What are 5 Ways to Help Your Immune System?
Helping your body increase the chances of fighting off disease requires taking steps to help your immune system. If you are wondering what you can do to boost your immune system, there are a few things you can do.
There are ways to boost your immune system, but they require dietary and lifestyle changes that you need to adopt. The healthy habits for your immune system can strengthen your body’s natural defenses against harmful microbes and other disease-causing organisms.
We are going to discuss a few ways you can help your immune system fight off diseases.
Tips to Help Your Immune System
Here are five tips that can help your immune system become stronger and more efficient at fighting off diseases.
1. Regular Exercise
Staying active through regular exercise is one of the most powerful healthy habits to help your immune system. When your body is more active, it helps your body’s antibodies and white blood cells circulate rapidly around your body. The better the distribution of these vital cells in your body, the greater their chances are of detecting and eliminating harmful germs.
According to the British Journal of Sports Medicine, regular exercise has also been linked to increasing your body's chances of fighting off viruses. Their study observed more than 1,000 people. They found that people exercising at least five times a week reduced the risk of coming down with the common cold, and those who became sick had less severe symptoms.
2. Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Maintaining a healthy diet is always helpful for your body. It should not come as a surprise that a healthy and balanced diet is also one of the ways to boost your immune system. Making sure you eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, lean protein, and healthy fats helps your body get the energy it needs.
Additionally, a healthy diet helps your body get sufficient amounts of nutrients like Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, and Vitamin E. These are some of the micronutrients that play a role in regulating your immune system.
3. Hydration
Most of our body weight consists of water. It plays many vital roles in the human body, including the role of supporting your immune system. Lymph is an important fluid that contains various infection-fighting cells. Being hydrated properly can help the lymph circulate in your body.
Dehydration can slow down the movement of lymph in your body and adversely affect your immunity. You keep losing water even if you are not exercising. Make sure you keep replacing the water you lose by drinking lots of water.
4. Reduce Stress
Whether you come across a sudden situation that stresses you out or you have been accumulating stress over a long time, it can have a bad effect on your physical health. People who are more prone to chronic stress can see their bodies begin a stress response. Your body's stress response can suppress your immune system and increase your chances of catching an illness.
Stress is different for everybody, and how you relieve it depends on what works best for you. You can consider taking on yoga, meditation, prayer, exercise, or even therapy. Try out different activities and focus on those that help you reduce stress in your life.
5. A Strategic Approach to Supplements
There is no shortage of supplements that claim they can help your immune system. While there are no magical herbs that can make your immune system completely infallible to diseases, some supplements can add vital nutrients to your body that can offer you better protection.
Vitamin D plays a vital role in your immune system, and you should get a healthy amount of it in your body. Suppose you live in an area where you don't get enough sunlight. In that case, a supplement containing Vitamin D can help you make up for the lack of Vitamin D you cannot get from sunlight.
Of course, you should only consider taking supplements based on your doctor’s recommendations. If you have a weak immune system, you should consult your physician to discuss how you can boost your immune system. Take supplements to help your immunity only if your doctor recommends them.
