How To Boost Your Immune System
What Weakens The Immune System
Winter is usually the season of colds and flu that brings focus on your immune system. However, given we are now living in a pandemic we should really be adjusting all year round. This is achieved, put simply, by empowering the immune system.
The immune system works hard all day and every day to fight disease and protect the body from infections and other potential foreign bodies. What Weakens the immune system is generally due to poor diet, stress and not getting enough sleep.
what can you do to boost your immune system?
Living a healthy and balanced lifestyle is the best thing you can do to make sure your immune system can function optimally, if you give it the right conditions to do so.
If you suffer from bad health or you generally do not feel well, please read through Step Up Your Health to get yourself onto the right path holistically and continue reading here for specifics on improving your immune system.
how to boost the immune system
A healthy gut contributes to a strong immune system, with approximately 70% of the immune systems is located in the gut. Nutrition is a key modulator of immune function. The main concept of building a strong immune system is to provide the right conditions for your immune system to perform optimally. A few things to eliminate are potential blockers that are interfering with your immune response.
Gluten
You may have a gluten issue and not know it, causing intestinal issues, itchy throat, watery eyes or runny nose.
Gluten can stimulate an over production of certain white blood cells (eosinophils) casing the white blood cells to become out of balance and thus cause a histamine reaction leading to allergies, and a disruption of your immune system.
Eliminate wheat products or try a spelt or kamut sourdough option as the sourdough fermentation process is known to transform the gluten protein enabling your digestive system to break down the food easier without an allergic reaction. A study conducted in Italy gave volunteers with celiac disease a small amount of sourdough bread with positive results. The study concluded it was not toxic to the celiac disease participants.
DAIRY
Dairy intolerance can be extremely inflammatory and also lead to autoimmune disease. If in doubt test for food intolerances to identify a casein intolerance. Cut out all dairy if you are intolerant and switch to other sources of calcium such as leafy greens, almonds (activate almond milk, chia seeds, sesame seeds, figs, sardines etc. See this list provided by the Mayo Clinic.
antacids
Avoid antacids as they disrupt the levels of hydrochloric acid in your stomach which is part of the immune system that wipes out harmful microbes such as bacteria, fungi or yeast. Antacids diminish the effectiveness of this function and in the long term can lead to colon issues.
Refined Sugar
For several reasons refined sugar is simply not good for your health. It kills white blood cells. If you tend to sweeten your food or beverage, use a non-refined natural sweetener instead.
Pure air
Breathing air is a vital element needed for life. When you breath in polluted air it can irritate your throat, give you nose burn and make breathing difficult. Pollutants such from airborne particles can trigger respiratory problems, in particular, asthma sufferers. If you live in a clean air environment, open your windows when you sleep at night. Take care and have a fly screen fitted to avoid unwanted visitors. If you live in a polluted area, invest in an air purifier and indoor plants with air purifying qualities such as:
Snake Plant or Mother-In-Law’s Tongue
Spider Plant
Aloe Vera
Areca Palm
Weeping Fig
Chinese Evergreen
Chrysanthemum
English Ivy
Barberton Daisy
Money Plant
Broad Lady Palm
Dragon Tree
RUBBER PLANT
Sunshine
UV radiation is essential for Vitamin D synthesis. Notably, exposure to both UVA and UVB radiation may help prevent autoimmune diseases and assist in the regulation of calcium metabolism and neuromuscular and immune system function.
Another study suggests “There is also abundant evidence showing that sunlight effects, especially of very low doses, are indeed beneficial”. Researchers further reported in that sunlight, through a mechanism separate from vitamin D production, T cells that play a central role in human immunity become energized. These findings suggest how the body’s largest organ, the skin, remain alert to microbes that nest. Low levels of blue light from the sun rays, enable T cells work faster to get to the site of an infection and orchestrate an immunity response.
A safe exposure spans between 3 to 30 minutes per day depending on skin colour and when the sun is highest in the sky with 40% of the skin exposed.
Sunscreen can be applied however additional exposure time would be needed. Full details found here.
Sleep
Sleep regulates the immunological processes and is essentially important for virtually every system of the body. Regular sleep at night strengthens the immune system to support a balanced and effective immune function.
A described in Step Up Your Health, aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
Exercise
High intensity interval training increases blood supply to bones and bone marrow where white blood cells are made. Exercise can also help move microbes out of the lungs and airways. Run up hills and walk down a few times, do this a few times a week. In a six-year study conducted on healthy young adults and published in the February 2013 edition of the World Journal of Experimental Medicine, researchers discovered that white blood cell types consistently increased after five minutes of intense exercise.
Benefits of Activity & Exercise
Regular exercise and physical activity can promote:
sleeping better at night
feeling better physically and mentally
Improving skin, muscle tone, heart and lung function
maintaining strength and circulation
Caution:
Ensure you know if you have low platelets (Platelets are cells that help stop bleeding when tissue is damaged), you should not be perform high intensity activities such as running, aerobic exercise etc. These activities may cause trauma to the muscles and joints and you may be susceptible to bleeding. See your doctor beforehand for advice.
Hot and Cold Therapy
In the mornings, take a Hot and cold shower. After a warm/hot 10 minute shower, finish off with 10 seconds of cold. This stimulates bone marrow to make more white blood cells whilst also equalising the circulation, it prevents chilling and closes the pores. Take saunas for additional benefits.
Proper Diet
A diet high in fibre, protein, fats and one which is predominantly plant based is common amongst the Blue Zone areas of the world. These are communities where people live well into their nineties and beyond the age of 100.
Although other factors may contribute to longevity, such as living in mountainous terrain, the countryside or seaside, breathing in clean air, working on the land (agricultural activities) and living with minimal stress, observing the diet habit of these Blue Zone areas should make perfect sense:
Ikaria, Greece
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica
Okinawa, Japan
Ogliastra & Barbagia (Sardinia, Italy)
Loma Linda, California (a Seventh Day Adventist population)
As mentioned in this article: “there are nine characteristics common to all of them that are portable to any location and can be used to make healthy lifestyle changes. They include making low-intensity physical activity part of one's daily routine, building good relationships with friends and family, eating a diet lighter on meat and excess calories and heavier on plants, and finding a purpose for and sense of meaning in your life”
A study revealed a predominantly plant-based diet characterized by low consumption of red meat and a lower daily calorie intake.
Drink Water For hydration
Is essential to hydrate the cells and keep the blood thin, whilst also enabling the Production of white blood cells, drinking water, especially good quality that is natural and clean for good health and supporting the immune system. Drinking an adequate amount of water daily (2 litres a day is a general guide for adults), which for the kidney is vital as assists it to function more effectively. To compensate for sweating, increase salt intake (study suggests) to restore the sodium balance. Salt, real salt (such as Sea Salt, Celtic Salt and Himalayan Salt) is essential for cell function and is necessary for the hydration process to move from the outside of the cell membrane to the inside of the cells in order for water to fuel cell function. For more information on the function of salt and advice on salt intake check the Hydration Foundation.
Eliminate Stress and Worry
Being stressed can have a significant effect on the immune system. It can damage white blood cells and produce stress hormones that suppress your immune system. Managing stress is crucial to well-being and to inhibit negative immune system function. Taking actionable steps can be helpful to offset your stress in combination of stress releasing activity such as meditation, yoga and getting outside in the fresh air to clear the mind and benefit from breathing clean air.
