Never underestimate the power of vibrant good health and a well-functioning immune system to keep you healthy when everyone else around you is sick. Celebrity nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution Kimberly Synder, has seven essential tips on how you can boost your immune system naturally to keep you healthy all year around.

1. Eat Right!

Eat a plant-based diet, which provides your body with the nutrients it needs to fight off germs, repair itself, and function optimally. If your intestinal flora is balanced, your immunity will strengthen. Avoid processed sugar and products (including agave), which decrease immunity and cause spikes in blood glucose, and dairy, which creates mucous. Reduce your chemical load by choosing organic plants and avoiding processed foods. If your body has to deal with toxins in the foods you eat, then it won’t have enough energy to fight off germs, as well.

Certain vitamins actually increase the number of white cells in your blood, boosting immunity.

Vitamin C: Try bell peppers, broccoli, cabbage, grapefruits, spinach, and sweet potatoes for a boost of this antioxidant.

Vitamin E: Which foods contain this beneficial vitamin? Try hazelnuts, almonds, tomatoes, and spinach.

Carotenoids: You can find these beneficial nutrients in dark leafy greens like kale and spinach, orange-colored vegetables like squash and carrots, tomatoes, and spices like cayenne pepper.

Bioflavonoids: These antioxidants are available in sweet peppers, chocolate, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, tropical fruits, garlic, and spinach.

Zinc: Another essential mineral, you can find zinc from delicious sources like dark chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and sesame seeds or tahini.

2. Control Stress

Stress saps your body of its ability to fight illness. According to the American Psychological Association, research has repeatedly shown that chronic stress has a direct correlation with weakened immune function. Some experts estimate as high as 75 percent of all doctors visits can be directly attributed to stress!

What can you do to distress? Here are a few tools.

-Yoga

-Meditation

-Deep breathing exercises

-Positive visualization

-Take time for yourself

-Be aware of when you are feeling especially stressed

-Stretch

The more you can target what is chronically stressful in your life and work to find healthy ways to alleviate it, the better your whole life will be.

3. Get Enough Sleep

You need your sleep to stay healthy! If I sound like your mother, she said that with good reason. Researchshows that when you are deprived of sleep, inflammatory cytokines rise while t-cells decrease. These two responses weaken your immune system, making it more difficult for your body to fight off cold and influenza.

What’s the best way to combat this? Get a good night’s sleep. Experts estimate adults need between seven and nine hours of sleep every night. Not sleeping well? Try these ideas to help improve your sleep.

-Avoid caffeine and sugar.

-Don’t eat heavy foods near bedtime- especially animal proteins, which are slow-digesting foods

-Keep your bedroom a comfortable temperature. In general, you need the room to be slightly cooler while you sleep than at other times during the day.

-Check your mattress and pillow. Are they comfortable? If not, it may be time to replace them.

-Use your bed only for sleeping. Read and watch television away from your bedroom.

4. Exercise

Pursuing moderate exercise can boost your immune system. While experts aren’t sure exactly why this is, they have developed theories including:

-The rise in body temperature associated with exercise may fight off germs.

-Exercise helps control stress, allowing you stronger immune function.

-Exercise forces bacteria from your body via exhalation and sweat, thus flushing toxins out of your body before they make you sick.

-Exercise increases blood flow, which keeps your immune fighters circulating more quickly through your bloodstream.

5. Hydrate

Your body needs water to function. Staying hydrated is essential, and drinking water is the best way to do it. Water helps flush toxins out of your system and keeps your mucous membranes moist, which can prevent cold and flu germs from adhering inside your nose or lungs. The amount your body needs is dependent on many factors, including your activity levels and the kind of food you eat.

6. Rebalance

When your body’s chemical load is high, it cannot function properly. Chemicals clog your organs and hamper your immune system. Eating a healthy diet goes a long way to detoxifying your body and rebalancing your system. Other steps you can take include:

-Drink detox tea to help remove chemicals from your body.

-Eat only organic produce and avoid processed foods.

