Build Your Immunity This Winter: Nutrition Meets Herbal Wisdom

As the colder months roll in, our bodies naturally crave warmth, nourishment, and rest. In both nutrition science and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), winter is seen as a time to conserve energy, strengthen the immune system, and protect our internal reserves. It’s a season where food can truly become medicine.

With a blend of Nutrition Science, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Herbal Traditions, and lifestyle practices here is your guide to stay strong, warm, and well this season.

1. Prioritise Warming Foods and Cooking Methods

Winter calls for warmth — both in food and lifestyle. Cold foods like raw salads and smoothies can weaken digestion (Spleen Yang) and slow circulation, leaving you more vulnerable to illness.

Incorporate more:

• Soups, stews, bone broths
• Congee and slow-cooked oats
• Roasted root vegetables
• Braised meats like lamb and beef

Limit:

• Cold smoothies
• Raw salads
• Iced drinks

Traditional Chinese Medicine encourages cooking around 80% of your meals and keeping only 20% raw, as cold or raw foods are harder to digest and may reduce nutrient absorption — potentially weakening digestion and immune defences.

2. Use Warming Spices and Herbs

Herbs and spices don’t just add flavour — they support circulation and immunity too.
Ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, garlic, and fenugreek stimulate circulation, ease inflammation, and support digestion. Add them to teas, broths, or stir-fries to strengthen immunity from the inside out.

Add more of:

• Ginger
• Garlic
• Cinnamon
• Turmeric
• Fenugreek

Herbal teas are another easy way to bring warmth and immune support into your daily routine.

3. Gut Health & Vitamin C: The Foundation of Immunity

Around 70% of the immune system lives in the gut, making gut health essential in defending against winter illness. A damaged gut lining can reduce nutrient absorption and weaken immune resilience. Collagen-rich foods like bone broth support the integrity of the gut lining, helping your body absorb nutrients more efficiently.

Vitamin C is also key — not only for immune defense, but because it supports collagen production. Pair bone broth or collagen-rich meals with vitamin C-rich foods like cooked kale, lemon, or citrus peel to support gut repair and immunity this winter.

Try sipping on bone broth throughout the week or adding it to soups and stews.

4. Nourish the Kidneys — The Root of Vitality

In TCM, the Kidneys store Jing — your deep energy reserves. Winter is the time to support them.

Helpful foods include:

• Black sesame seeds
• Goji berries
• Walnuts
• Seaweed
• Free-range eggs
• Bone broth

Gentle movement (Pilates, yoga, walking), early bedtimes, and keeping the lower back warm are all practices that help preserve Kidney energy.

5. Strengthen Your Wei Qi (Defensive Energy)

Think of Wei Qi as your immune shield. To keep it strong:
Try:

• Astragalus root
• Reishi mushroom
• Cooked citrus peel
• Vitamin C-rich foods (like cooked kale and citrus-infused teas)

Also dress warmly — especially around the neck, back, and feet — to prevent external cold from weakening your system.

6. Warm Drinks to Support Digestion and Immunity

Swap the iced lattes and juices for warm, healing drinks that do more than hydrate.

Top teas for winter:

• Ginger + lemon tea
• Reishi or astragalus tea
• Matcha (gently energising, rich in antioxidants)
• Licorice and cinnamon tea

These drinks soothe, support, and keep you warm from within.

7. Consider a Vitamin D supplement

With less sun exposure in winter, many people (especially those working indoors) become low in vitamin D — a crucial nutrient for immune function and mood.

Incorporate more foods rich in Vitamin D;

• wild-caught fatty fish; Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines
• mushrooms (exposed to sunlight prior to eating)
• Beef Liver
• Free-range Eggs (yolks)

Tip: Have your levels tested and supplement with D3 if needed, ideally paired with K2.