8 Ways to boost the immune system
If you wish to boost your immune health, it may be a concern for you to make your body stronger and more resistant to illnesses.
Your immune system is a big part of keeping you from getting colds, the flu, and other illnesses that come with cold weather. Staying healthy and healing depends on your immune system. You need to eat healthy foods, exercise, and keep your stress levels low for your immune system to function properly.
Here are 8 natural ways you can use to boost your immune system:
1. Sleep enough
Immunity and sleep are closely linked. Sleep deprivation is associated with a higher susceptibility to illness. Sleeping fewer than 6 hours per night increased the risk of catching a cold. A good night’s sleep may strengthen your natural immunity. You may also sleep more when you are sick to help your immune system fight the disease.
The average adult should sleep 7 to 9 hours a night, teens 8 to 10 hours, and infants and young children up to 14 hours. If you have trouble sleeping, don’t look at a screen for more than an hour before bed. The blue light from your phone, TV, and computer may mess up your circadian rhythm.
2. Drink plenty of water
Even though being dehydrated won’t protect you from germs and viruses, avoiding it is very important for your health as a whole. You can experience headaches, poor physical performance, lack of focus, poor mood, digestive problems, and impaired heart and kidney function when dehydrated. These complications can make you more susceptible to illness.
Therefore, you should stay hydrated. It’s generally a good idea to drink when thirsty and stop when you’re no longer thirsty. When you work out hard, work outside, or live in a hot place, you may need more fluids. In older adults, thirst is not adequately signaled by their bodies, and they lose the desire to drink. Older adults need to drink regularly even if they do not feel thirsty.
3. Consume whole plant foods
You can fight harmful pathogens with whole plant foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes. These foods contain antioxidants that reduce inflammation by fighting free radicals, which can cause inflammation when they accumulate in high levels in the body.
Your gut microbiome, which is a group of healthy bacteria, needs fiber to stay healthy. Your immune system will be stronger if your gut microbiome is healthy, and harmful pathogens won’t be able to get into your body. Also, fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins, like vitamin C, which may make a cold go away faster.
4. Consume fermented foods
Fermented foods are rich in probiotics, the beneficial bacteria that populate your digestive tract. Among these foods are yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and natto. Research shows that the bacteria in your gut can help your immune cells tell the difference between normal, healthy cells and harmful invaders.
One study found that children who drank 2.4 ounces (70 mL) of fermented milk daily had about 20% fewer childhood infectious diseases than those who did not.
5. Avoid refined sugars
Refined carbohydrates and added sugars may play a disproportionate role in obesity and overweight. Likewise, refined sugars can cause obesity, and obesity may increase your risk of illness.
Reducing the amount of sugar you eat can reduce inflammation and help you lose weight. This can lower your risk of long-term health problems like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Limiting added sugar is an important part of an immune-boosting diet since obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease weaken the immune system.
Your daily sugar intake should be at most 5% of your total calories. For someone on a 2,000-calorie diet, this is about two tablespoons (25 grams) of sugar.
6. Take healthy fats
Olive oil and salmon contain healthy fats that may boost your immune response to pathogens. Stress or injury can induce low-level inflammation that can suppress your immune system. The anti-inflammatory properties of olive oil may also be beneficial to your body when it comes to fighting off harmful bacteria and viruses.
Salmon and chia seeds, which contain omega-3 fatty acids, also reduce inflammation.
7. Maintain a moderate exercise regime
The immune system can be suppressed by prolonged intense exercise, but it can be boosted by moderate exercise. Examples of moderate exercise include brisk walking, steady bicycling, jogging, swimming, and light hiking. At least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week is recommended for most people.
In addition to building muscles and reducing stress, physical activity is an important part of staying healthy and supporting a healthy immune system. In moderate-intensity exercise, immune cells are mobilized into the bloodstream outside the bone. Furthermore, it facilitates the movement of immune cells in the bloodstream into tissues. As a result, immune surveillance is enhanced.
People whose immune systems aren’t as strong can benefit from a moderate workout that helps them respond better to vaccines. Furthermore, regular, moderate exercise helps your immune cells regenerate regularly.
8. You can take Supplements
Several studies suggest that certain supplements may boost your immune system—for example, vitamin C. Vitamin C must be constantly added to the body because people can’t make it or store it.
Besides being an antioxidant, vitamin C also acts as an anti-inflammatory and strengthens the immune system. The body uses up this resource quickly when it is infected or under a tremendous amount of stress. Your skin will also benefit from it because it speeds up wound healing.
Researchers have found that supplementing with vitamin C can reduce the severity and duration of a cold and, in early studies, may reduce the severity of symptoms in hospitalized Covid patients. You should begin with 500 milligrams twice a day to achieve maximum absorption.
Final Words
There is a delicate balance between your immune system and your body. To fight off infectious and bacterial diseases, you need a strong and smart immune system, but it can’t overreact too much. It accomplishes this by sensing what is happening inside your body and responding to many inputs.
Today, you can strengthen your immune system by making lifestyle and dietary changes. You can reduce your sugar intake, stay hydrated, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, and manage stress. These suggestions can strengthen your body’s defenses against harmful pathogens.
See also: How to lose weight
