A strong immune system is a key factor for healthy living. It helps you build resistance against and fight off diseases and infections. A strong immune system will trigger a response when it comes into contact with a pathogen and immediately releases antibodies to kill the pathogens.
A weak immune system leaves you exposed and makes you vulnerable to sickness. This is why you must be proactive and boost your immune system. Here are 5 effective ways to go about that right now.
Eat healthy food
Healthy foods play a big part in boosting the immune system and contribute to general body wellness. A large number of diseases would be avoided if people ate healthy foods and in fact, disease treatment cannot be done to the exclusion of nutrition.
According to nutrition experts, the following foods are perfect immune boosters. They are blueberries, dark chocolate, turmeric, oily fish, broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach, ginger, garlic, green tea, kefir, sunflower seed, almonds, oranges, kiwi and red bell pepper.
Get adequate sleep
Adequate sleep is a natural way to boost the immune system. It is effective in stress reduction because it puts the body at rest thus helping it to regain its vitality and strength. The amount of sleep that’s required to achieve a strong immune system is seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
Lack of sleep, on the other hand, weakens your immunity and makes you vulnerable to illnesses. Inadequate sleep can also make it difficult to recover from an illness becuase the body lacks the vitality to fight back. That’s why sick people who find it difficult to sleep are given sleeping pills so they can recover fast.
Regular exercise
In addition to healthy food and adequate sleep, regular exercise is also an effective way to strengthen an individual’s immunity. This is because exercise improves the cardiovascular system and protects the body from diseases thus boosting the immune system.
Studies show that exercise causes visible changes in antibodies and white blood cells - the body's immune system cells that fight disease. Because these antibodies circulate more rapidly within the body, they’re able to detect illnesses more effectively and fight against them. So the more you exercise, the more these antibodies are released which is actually good for the body.
Vaccines and supplements
Vaccines and supplements are for people of all ages. Vaccination helps to protect future generations because it prevents life-threatening diseases from an early stage. Old people particularly need vaccines since it’s usually harder for their immune systems to fight off illnesses as they age.
Supplements are also very potent in strengthening the immune system. They play complementary roles to the vaccines and you can get supplements for the management of different ailments. Mind Your Head York has a compilation of reviews for supplements that could help you find specific supplements for specific conditions. So definitely go ahead and read those reviews and make informed choices.
Build healthy habits
A great way to sustain the immunity you’ve built over time is by building healthy habits. Make it a habit to only eat healthy foods, always sleep early and for the required length of time, avoid alcohol consumption as much as possible, minimize stress, quit smoking and maintain a good body and oral hygiene.
These habits take time to build but you’ll eventually get used to observing them once they become part of you. If you’re struggling with habits, think of what you stand to gain by upholding them and what you stand to lose by not practicing them. It’ll help keep you on track.
Hafiz is a content strategist and internet marketer. He helps businesses to build brand awareness, engage their target audiences, and generate more leads. Follow him on twitter and LinkedIn