10 Simple and Natural Ways To Boost Your Immune System
Having a healthy immune system will lower the chances of getting any viral infection or flu. Using natural ways, you can not only boost your immune system but also get a healthy immune system.
It is common during the viral or flu season to get sick. Most people end up getting sick and there are others who can survive and be healthy even when most of the family members are sick due to the flu. Have you ever thought about how these people are able to fall sick often and how some of them are more prone to getting a viral infection or catching a cold? Well, it is all about the immune system of the human body. Not many people know that the immune system is the first line of defence for our body against foreign microorganisms that enter our body. The stronger our immune system is the lesser are the chances of falling ill. However, even having a strong immune system won’t guarantee that you are invincible. By making a slight modification to your diet as well as routine, you can make sure that your immune system is strong to secure from various virus infections. Along with sleeping for eight hours, walking in the sun, and following a balanced diet, you can easily build a good immune system only if you follow the protocols in the correct way.
What Boosts Your Immune System?
It is enticing to think about boosting your immunity. However, the ability to do so has become elusive due to various reasons. Hence, the immune system is simply, a system not a single entity. For functioning in a proper manner, it needs harmony and balance. Still, there are a lot of things that researchers aren’t aware regarding the interconnections and intricacies of the immune response. However, there aren’t any kinds of scientific proven theory or links connecting the enhanced immune function with lifestyle. It doesn’t mean that the effect lifestyle has on the immune system is quite intriguing and can’t be studied. Various researchers and health experts are looking at the effects of exercise, diet, psychological stress, age, and other basic factors related to immune response, which is both in humans and animals. In the meantime, basic healthy-living methods are the best ways to begin providing your immune system with the upper hand.
Healthy Methods for Strengthening the Immune System
The current and first line of defence in your hand is the selection of a good and healthy lifestyle. This would be the first step in keeping your immune system healthy and strong. Each part of your body including the immune system can function in a better manner when they are protected from environmental assaults and when people follow healthy strategies like –
- Consume a high diet filled with veggies and fruits
- Avoid smoking
- Exercise regularly
- Continue having a healthy weight
- If you consume alcohol, drink only in moderation
- Take adequate sleep
- Reduce stress
Follow steps to avoid any kind of infection like washing hands whenever necessary and cooking meat in a proper manner.
Benefits of A Good Immune System
Following are the benefits of the immune system –
Benefit for Heart and Blood Circulation
Do you know heart disease is the number one cause of various deaths all over the world? One of the major reasons for heart disease is the lack of vitamin D. Like other muscles of our human body, the heart becomes weak due to the lack of the muscle-builders (which is vitamin-D). Furthermore, activated vitamin D will assist in maintaining the pressure of the blood, secure the vessels from being calcification in a dose-dependent manner and suppress any kind of artery-damaging related inflammation. Well, this is the major reason why vitamin D is commonly associated with strokes, heart attacks, decreased artery protective apolipoprotein A-1, high blood pressure, and other heart-related deaths. Do you know that vitamin D is the biochemical end-product of sunlight? Hence, it will enhance heart health in multiple manners. Exposure to tanning beds can transmit vitamin D creating UVB radiations, which reduces the blood pressure (as per a research work done in the US and the Netherlands).
Benefits for Bone Health
Have you ever wondered about the main reason for the cold and flu season? Well, what it means that you end up getting these illnesses mostly in the dark and cold winters. Of course, you must have noticed some people are resistant to flu and cold, even though many people around them are coughing, sneezing and spreading the virus. As per various studies, the solution, or at least a small part of it lies in the sunshine vitamin which is the vitamin D. Frankly, for years we assumed vitamin D to be just like other vitamins. However, we now know that vitamin D is simply more than that. Some people feel that vitamin D is a great hormone precursor, which is the stuff that our body makes to create a potent hormone known as calcitriol. This hormone can easily signal more than 1000 genes to either suppress or express themselves. The human body converts the vitamin D created from the sunlight exposure or the ones present in our diet into the calcitriol hormone that not only keeps us alive through the regulation of the blood calcium but also influences the functions of each and every organ systems like the heart, gut, kidneys, lungs as well as the immune system.
Benefits for Autoimmune Diseases
There is no doubt that vitamin D plays a great role in the battle of the immune system against infection as well as the control of inflammation. Vitamin D receptors are present in vitamin D and activated vitamin D is one of the best and effective modulators for the functioning of the immune system. Also, it will reduce the inflammatory responses and even end up limiting the autoimmune attacks. Also, for many years it has been noted that various autoimmune diseases are quite common in various northern climates.
