You might already hear about the immune system many times in your lifetime. The topic of our immune system has been more relevant nowadays, especially during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Everyone has been encouraged to focus on strengthening and protecting their immune system to prevent acquiring any diseases, especially the highly contagious COVID-19. Thus, we will talk about why strengthening your immune system is crucial and how you can do it.
Why We Need to Strengthen Our Immune System
The immune system protects our body from foreign invaders. It releases white blood cells and other chemicals that act as soldiers who kill bacteria, viruses, germs, fungi, and toxins that penetrate our body’s barriers.
If your immune system is weak, any foreign invaders will be able to enter your body with ease. Viruses and bacteria, the most common causes of illnesses, can easily invade and multiply inside our bodies, causing us to get sick. Not to mention some seasonal allergies that make you take antihistamines more often.
People who have a weak immune system always experience getting infections and severe symptoms of the disease they acquire. And most of the time, these people end up being hospitalized.
If you don’t want to experience severe symptoms of infections and any diseases, in particular, you must strengthen your immune system.
Tips on How to Boost Your Immune System
Fear no more as there are many ways to strengthen your immune system and prevent any severe complications in your health. Below are the tips you can follow and achieve a stronger immune system in no time.
Take Your Daily Dose of Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the most popular vitamin known to boost your immune system. Vitamin C can be acquired from citrus fruits, broccoli, strawberries, and many more. However, eating this food still could not meet the vitamin C needed by your body to boost your immunity.
It is why you must take a supplement to compensate for whatever is lacking. Vitamin C supplements are highly available in the pharmacy and can be purchased over the counter. So, even if you are eating food rich in vitamin C, it is still better if you take a vitamin C Supplement on top of your diet.
Add Zinc-Rich Food to Your Diet
If you want to stabilize your immune system, you should consume food rich in zinc. It will aid vitamin c in strengthening your immune system and boosting your metabolism function. Foods you must eat to acquire zinc are chicken, red meat, and fortified breakfast cereals.
You can also purchase zinc supplements in the market to ensure that you are getting the right amount of zinc needed by your immune system.
Exercise Moderately
Exercising excessively or inadequately is not good for your immune system. Exercising has been linked to improved immunity, which is why many health experts advise everyone not to eat healthily but also exercise regularly. q
However, you also have to keep in mind that too much exercise can cause a decrease in immune function. It has been said that a long and vigorous exercise will leave someone susceptible to illnesses within 72 hours after the activity. It was observed that the body produces certain hormones after exercising too much that causes a temporary decrease in immunity.
With that being said, you should ensure that you exercise moderately. It is advised to exercise 30 minutes a day to ensure that your immune system is well protected and strong.
Avoid Stress
Stress is one of the enemies of our immune system. If you notice when you are experiencing too much stress, you start feeling weak and easily get sick. Therefore, if you want to keep your immune system strong, avoid stress as much as possible.
The reason behind this is that our body releases stress hormones that lessen the strength of our immune system. There is also a possibility that it is the same hormone that affects your immunity after vigorous exercise.
Have Enough Sleep
Besides eating healthy and exercising the right way, you should also have enough sleep. A lack of sleep is a known factor that weakens a person’s immune system making you susceptible to many diseases. If you aim to strengthen your immune system and keep it that way, it is advised to sleep at least 6 hours every day.
If possible, make it 8 hours to ensure that you are getting the right amount of sleep needed by your body to boost immunity, replenish damaged cells and recharge your energy. Having enough sleep will help you prepare for your day ahead.
Prevention Is Better than Cure
Always remember that prevention is better than cure. If you want to prevent getting severe medical conditions caused by foreign invaders, start strengthening your immune system now by following the tips provided in this article.
