Every so often, a new type of virus comes out. While everyone seems quick to grab a medical mask in an effort to avoid contracting or spreading any type of virus, many people seem to be missing the most critical type of prevention: A strong, healthy immune system.

Having a strong immune system is especially helpful in this day and age when people are contracting illnesses at an unprecedented rate. Part of this stems from the over-consumption of processed foods, part of this stems from lousy gut health, and part of this stems from not getting the vitamins and minerals our bodies need in their most bio-available (easy-to-absorb) form.

This countdown identifies my top ten suggestions for a healthy immune system ranked in order of effectiveness:

#10: Drink plenty of spring/filtered water. Staying hydrated flushes toxins and helps your body to function at its best. Drinking filtered water means that you're not adding new things to your body's toxic load at the same time as you're flushing the existing toxins. Ideally, your urine should be a pale yellow.

#9: Have regular bowel movements. If you're eating three times per day, you should be pooping two to three times per day. Any type of blockage in the bowels increases your body's toxic load which puts stress on your immune system. Soaking your feet or your whole body in an epsom salt bath (1 cup epsom salt per bathtub of water) on a regular/daily basis can help your body get the right kind of magnesium it needs to optimize the functionality of your colon. (Send me an e-mail if you'd prefer a recommendation for an excellent oral supplement that can optimize your bowel functions without relying on chemical laxatives or chemical stool softeners.)

#8: Get enough sleep. Adequate sleep is critical to almost every function in the body, including the immune system. Get to bed by 10:30 PM every night and aim for 7-8 hours of sleep. Consistency is very important.

#7: Consume Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) with the "mother" in it. Bragg ACV is a great brand. Here are three ways you could try taking this:

* My niece prefers to take a straight "shot" of 1-2 Tbsp of ACV - and then she rinses her mouth with water when she's done.

* I prefer to mix 1-2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar in 8 ounces of cold water and add some Stevia to it. Then I drink it fast and rinse out my mouth with water so the vinegar doesn't do any damage to the enamel on my teeth.

* My sister prefers adding a few tablespoons of ACV to a large cup of water (24-44 ounces) and then she sips it all day long like some type of "lemonade."

#6: Significantly reduce or eliminate your sugar consumption. Every time you consume 100 mg of sugar (roughly one large glass of orange juice), your immune system shuts down for about five hours while your body takes care of the sugar crisis you just provided. Most people in this day and age choose to consume sugar, so if you're one of those people (like me), choose to eat your sugar once a day - not grazing throughout the day - so your immune system can function for the remainder of the day. (Important note: Your body sees any type of super-refined carbs like fruit juice and white bread the same way that it sees sugar!)

#5: Consume plenty of calcium-rich foods (not pasteurized milk) or take a calcium lactate or calcium citrate supplement. Read Nurse Rose's post about calcium for the specifics about which foods and supplements provide the best kinds of calcium.

#4: Consume essential fatty acids (from foods like nuts, avocados, and fish) on a regular/daily basis. If this isn't something you enjoy, take a high-quality omega. (Just remember that if you're consuming a fish oil supplement and it gives you fishy burps, it is likely rancid and should not be consumed. If you need a great, plant-based omega, let me know!)

#3: Consume whole Vitamin C - I'm not talking about taking a Vitamin C chewable like ascorbic acid, and I'm not talking about drinking a pasteurized (aka: cooked) juice, I'm talking about consuming a raw orange, some strawberries, all colors of peppers, a raw tangerine, or a raw grapefruit on a regular basis.

#2: Use premium-quality, immune-boosting essential oils. Essential oils are the lifeblood of a plant and are the most bio-available source on the planet - assuming they're not over-cooked and loaded with toxins (pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers) and fillers (from vegetable oil to cancer-causing chemicals like hexane) during processing. True essential oils have been used for almost 5,000 years - dating back to about 3,000 BC in both Ancient Egypt and Ancient China - but because they're natural, the FDA doesn't regulate what goes into each bottle. That means you have to find a company you trust implicitly so you don't unknowingly cause the decline of your health by consuming excessive toxins when you think you're adding to your health. A great rule of thumb is: The cheaper the oil is in price, the cheaper the oil is in quality.

The best and most effective essential oil I've ever found for supporting the immune system is "Thieves" essential oil blend. Thieves Essential Oil made by Young Living truly is an incredible essential oil blend that maximizes the disease-fighting powers of oils like clove, cinnamon, lemon, rosemary, and eucalyptus. Young Living blends these oils in the perfect ratio and the result is magical (and it smells amazing!). When I started using it daily, I found that my frequency of getting a cold went from one cold every two months to one cold every two years! I'm not joking. This is a game-changing oil for sure, and this is the only essential oil company I trust.

#1: Consume foods that are high on the ORAC scale (ORAC = Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). In other words, consume things that neutralize free-radicals which act like rust inside the body. Most people assume that means consuming blueberries which rank between 2,300 and 9,600 on the ORAC scale, or elderberries which rank around 14,600 on the ORAC scale, and while both of those are very good choices, there's something even better: The hands-down #1 best immune-supporting thing I've discovered (that I will actually consume regularly) is a wolfberry-based drink called NingXia Red which ranks at 30,000 on the ORAC scale!

NingXia red is a blend of high-ORAC-scale foods and while eating each of the ingredients separately is a great option, drinking this truly delicious juice is a significantly better option. When consumed daily, NingXia Red is FANTASTIC at supporting the immune system, and as an added benefit, NingXia Red also supports eight additional processes in the body: The endocrine (hormone) system, the cardiovascular (heart) system, the muscular/skeletal system, the integumentary (skin and hair) system, the nervous system, the digestive system, the respiratory system, and emotions!

If you're interested in trying Thieves essential oil or NingXia Red, you can order your own starter kit here. I recommend the Premium Starter Kit with a Deseret Mist (8-hour) diffuser or the Aria (12-hour) diffuser. The Premium Starter Kit comes with Thieves essential oil and two pouches of NingXia Red. If you really only like the idea of NingXia Red, there's a NingXia Red Starter kit! In case it's easier, you can call Young Living's customer service hotline (1-800-371-3515) to place an order as well. Please use enroller #17515057.

In summary, if you want a strong immune system, choose at least five to eight suggestions from this list (or better yet, choose all 10 of them) and make sure to make them happen every single day! These daily steps will help your body be ready for whatever viruses comes its way.