Welcome to the first edition of our new website series: Jen’s Top 3. We’ll check in once a month with Jen, Rising Tide’s resident Wellness guru, to find out what you need to be taking or doing RIGHT NOW to heal any aspect of your health. 

Hard to believe it when you step outside, but cold and flu season is just about here. We asked our resident Wellness guru, Jen, about how best to protect ourselves from the most potent of the season’s bugs.

• Host Defense Comprehensive Immune:  Mushrooms may look kooky, but they are actually some of the most powerful natural medicines on the planet. Host Defense’s blend of 17 potent mushroom species encourages resistance to cellular invaders (yuck!) and helps balance the immune system.
• MegaFood Vitamin D3 2,000 IU: Sufficient Vitamin D can reduce your risk of infectious disease by strengthening your innate immune system, allowing you to quickly and effectively fight off invaders before a full-blown infection develops. Jen likes Mega Food’s Vitamin D3; take one 2,000 IU capsule daily; take two or three if you’re under the weather.
• Garden of Life Once Daily Ultra Probiotic: Since 80 % of your immune system is located in your gut, it makes sense that probiotics (“good” bacteria that keep your gut healthy) would help ward off cold and flu viruses. Eat naturally fermented foods (sauerkraut, yogurt, miso, kefir) or take a high-quality probiotic supplement like this one from Garden of Life: 15 diverse strains and 90 billion CFUs of cold-and-flu-fighting probiotics are packed into a once-a-day capsule.