Content created in partnership with Redoxon 

With the onset of winter here in Aotearoa, ills and chills are rife. Building a strong immune system while you’re most susceptible to these viruses will help your body better cope with challenges, if and when they present themselves.

Modern life (not to mention sharing a home with children and accompanying plethora of daycare and school germs, flatmates and partners) make us more likely to get run down and therefore become more vulnerable to viruses.

“The immune system may be weakened by smoking and drinking alcohol, by poor nutrition and being overweight,” explains Rodney Stosic, head of medical for Bayer Consumer Healthcare. “Stress and ageing, and medical conditions such as HIV, diabetes and cancer, can also impact your immunity. As can medications such as steroids and chemotherapy drugs.”

Ensuring you consume a wide variety of fruit and vegetables, leafy greens and foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids (such a tuna, salmon and mackerel) is a nutrient packed way of enhancing your immunity, but alongside this, introducing a supplement containing essential vitamins and minerals may give you an advantage in the fight against winter bugs. 

A good all-rounder is a great place to start. Redoxon’s everyday immune supporting supplements contain a unique combination of vitamins C, D and zinc to keep you in top form and are suitable for adults and children over 12 years of age. 

“Redoxon Immunity has antioxidant properties to support healthy cells and helps enhance the body’s immune response to help relieve symptoms of certain infections, such as the common cold or mild upper respiratory tract infections,” says Stosic.

Vitamin C is a powerhouse when it comes to fighting infections thanks to its antioxidant properties which help protect the body from damage and aid the repair and growth of bones and tissue. Adding vitamin C to your diet also helps your body to absorb iron from foods more efficiently and contributes to normal collagen formulation to support skin health.  

Low levels of vitamin D (which can also be found naturally in small amounts in foods such as oily fish, milk products, eggs and liver) in the body can be associated with an increased risk of respiratory diseases and viral and bacterial respiratory infections. This essential vitamin activates immune cells and stimulates the production of antimicrobial substances, which help the body fight foreign microorganisms. Exposure to sunlight is one way to increase your vitamin D levels, but here in Aotearoa, we do need to be careful about how much sun we get due to the risk of sunburn and skin cancer.  Of course, in winter sunshine is a precious commodity meaning vitamin D is in extra-scarce supply, and bar jaunting to a tropical island supplementing is a safe way to help prevent a deficiency.

Zinc has been shown to be an effective treatment for the common cold as it helps to keep the immune system strong, support growth and heal infections and wounds. It assists in the production of antibodies, which are protective proteins produced by the immune system to help fight foreign bodies such as disease-causing organisms. It’s also anti-inflammatory and works against oxidative stress; the imbalance of free radicals and antioxidants in the body which can lead to cell and tissue damage. If this is an ongoing issue, it can also lead to more chronic conditions including cancer, diabetes and heart disease. 

“Redoxon Immunity has a three-way action by combining vitamins C, D and zinc to enhance the body's three lines of immune defense,” Stosic explains. “It helps the body cope with environmental stress associated with a modern lifestyle by supporting your immune system fight illness including cold and flu symptoms.”

Designed to be taken as part of your everyday nutrition routine alongside a healthy diet, Redoxon Immunity effervescent tablets are available in orange and blackcurrant flavours and dissolve in water for a great tasting and refreshing drink.  

With 80 years of immune care expertise, Redoxon provides you with products that help support your immunity every day to help keep you and your family healthy and meet the challenges of an active life. 

Redoxon can be found at local retailers including Countdown, New World, Pak N Save, Chemist Warehouse and Life & Unichem Pharmacies. For more information visit redoxon.co.nz.