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Brighton Dome invites families to a season of imagination and adventure this autumn and winter, with shows, workshops and festive events for all ages.
On Saturday's You Bet! on Tour a Horsham based Penny Farthing club will take on an extraordinary challenge - a Penny Farthing Peloton.
This is for all you teachers, parents, childcare providers, schoolkids and students navigating autumn term. Schools and nurseries often see spikes in illness over the colder months, as anyone with or working with children will confirm. It’s a heady (and sometimes chesty) combination of seasonal influences, and spending time indoors in large groups – and then often taking bugs home to do the rounds there too.So this is the perfect time to put in some extra nutrition support for your immune system, and help you deal with those seasonal colds and viruses. Your unique immune systemThe immune system is made up of physical barriers, including your skin and gut lining, plus a host of interactive workers such as immune cells, cytokines, microbes and antibodies. Some of these are always on duty, while others can quickly activate and multiply in response to a threat.Many of us seem to have robust immune systems that only pick things up once or twice a year, and quickly get over them. While others among us seem to come down with everything going and struggle to shake it all off. There are many reasons for this, ranging from genetics to environmental toxins to how you manage stress. Everyone’s immune system is complex and unique. But one thing all our immune systems can benefit from is supportive nutrition. We tend to take our immune system for granted, but they all need a whole range of nutrients to do their jobs properly. You need much more than the proverbial apple a day – although that might be a good start.Gut microbiome and immunityDid you know, for example, that your gut microbiome is the front line of your immune system? The bacteria and other microbes in your gut microbiome work together to help protect you from incoming infections, and regulate things like inflammation and white blood cell activity.You can optimise your gut microbiome’s biodiversity by feeding it plant fibre and polyphenols, a colourful family of protective plant nutrients. For most people, that means including a rainbow of vegetables, nuts, seeds, fruit, pulses and grains of varying colours across the weeks and months.Building blocksAnother important nutrient for your immune system is protein – you can’t make antibodies, white blood cells, antimicrobial peptides and many other immune system components without a regular protein intake. I recommend a portion the size of your fist at every meal of either fish, unprocessed meat, eggs, dairy, beans (including tofu), lentils, chickpeas, nuts and/or seeds.How to spell immunityI’ve also picked out some As, Bs, Cs and a D that you might want to put on your autumn shopping list. If your immune system nutrition is in place at the start of term time, then you’ll be in a much better place to deal with any germs that come your way. ApplesApples contain the vitamin C we associate with optimal immunity, plus fibre for the gut microbiome. Apples also contains quercetin, which studies show can actually block viruses from taking hold, and then replicating. It can also help reduce inflammation in later stages of infection.Most of the quercetin is in the apple skin, so don’t peel them! Red apples have the most (although quercetin is actually a yellow pigment). You can also find good levels in red onions, berries and tea.ApricotsApricots are orange because of a pigment they contain called beta-carotene. We can convert beta-carotene into vitamin A, which is also a key nutrient for the immune system.Pumpkins, squash, carrots and other foods we associate with harvest festival time are orange with beta-carotene too. Some people are poor convertors, however, and so may need more ready-made vitamin A in their diet, found in eggs, milk, cheese and liver. Brazil nutsSelenium is needed by the immune system at pretty much every step, from the barriers and microbiome through to white blood cell activity.The selenium content of Brazil nuts varies, but often you can get fantastic levels from just one or two nuts a day. For children, half to one would be enough. Avoiding nuts? Then fish, bananas, meat and eggs are great sources too.BerriesBerries contain more of those polyphenols your gut microbiome loves. This includes quercetin (described above), and also a family of purple pigments called anthocyanins. Feeding your gut microbiome has benefits for your immune system, and anthocyanins also work together to protect you with their antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.So think elderberries, blackberries, blueberries and redcurrants, and also grapes, pomegranate, figs and plums.Chaga mushroomsChaga is a type of European medicinal mushroom that you can buy powdered and stir into your morning coffee or evening cocoa. It’s traditionally used for supporting immune activity, including antiviral action.Actually, all edible mushrooms, from white button mushrooms to the more exotic reishi and lion’s mane, are immune modulating, which means they help to regulate your immune activity. And, like polyphenols, many of them are food for your microbiome too. Chickpeas or chickenVeggie and non-veggie options here! Both are valuable for their protein content – remember how much protein your immune system needs – and also for their zinc. Your white blood cells need zinc to fight off infections.Vitamin DSunshine has its limits: as soon as your shadow is longer than you, you can’t make vitamin D from its rays. And in Sussex, that’s true from late September through to April. You may still get some if you eat plenty of oily fish. You can check your vitamin D levels with a simple home bloodspot test from somewhere like vitamindtest.org.uk.If you’d like some recipe ideas to bring in more immunity ABCs, and to understand more about nutrition, then check out my book, Nutrition Brought to Life – a thorough grounding in nutrition with 50 delicious recipes.
On Saturday a landowner in Mark Cross spotted a buck in distress after its antlers became entangled in discarded electric netting left in a field corner.
West Sussex County Council has confirmed updates to on-street parking charges will come into effect from October.
Dogs Trust Shoreham is celebrating ‘Bark to School’ season by spotlighting some clever Border Collies currently in their care and awaiting their forever homes.
Geoff Stonebanks writes: We were lucky to spend a long weekend away recently and one of the places we visited was Bedgebury National Pinetum and Forest.
Plans to change an agricultural field into a football field are to be discussed by Horsham District Council
Leonardslee Lakes & Gardens in Horsham, West Sussex invites visitors to celebrate the beauty and magic of autumn across its 240-acre Grade I listed estate.
A "massive" sinkhole has appeared on a road in Hastings. East Sussex Highways have fenced the area off, but say it is for a landowner to deal with