Your immune system fights off sickness and infection. With colder temperatures, we tend to spend more time indoors and have closer contact with people. That increases the risk of people passing on germs and raises the chance of getting sick.
However, we can protect ourselves by strengthening our immune systems. The immune system is our fighting force against sickness and infection, so we want to keep it armed and ready. Find out more about the immune system in one of our other articles.
Now, let us look at ten natural ways to boost your immunity.
10 Natural Ways to Boost your Immunity
Boosting your immune system does not have to be challenging. There are steps anyone can take to help. Here, we will show you ten natural ways to boost your immunity.
- Moderate Exercise
Getting enough exercise is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy body sets you on the path to a healthy immune system. Regular moderate exercise is beneficial to your immune system. It can help reduce inflammation and promote the regeneration of immune cells (Simpson et al. 2015).
Tip Walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling are excellent ways to get regular moderate exercise.
- Drink Enough Water
Like exercise, drinking enough water is essential for a healthy lifestyle. Dehydration can increase your risk of illness, so it is crucial to drink enough water to prevent this. Water is the best fluid to keep you hydrated, as it does not contain sugars or other additives.
Tip Aim to drink about eight glasses of water daily, starting as soon as you wake up.
- Adequate Sleep
Getting adequate sleep is a natural way to boost your immunity. Sleep and immunity are linked, with immune system activation affecting sleep and sleep in turn impacting your immunity Besedovsky, Lange & Haack 2019.
So, when illness triggers your immune response, that sends a message to your body to sleep more. That’s why you sometimes sleep a lot when you have the flu. Then, your body can better fight the illness when you sleep. Also, the duration of sleep affects your immunity, with people sleeping fewer than six hours per night more likely to catch a cold than those sleeping more than six hours Prather et al. 2015.
Tip Get into a good sleeping routine and aim for the same amount of sleep each night.
- Take Natural Probiotics
Taking natural probiotics is an excellent way to boost your immunity. They play a vital role in promoting a healthy gut biome through good bacteria. These good bacteria can support a healthy immune system. Also, they are beneficial for your overall health, helping digestion and heart health.
Tip Eat foods like yoghurt, kimchi, and sourdough bread.
- Increase Vitamin C and D Intake
Vitamins C and D are crucial for boosting your immunity naturally. They can strengthen your immune response.
Vitamin C – this essential vitamin can reduce the duration of colds Hemila & Chalker 2013. So, Vitamin C can boost your immunity when you are sick.
Vitamin D – a Vitamin D deficiency can increase your risk of getting sick, while Vitamin D can improve your immune health Vanherwegen, Gysemans & Mathieu 2017. Therefore, Vitamin D is an excellent way to boost your immunity.
Tip Put fresh lemon in hot tea on cold days, and sit in the sun for about ten minutes daily.
- Manage Stress
Stress can put our bodies into overdrive and run us down. Managing stress is critical if you want to boost your immunity. Long-term stress triggers inflammation in your body Dhabhar 2014. Inflammation can be harmful to your immune system.
Stress also causes imbalances in the function of your immune cells Cohen et al. 2012. That impacts your ability to fight off illness or infection.
Tip Exercise, meditation, and relaxation massage are perfect ways to manage stress.
- Eat Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are excellent at decreasing inflammation in your body. That can give your immune system a natural boost. We have already mentioned how inflammation is detrimental to your immunity. It can suppress your immune response. Healthy fats combat that by reducing inflammation.
Tip Eat foods like avocado, salmon, and olive oil.
- Get Enough B12
B12 is critical for a healthy immune system. However, it also helps maintain a high red blood cell count, promotes a healthy brain, and performs DNA maintenance.
A B12 deficiency can limit your immune response and affect your ability to fight off illness Mikkelsen & Apostolopoulos 2019. Therefore, you want to ensure your B12 is at a healthy level.
Tip Foods like meat, fish, nori seaweed, and tempeh are naturally high in B12.
- Limit Added Sugars
Limiting added sugars can help you to regulate your weight. Also, it can lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Type 2 diabetes can weaken your immunity Zhou et al. 2018, as can heart disease Mann 2015.
Too much sugar can also increase inflammation in your body. The combination of these things affects your immunity.
Tip Limit your sugar intake in stages instead of cutting it out completely. It will be easier to manage that way.
- Eat More Plant Foods
Plant foods like vegetables are full of nutrients and have antioxidant properties. Foods rich in nutrients can boost your immune system and help you fight off sickness. Also, antioxidants help limit inflammation in your body. By now, we know the impact inflammation has on your immunity.
The fibre in plant foods promotes healthy bacteria in your gut and a robust immune system Holscher 2017. So, eating more plant foods is a natural way to boost your immunity.
Tip Eat fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, and nuts.
Conclusion
A healthy immune system is vital to fight off illness and infection. In winter, it is critical to have robust immunity because we are more susceptible to colds and cases of flu.
Think of your immune system as your body’s army. You want to keep it fighting fit and ready for action when needed. These ten natural ways to boost your immunity keep that army strong.
Dietitian Services at SPHC
Sandgate Physical Health Clinic is very lucky to have Erin Brealey on board as our resident Dietitian. Erin is an Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Sports Dietitian. She is passionate about helping people reach their goals through strategic and fad-free nutrition principles, and she can certainly assist with great advice on how to boost your immunity this Winter and beyond.
Erin offers an Initial Consultation (1 hour), Review Consultation (30mins) and the free 15 Minute Discovery Call.
Call for more information or to book on 38691099, read more about her services below, or BOOK ONLINE
Website –
https://www.erinbrealey.com/
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