Did you know what you eat, what you do, your stress level, your happiness quotient, your attitude, your diet and exercise all play a role in determining your immune strength? The health of your immune system is critical to your body’s defense against illness and diseases. Your immune system is constantly at work when it comes to building a defense against attack from fungi, virus, bacteria, or harmful germs! Therefore, it is critically important to work on strengthening your immunity to evade disease. Let’s discuss a few tips on how to strengthen the immune system.
Food To Strengthen The Immune System
When you are looking for ways to strengthen your immunity, the first point to consider is your food. You may be surprised to know that it is your digestive system where much of your immune system functioning takes place. This is where potential threats sneak in your body, so it is indispensable to maintain your digestive health in order to strengthen immunity.
Here are the top foods that can help you improve immune health:
Yogurt: Lactobacillus bacteria turn the milk into yogurt. These bacteria belong to the same family of bacteria living in your gut. Yogurt feeds healthy bacteria in the intestines. When these bacteria are strengthened, they can better fight off infection and disease and thus act as immunity boosters. A regular serving of yogurt can be an amazing way to boost digestive health and immunity.
Garlic: Like it or dislike it, but you cannot ignore garlic. You might be surprised to find that garlic is loaded with powerful nutrients and antioxidants. Allicin is one such antioxidant found in garlic that helps prevent the spread of bacteria in the tracts. It is a good idea to include more garlic in your diet to improve digestive health as well as the strength of your immune system.
Tea: It’s time to include black tea and green tea in your dietary routine to strengthen the immune system. Green tea is a powerful antioxidant that can reduce pathogen activity. Black tea, too, is an effective immunity aid that can help fight infections. Research reveals that black tea raises the production of protein interferon, which can help fight viral infections.
Vitamin C/Citrus fruits: If you are still wondering how to strengthen the immune system with food, then you may do well to include citrus and vitamin C foods in your diet. Vitamin C is an effective ingredient to build up immunity and fight colds and allergies. Found in high amounts in lemon, orange, and grapefruit, vitamin C boosts the functioning of phagocytes, which are a type of cells that digest bacteria. You need to supplement your diet with vitamin C because your body can’t store it, so small doses of citrus fruits daily can help boost your immune health.
Almonds: Did you know almonds are immune-boosting food? If you are fighting low immunity issues, then munch on at least 3 ounces of almonds every day to ward off viral infections. Italian researchers advise using almonds with their skin on. The almond skin has a chemical that can help white blood cells detect pathogens and prevent virus spread all through the body.
Sleep Well and Strengthen The Immune System
Sleep deprivation can make the body and mind stressed. The stress overload can contribute to an increase in adrenaline and cortisol – the stress hormone. Prolonged elevation of cortisol can make the immune system suppressed and dampen the immune function. The best way to fight the problem of sleep deprivation is to cut stress! You should explore ways to relax and manage the stress that can ruin your day and night.
Get Going To Strengthen The Immune System
While proper rest is necessary to boost your immune system, it is equally important to get going. Research shows that exercise stimulates the production of blood cells that attack infections. If you indulge in strenuous work out for 90 minutes, the production of macrophages in your body drops for some time, which puts you at a high risk of infection and disease. What does that signal for your immunity? Well, the idea is to include plenty of recovery time in your workouts in order to preserve immune health.
Remember, exercise and rest are equally important when you are looking for ways as to how to strengthen the immune system. But moderation is the key.
Laughter Can Strengthen The Immune System
Laughter is the best medicine to strengthen the immune system and enhance mood. A good, hearty laugh can reduce stress hormones and relieve physical tension, which has a relaxation effect on your immune system. Laughter inhibits stress and boosts the production of infection-fighting antibodies. This plays a role in reinforcing the body’s resistance to infection and disease. When you laugh, there is a spike in the level of antibodies in your blood as well as that of white blood cells, both of which attack and kill viruses. Laughing improves the number of antibodies in your mucus in the nasal and respiratory passage. This is where most germs invade your body. When the body’s defense system is strong, no disease can break into your body.
So these are a few ways to improve immune health. If you are wondering how to strengthen the immune system, these tips can surely come in handy.
