. Here are some of the most popular supplements we recommend considering in the months to come.
Vitamin C
One of the best known vitamins required by the body is Vitamin C. Found in a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, it helps to protect and keep cells healthy, maintaining healthy skin, blood vessels, bones and cartilage. Strengthening your immune system with Vitamin C helps your body combat coughs and colds as they begin to spread.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps regulate the amount of calcium and phosphate a body needs to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy. The body can create the Vitamin D it needs from direct sunlight on the skin when outdoors, but between October and early March we do not make enough vitamin D from sunlight. It is therefore important, when sunlight hours decrease, to take supplements that support overall wellbeing.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E helps maintain healthy skin and eyes, and strengthen the body’s natural defence against illness and infection. Good sources include plant oils (vegetable, sunflower, soya, corn and olive) nuts, seeds and wheatgerm found in cereals. Men need 4mg a day, while women are recommended 3mg.
Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil is a nutrient-rich supplement packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin A and Vitamin D. It helps to lower body-wide inflammation, ease joint pain and stiffness, especially for those with rheumatoid arthritis, and support strong bones and calcium absorption. It can also boost immune and eye health.
Zinc
Zinc is an essential trace mineral vital for immune function, wound healing, cell growth and protein synthesis. It also supports your senses of taste and smell, maintains skin health, and aids normal hormone and testosterone production. Zinc helps your body build and activate T cells to fight off infections, and may shorten the duration of common colds when taken early.
Magnesium
Found in nuts, seeds, dark leafy greens and whole grains, Magnesium is an essential mineral that supports over 300 biochemical reactions in the body. It helps turn food into energy, keeps muscles and nerves working properly, regulates blood pressure and blood sugar, and builds strong bones.
Multivitamins
Taking a general multivitamin can be used as dietary supplement to ensure the body is getting the adequate amount of different vitamins and minerals. Some products also have formulas that include antioxidants, herbs or fatty acids. People use them in pills, gummies or liquids to fill gaps in their diet and support daily health.
If you’d like advice on which vitamin and/or mineral supplements might be of benefit to you, do not hesitate to call into any of our stores and ask a member of the team. Our pharmacy assistants can advise on the right products for you and your family.
If you know what supplements you require, you can buy instore or online.
VACCINATIONS & TESTS
Keep an eye on our social media channels, instore notices and future newsletters for the latest news on our flu and COVID vaccinations over the autumn.
We also provide free Blood Pressure Checks for anyone over 40 who isn’t already being treated with a condition, and staff in Kingston Road can now provide private Cholesterol and PSA-Level (for Prostate Cancer) Tests at our Kingston Road store.
As the football season kicks off, Lalys Pharmacy is delighted to be sponsoring Portsmouth Football Club for a seventh year.
We wish the team and everyone at the club all the very best for their third year in the Championship League.
You can watch our ‘Lalys Pharmacy x Portsmouth Football Club Quiz’ with players Hayden Matthews and Luke Le Roux on our homepage.