Get Ready to Strengthen Your Immune System: Here is the Key!

Your body’s immune system does an excellent job of defending you against several diseases. But sometimes, if you don’t pay attention, it might fail. The germs can intervene in this process and disrupt your body’s response. 

Are there ways to acquire a strong immunity? Obviously, there are! However, lifestyle choices, environment, genetics, and age play key roles in determining immunity. Even though we cannot entirely control our immune systems, adopting healthy habits might help protect you against infections. So what are these lifestyle changes that you can opt for to have better immunity?

Keep scrolling down and get all the answers. 

Move with exercise: Simply moving your body helps in strengthening the immune system. Experts generally advise exercising at least 30 minutes every day for general health and wellbeing. It can be as simple as going for a walk daily or joining the gym, or a sports group or include all of them. Organising family hikes and cycling are also great ways to maintain the fitness level of your family, even from a young age. Studies indicate that doing moderate exercise regularly helps in reducing inflammation and assists with cell regeneration.

Good night’s sleep: Health experts recommend that adults should sleep for seven or more hours a night, teens for 8-10 hours, and infants or younger children for up to 14 hours every day. Inadequate sleep is directly connected to higher susceptibility to sickness.

According to a study that included 164 people, those who got less than 6 hours of sleep every night were more likely to catch a cold in comparison to those who got a good night’s sleep of more than 6 hours every night. Having proper rest boosts your natural immunity. If you are sick, you need to sleep more so that your body can fight the illness.

If you are facing any issues while sleeping, skip the screen time for at least an hour before bed. The blue light coming out of electronic devices disrupts the circadian rhythm, i.e., the natural sleep-wake cycle. Don’t keep electronic devices in your bedroom either. Sleep in a completely dark room, or try using an eye mask. Don’t forget to go to bed at the same time every day. 

Relaxation: Let’s be honest! Stress is never good for your health, body, and immune system. Therefore, it is important to have some quiet time in your day. Simply going fo a walk, deep breathing or mindfulness meditation can help you with this. If you are unsure about it, you can start with deep breathing for a few minutes each day. Simply close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Taking deep breaths in and out.  It calms down the nervous system and helps with sleep.

Vitamin D: Most of us don’t get enough sun exposure during our day-to-day lives and this impacts our levels of vitamin D dramatically. Vitamin D is essential for bone health as well as muscle and nerve functions. Vitamin D also helps the immune system fight off bacteria and viruses.

Healthy diet: Diet is the primary aspect when we are talking about immune health. Essential vitamins and nutrients that you get from the food are prime to keep your immune system functioning properly. You can derive the essential vitamins from plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables, or you can consider taking additional supplements. 

Note: Avoid consuming refined sugar, processed foods, and caffeine. They negatively impact immunity. 

So, what other foods can you opt for to strengthen your immunity system? 

Citrus fruits: If you frequently suffer from a cold, you need to include a lot of citrus fruits in your diet. These are the perfect source of Vitamin C. It helps in surging up the production of White blood cells, which are vital to fighting off infections. Examples of citrus fruits include – Oranges, grapefruit, lemons, etc. 

Ginger: Ginger is yet another food that you can include to boost immunity. It decreases inflammation which further helps in reducing a sore throat and sinus issues.

Spinach: There are enough reasons to include Spinach in your diet. It is loaded with vitamin C, multiple antioxidants, and beta-carotene. All of them enhance the infection-fighting ability in your body. And ensure that you do not cook it too much as cooking sheds its nutrients. A little cooking would be fine as it makes it easy to absorb Vitamin-A. 

Turmeric: Most households use turmeric as a key ingredient while cooking. This bright yellow spice has been popular for many ages for its anti-inflammatory properties. Do you know how turmeric got its colour? It is due to the high concentration of the compound named curcumin. Curcumin is an immunity booster and comes with anti-viral properties. 

Kiwi: Kiwis are rich in nutrients like folate, vitamins K and C and potassium. There is no denying the fact that Vitamin C boosts the immune system as it develops WBCs to fight infection. The rest of the nutrients keep other functions of the body smooth.

Almonds: Besides being rich in Vitamin C, they are also rich in Vitamin E and antioxidants. These antioxidants build up in the cell membranes, thereby protecting the cells from oxidative damage. Moreover, these antioxidants support pulmonary immune function. Almonds are counted as the world’s best source of Vitamin E. 

To sum it all up

Having a strong immune system is vital to fight off infections and stay active. So, start small by making a few changes in your lifestyle to boost it. Reduce sugar intake, drink plenty of water, prioritize sleep, and take out some time for exercise. Eat right to be right. Put stress at the backseat and manage your stress levels as it is beneficial for your health. Last but not least, Frederick Philip Lenz can’t be more right when he said – 

The most powerful force to maintaining a good immune system is the power of positive thinking and not allowing yourself to be unnecessarily drained emotionally by stress, worries and fears.