Overall, your immune system is incredibly effective in protecting you from pathogenic microbes. But occasionally, it fails, allowing a virus to infect you and make you ill. Can you influence this process to strengthen your immune system?
Your immune system is the first line of protection against the common cold, the flu, or any other cold-weather sickness. Your immune system aids in healing and overall health. To function properly, your immune system needs to be strong, healthy, and under minimal stress.
To meet the demands of daily life, you want—no, you NEED—to maintain optimal health and performance. Just so much that needs to be done. In the end, the universe requires a healthy you.
The happy news is that there isn’t a “miracle healthy pill,” but there are tried-and-true methods to boost your immunity.
When it comes to boosting immune system function, nearly every expert and advice columnist agrees: The standard pillars of good health, like diet, exercise, stress management, sleep hygiene, and social support are all critical to being and staying healthy.
That is, generally speaking, most healthy living behaviors are beneficial to immune system function.
Nevertheless, some of these health behaviors and their potential benefits are better-studied than others. As a result, we can feel confident that the following actions have a significant impact on immune function.
Top 6 Tips to Boost Your Immunity
1. Focus on Immunity-Boosting Foods
There is a growing body of evidence to support the idea that nutritional deficiencies — of either macronutrients or micronutrients — weaken and/or slow immune responses. That’s why a balanced diet supported by high-quality natural supplements are more than just good choices for healthy living; these behaviors can diminish susceptibility to illness and help prevent chronic diseases. These effects are likely because natural supplements can:
- Feed the immune system’s innate energy demands and buoy immune cell proliferation.
- Protect the body’s natural microbiome (microorganisms living in the body that eliminate pathogens).
What’s more, natural herbs and supplements may do more than just support normal immune activity. There is also a growing (albeit smaller) body of evidence suggesting that certain remedies and supplements derived from healing plants may enhance immune function above-and-beyond its normal optimal level.
Even though eating well is a concession, make an effort to include a few immunity-boosting foods in your regular diet. Here are some food items you can easily get along with:
- Garlic — Garlic contains a substance called allicin, which is well known for strengthening the immune system. The daily use of one-half of a raw garlic clove provides the greatest benefits. Roasting garlic is the next best thing if you can’t eat it raw.
- Vitamin-C Foods — Immunity-boosting vitamin C is well known. According to one study, the severity and duration of upper respiratory infection symptoms were significantly reduced in older persons who consumed kiwis every day for a month.
- Prebiotics — Strong gut bacteria shield us against infection. Prebiotics that contain fiber, particularly inulin fiber, keep those bacteria healthy. Jerusalem artichokes, green bananas or plantains, Jicama root, and asparagus are excellent sources of prebiotics.
- Antioxidants — Stress can weaken your immunity and increase your susceptibility to sickness. Antioxidants found in vibrant fruits and vegetables, such as berries, carrots, and spinach, protect you from oxidative stress, which results in a stronger immune system.
2. Recognize How Emotional Health Impacts Immunity
Experts in the field of psychoneuroimmunology agree: Stress and other negative emotional states weaken the immune system.
Chronic stress, especially, is responsible for reducing all aspects of immune system function — especially immune cell proliferation and strength/viability. Moreover, the immune systems of people who are older, already fighting off illness, or experiencing chronic disease conditions are highly sensitive to increases in emotional stress.
It’s no surprise, then, that taking direct action to minimize and manage stress can boost immune response strength and speed. For example, practicing mindfulness meditation may reduce inflammation, enhance cell-based immunity, and slow the immunity-eroding effects of oxidative stress and aging. Similarly, ingesting tinctures and tonics derived from healing plants and their extracted volatile oils with the aim of reducing stress can have the potential secondary benefit of increasing immune system strength and responsiveness.
3. Add Some Extra Hours to Your Beauty Sleep
Few things have a greater impact on overall health (and, specifically, immune health) than sleep. That’s because sleep is critical to essential immune functions, including the production of protective immune cells (called cytokines) and infection-fighting antibodies.
Consequently, when sleep quality is poor, immune function diminishes rapidly.
Our health can suffer significantly as a result of our demanding lifestyles. Therefore, it is essential to provide the body with enough rest regularly. While doctors advise 7-8 hours of sleep each night, it’s also crucial to establish a regular sleep schedule.
Luckily, for many people, improving sleep quality may simply require adopting a few new healthy living habits. Going to bed at a consistent time, with enough time to sleep for at least 7 hours per night, dimming the lights, turning off electronic devices an hour ahead of time, and doing relaxing activities (like guided meditation) are some of the most effective ways to immediately improve sleep quality. Additionally, many natural herbs and healing plants can help support healthy sleep, either when ingested as teas or under-the-tongue tinctures or used for aromatherapy.
So, regardless of weekends, make sure you go to bed at a certain time and wake up at a certain time every day. This will help to adjust your body clock and control your sleeping pattern.
4. Get Some Exercise In Everyday
Regardless of the weather, make it a point to exercise frequently. If you are unable to go outside, engage in some light activity inside. Adding a sport to your everyday routine is another option. This will not only improve your health but also assist in networking with like-minded individuals.
5. Increase Your Water Intake
We are all aware of the numerous advantages that water has. Increase your fluid intake by consuming foods that are high in water. Strawberries, lettuce, oranges, and watermelons all have high water content and delicious flavors.
6. Change Your Attitude for the Win
For health and well-being, having a positive outlook is essential. Research demonstrates that while negative emotions might raise your susceptibility to the common cold and flu, good thoughts can lower stress and inflammation and enhance your resistance to infection.Change Your Attitude for the Win
Conclusion
As Canada’s largest producer of naturally-produced kratom, we have a deep conviction in the ability of plants to heal our bodies. Having stated that, each person’s circumstance is particular to them. The use of supplements is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Supplements are not a one-size-fits-all solution. Research and testing is strongly recommended in order to optimize the effects that plants can have on our bodies.
Some supplements are great to cure pain, some are great for anxiety and stress relief, while others are good for general well-being. The benefits that plants can have on our bodies should be maximized; hence, research and testing are strongly advised. Some vitamins are excellent for treating pain, while others are excellent for reducing anxiety and tension.
Investigate your options, speak with a health expert, and take pleasure in your quest to find a natural remedy that is effective for you.