7. Heat it Up!

Warming herbs and spices heat up the body, boost circulation and speed up metabolism. All of these actions have a positive effect on the immune system, and adding them to your diet can help fight colds and flu. Try these:

-Cayenne

-Turmeric

-Cinnamon

-Cardamom

-Ginger

-Cloves

-Paprika

For celebrity nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution, Kimberly Snyder, making her signature Glowing Green Smoothie for celeb clients like Vince Vaughn, Hilary Duff and Drew Barrymore requires the ultimate tool – the Vitamix blender.

The Vitamix is a 2-horse power blender that has the ability to rupture open the cell walls of the vegetables and fruits and release maximum nutrition from the whole foods. With the right blender, there is more nutrition readily available to the body, including 3,850 powerful phytonutrients. Because of its unique power and ability, this blender is quite the investment (retails for $449-$649). But, now, TWO lucky winners will receive a FREE Vitamix.

Win a brand new Vitamix blender for your healthy smoothie at http://t.co/2FMy1dmV via @kimsbeautydetox.
 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas…(Home Alone 2 Anyone?) Anyway, tonight I was treated to an early Christmas party by my absolute fave brand, Burt's Bees. I know I talk your ears off about how much I love and trust them. You know you love it almost as much as I love them. But back to my Christmas party. I walked into the most gorgeous loft (think the home from Something's Gotta Give and the kitchen from It's Complicated. Heavenly) and was serenaded with Christmas music and handed a spiked cider with a cinnamon stick! Now, for those of you who don't know me well and haven't been to this blog before, I am obsessed with Christmas. Yep, I'm THAT girl who can never wait for Christmas to come. ( I blame it on my heavy Disney upbringing. Disney after all is kind of like a year-round Christmas). The only thing that gets me through my depression after Halloween is over is the promise that Christmas carols will fill every inch of this island and that festive decorations will cover every storefront. So tonight was like, pretty much the best night of my life. And I swear it only got better as I was handed truffled grilled cheese, warm chocolate chip cookies, and mini-greek-salad-in-a-tomato canapés. 

I couldn't resist. I hope you play this video as you continue to read so you can get in the mood for the holiday season. Check out all of these beautiful products this season. It's incredible how Burt's Bees has really expanded into so many arenas. Their lotions and lip balms make the perfect stocking stuffers and their cremes and face washes are the perfect little splurge for yourself!

These were the fresh-baked oatmeal raisin cookies just to give you an idea of how amazing this party was. 

Oh Look, who is that in the mirror? It's moi! In the apartment's bathroom where the products were beautifully arranged just like I lived in this gorge 10 million dollar apartment! 

Here were all the classic Burt's Bees products! 

Look at this gorgeous holiday table! Don't you just wish your living room looked like this!

So here is where things got really good! We were given the most adorns tote bags. They said "Bee Merry and Bright!" I mean what could be cuter!? Then on top of a couple great holiday sets we were told that we could go shopping and fill our bags with whatever we wanted! Christmas party indeed! I swear I felt like a kid in a candy store! I nearly had to restrain myself from wiping my arm across each shelf and making a run for it! But my manners got the best of me and I tried to rein it in. I am most excited for the Acne treatment set that I snagged! Lord knows this adult acne has got to be put to rest before my sister's wedding next week! 

Holler! Check out this token menorah!

OMG! Baby Bee! Could anything be cuter. At first I was disappointed this wasn't in our blogger storefront…then I realized wait, Katie. You don't have a baby. You do not need this. What great timing though to learn about Burt's Baby care after reports came out that Johnson and Johnson's Baby Shampoo contains quarternium-15, which kills bacteria by releasing formaldehyde. So aggravating especially when you know that J&J can make safer alternatives (since in 8 other countries it uses a safer formula since their laws prohibit ingredients like these).

I call the stocking on the right with the Snowmen!

Christmastime with Burt's Bees is the best!!!

For more information about holiday gift sets that will be perfect for those someone special this season visit Burt's Bees online.