Benefits of Blood Sugar Control and Diabetes
All over the world, especially in the US alone about 20 million Americans die due to diabetes. Frankly, it is the sixth leading cause of death and there is a huge necessity for controlling the blood level. Regarding cancer and heart diseases, there is a huge need for striking latitudinal associations, i.e. people living in sunny climates are more likely to have less chance of suffering from diabetes.
10 Natural Methods for Boosting Your Body’s Immunity
Boosting your body’s immunity is an easy process, only if you are aware of the method and follow it in the right way. Some of the major ones are below –
1) Reducing Stress Levels
The immune system of your body gets suppressed due to chronic stress as it releases the hormone cortisol. Here the cortisol will interfere with the T-cells (this is a specific white blood cell) to create and receive signals from the human body. Furthermore, cortisol lowers the antibody secretory called IgA. This lines the respiratory tract and gut, making this the first line of defence against various pathogens. For keeping your stress on the check, you can meditate, practice yoga, and even do deep breathing.
2) Consuming Lots of Vegetables
Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds are loaded with various nutrients. These are important for our immune system. Taking them daily will boost one’s immunity. For having a healthy liver, you can try cruciferous veggies like broccoli, kale, and cabbage. Such foodstuffs must be included in our daily diet and having a healthy liver will make sure that our body’s detoxification process is natural and in a proper way.
3) Control or Reduce Intake of Alcohol
Various research and studies prove that excess intake of alcohol will drastically affect the immune system. Basically, you can say that it is the major pathway to complicate the whole immunity of the human body. Mild consumption of alcohol can be beneficial for the entire health of the body.
4) Go on Exercising
Exercising on a regular basis will easily boost the immune system of our body. Working out will mobilize the T cells which is a white blood cell that can protect the body against various infections. The continuous and rigorous workout session might weaken the immune system, making you prone to various kinds of flu and viral infections.
5) Getting Rid of The Habit of Smoking
You need to avoid smoking as it will increase the chances of getting cancer and can even lead to impairing the immune system. Smoking can have a negative impact on both innate and adaptive immunity. Also, it can increase the chances of getting and developing harmful pathogenic immune responses. Smoking will also reduce the immune system’s effectiveness in terms of defence. However, if you still really want to continue, there are other alternatives like using electronic cigarettes and nicotine patches that can help you to get rid of smoking and are somewhat less harmful.
6) Going for Supplements and Natural Herbs
Various herbs and medicinal plants like Echinacea, AHCC, Astragalus, and Andrographis will lower the severity and duration of any illness. Besides that, using such kind of mineral and vitamin supplements will give you the required nutrients for getting a robust immune system.
7) Consuming Mushroom
Unlike other foodstuffs, mushrooms are nature’s method of breaking down the organic matter for converting it into fertile soil. It is one of the healthiest foods in the world and contains various necessary minerals and nutrients. Some major mushrooms that are excellent for the immune system are Maitake, Turkey tail mushroom, Shiitake mushrooms Tremella mushrooms, etc.
8) Getting Proper and Good Amount of Sleep
Lack of good sleep will lead to the activation of the inflammatory immune response, thereby reducing the T cells activity in the body. Well, it will, later, lead to weakening the immune system and sometimes the responses to vaccines. You need to sleep for 7-9 hours and even avoid all kinds of an all-niter. In case, if you are traveling in different time zones on a regular basis, then try to have 2-3mg of melatonin for resetting the circadian rhythm.
9) Come Out and Absorb the Sun
One of the major contributions in producing vitamin D to the human body is by stepping out in the natural light. Not only vitamin D is important for the healthy functioning of the immune system, but it also assists the body to create antibodies. Even studies show that a low level of vitamin D in the human body can lead to various kinds of respiratory issues. Going for a brisk walk in the sunlight and that too for 15-20 minutes will provide you with the required vitamin D for your body to consume.
10) Laugh A Lot of Or Little
Now you might assume binge-watching till the wee hours of the night is great. However, watching a few episodes of your favourite funny show can be great as well as beneficial. Studies and research show that laughter is the best and greatest medicine that even helps in boosting your body’s immunity. Laughing and having an overall happy as well as positive attitude are some major stress busters. Not only do they help in lowering the stress but also help in promoting sleep. These are the most important and significant elements for having a healthy body as well as a good immune system. No doubt, this is the best and greatest fun you will be having regarding your immune system and boosts it.
The End
A good immunity means having a healthy and long life. One always wants to have a healthy life that is filled with happiness and an active lifestyle. Our body immunity once gets attacked, then it becomes tough to bring it back to its old form. So, you really must take some drastic steps like mentioned above to improve your immunity. Go ahead and try them. Stay ahead in such times of the corona virus.
