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Expert Advice On How To Boost Winter Immunity

If you spend a lot of time on social media or watching reality shows, you might have heard of a high profile doctor or seen some posh black or gold caddies in some for your wellness feeds.
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Female hand cut tomatoes on rustic kitchen table, around lie ingredients, vegetables, fruits, and spices, Healthy foods, cooking and vegetarian concept.
sergeyshibut via Getty Images
Female hand cut tomatoes on rustic kitchen table, around lie ingredients, vegetables, fruits, and spices, Healthy foods, cooking and vegetarian concept.

I asked Elle Macpherson's business partner, Dr Laubscher, a Nutritional Doctor who has a PhD in Oxidative Stress and holds a Bachelor degree in Science and Nutrition aka the mastermind behind a line of organic plant-based powders, THE SUPER ELIXIR™ by WelleCo, about some of her tricks for staying as healthy as possible this winter. Dr Simone is currently Elle Macpherson's personal nutritional Doctor and has treated many celebrities over the years and has been involved in various other BBC documentaries. Dr Simone has lectured at longevity conferences throughout the world and currently writes articles for The Times, The Evening Standard, Men`s Health, Rambert Dance Company Magazine, Slimming, Heat, The Daily Mail & many more publications.

If you spend a lot of time on social media or watching reality shows, you might have heard of a high profile doctor or seen some posh black or gold caddies in some for your wellness feeds. The WelleCo story began when Elle Macpherson learned about body acidity and alkalinity from her nutritional doctor, Dr Laubscher. Elle was feeling run down, despite her healthy lifestyle and an array of synthetic supplements. She said balancing her pH changed her life, "I realised the profound effect proper nutrition can have".

What are your favorite superfoods or supplements, and why?

My favorite super food is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the green substance that gives plants their green pigment and allows them to absorb energy from the sunlight. Therefore all the green plants/ vegetables that you can think off and the super powerful forms such as wheat grass and barley grass, spirulina, blue and green algae and chlorella. Since we are all made up of over 100 trillion cells and our cellular health determines our overall health and longevity and chlorophyll/supergreens has the most powerful impact on the cell..this is why it is my favorite. Shitake and miatake mushrooms are my next favorites for they are excellent immune boosters and a strong immune system is vital to good health and well being.

My favourite supplement is the one I developed with WelleCo, THE SUPER ELIXIR Alkalising Greens, designed to keep your body within a healthy alkaline range and boost nutrition.

What is your greatest challenge when it comes to WelleCo and your formulas?

My greatest challenge, but what I also enjoy the most, is researching ingredients that are the best at multi-tasking. With a limited volume per serve there is only so many ingredients I can include and I want to create the most powerful formulas possible that bring about the biggest changes in your health.

Cold season is he. How can we effectively fight the first symptoms of a cold and boost our immune system?

My go to immune boosting pack for coughs and colds is;

- The herb astragalus

- Ascorbic acid with rosehips

- Supergreens

- Shitake and Miake mushrooms

- Pro and Pre-biotics

All of which happen to be in The Super Elixir so I double my dose and add in an extra teaspoon of ascorbic acid/vitamin C powder - an all you need daily supplement (no need to go hunting for unique ingredients at the supermarket).

To boost your immune system etc, I also drink as much of this virgin hot toddy that I can:

1 cup of warm water, ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon, honey and black cumin.

Olbas oil on my neck and shoulders is also wonderful and I actually dab some on each of my children's shoulders to help prevent them coming back with airbourne bugs!

Any healthy snack ideas at this frantic time of the year, when days are particularly long and demanding?

I love to snack on any raw veg/ crudités with hummus or guacamole or if I'm on the run I whiz up a WelleCo Nourishing Protein shake with 300ml of almond or oat milk. The protein shake is also great if you are hungry at night for it is very filling with the psyllium husk and since it's liquid it digests quickly taking the pressure off your digestive system before you sleep. Eating heavy meals before bed has been linked to weight gain and digestive problems. If I'm craving something sweet I will have a green tea and 2 dates or 2 squares of 70% or higher dark chocolate. I also use the WelleCo Nourishing Protein powders to make homemade ice lollies, adding fruits such as mango, banana or berries, pour into ice molds and freeze... satisfy any craving!

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