This holiday season Burt's Bees is also partnering with One Warm Coat to provide coats to those in need this winter. Join Burt on Facebok (now through December 31st 2011) for a Tacky Sweater Party. When you send in a pic of yourself in a tacky sweater on FB, Burt's Bees will donate $1 to One Warm Coat (up to $25,000). So be naturally nice this season and visit Burt's Bees Facebook page for other sweet giveaways! 

Yep, I'm sorry but I gotta post this amazing graphic that I found today on Kimberly Snyder's blog. It could help save your life! If you're not going regularly, or you're going too much or you just think something is funky then have a look below!

++ Click to Enlarge Image ++

Source:What Your Poop and Pee Mean

For celebrity nutritionist and author of The Beauty Detox Solution, Kimberly Snyder, eating right isn’t about dieting and restriction, but feeding your body the beauty-boosting foods it needs instead. While seasonal indulgences may seem tempting, with healthy modifications to holiday favorites, you can still enjoy the comfort foods you crave without depleting the body of Beauty Detox nutrients.

Read on for Kim’s easy-to-follow holiday health tips:

Drink Smart: Don’t start guzzling liquids once you arrive at a party, as drinking too much while eating dilutes digestive enzymes, slows digestion and causes bloating. Instead, fill up on water between meals, so you’re not dehydrated when you sit down at the table, mistaking thirst for hunger and ultimately over-eating. When it comes to alcohol, avoid beer, tequila and rum, which cause sugar imbalances and bloating. If you really want a cocktail, stick to vodka. Wine is fine in moderation as it's not as hard on the liver as hard alcohol.
Start Raw: Begin each meal with a salad or even a few veggie sticks. Raw food not only contains bulky fiber but also the full spectrum of its own enzymes, which allows it to digest itself, and act as a “cushion” for the other heavier foods that follow. The fiber and water in raw foods will also help keep portion sizes under control.
Slim Pickings: Remember that holiday parties are for spending time with loved ones, not binge eating. Stick to raw greens and non-starchy vegetables (steamed, cooked with little to no oil), which can be consumed without restriction. Nuts should be limited to 1 ounce if you aim to lose weight and 2-3 ounces daily (maximum) as a general recommendation. Limit meat, fish and goat’s cheese to 3 ounces (maximum).
Sweet Swaps: With some easy beauty-boosting modifications, holiday treats can still be delicious. Bake with coconut oil, a beauty fat that won’t oxidize under high baking temperatures and nourishes the thyroid. To sweeten, try a combination of stevia and xylitol instead of refined sugar and almond or coconut milk instead of dairy milk.

To learn more about The Beauty Detox Solution or other tips from Kim visit www.kimberlysnyder.net. 

As the weather starts to chill, staying healthy becomes more important than ever. Whether you’re trying to protect yourself from a cold, sooth a sore throat or keep skin and senses nourished, Burt’s Bees has the winter care products you need to find relief. I love Burt's Bees products because I know I can trust them. 

A new product they are releasing is Medicated Lip Balm with Eucalyptus Oil ($2.99): Infused with penetrating Menthol Oil, this naturally medicated lip balm alleviates pain and relieves dry, cracked lips. A blend of cooling Eucalyptus Oil and Shea Butter helps hydrate dry lips, leaving them soft and smooth.

Another new product that I'm really looking forward to is their Natural Throat Drops ($1.99): These 100% natural throat drops are made from sweet, golden honey. Formulated with cooling Menthol and soothing Eucalyptus Oil, the delicious throat drops provide fast, effective, soothing relief for sore throats. Available in two great flavors, the drops contain just the right amount of naturally soothing ingredients to provide instant comfort.

Check out these fabulous recipes from other vegan bloggers around the net. I haven't tried any of them yet but am very excited to get my fall flavors on! Have you tried any of these yet?

Apple Pie in a Can by Adventures in Cooking

Gnocchi, Green Bean and Quinoa Salad by Vegangela

Quinoa stuffed acorn squash by Clean Eating Chelsea

Carrot-Ginger Quinoa Stuffed Pepper Jack-o-Lanterns by SpaBettie

Brussel Sprouts in Sriracha Lime Sauce by Meet the Shannons

Vegan Pumpkin Risotto by

Butternut squash mac-n-cheeze by Oh She Glows