Read on for 7 easy tips you can start immediately to boost your immune system - the natural way.
A strong immune system is key to helping you feel at your best.
So, taking a few extra steps to ensure optimal immune functioning is a great way to help protect yourself from the various coughs, colds, flus, or other common afflictions.
In addition to getting sick less, having a strong immune system can help your body detect and destroy abnormal cells, to help keep you healthier in the long term. Read on for 7 easy tips you can start immediately to boost your immune system - the natural way.
Stress is a normal part of life, and a little bit of stress can help you rise to the occasion of a challenge or power through a deadline.
But, being way too stressed out for too long can eventually take a toll on your body, including weakening your immune system.
While you can’t avoid all stress in your life, take the time to decompress in the evenings or weekends with healthy stress-relieving activities.
Integrate yoga, meditation, regular exercise, nutritious meals, and plenty of sleep into your off time to help keep your immune system at its peak, even if you are dealing with some stress.
Believe it or not, just having a positive attitude can help keep your immune system strong.
Your mood and stress hormone production is connected, so even if life is throwing you some curveballs, look on the sunny side to help keep your immune system strong.
As it turns out, laughter may actually be the best medicine.
Initial studies suggest that there may be a connection between being exposed to humor and laughing with an improved immune response. Laughing can also be a great stress reliever, so you can de-stress and help boost your immune system at the same time.
This one should go without saying, but eating a healthy and varied whole-food-based diet is integral to strong immune functionality. Eat a variety of different brightly colored fruits and vegetables, in addition to whole grains, healthy fats, and proteins, to ensure your immune system has all the components it needs to work at its peak.
Also, brightly colored fruits and vegetables tend to have high amounts of vitamin C and antioxidants, that may help you combat infections and viruses if they end up finding their way in.
Not sure if you are getting enough vitamins and minerals every day? Add in a multivitamin or a high-quality hair, skin, and nail supplement like StrutVite to complement a healthy diet.
Exercise isn’t just there so that you can look fit and strong, it has nearly innumerable benefits for your overall health as well.
As far as infection and virus benefits go, exercise may help sweep bacteria from the airways and lungs, ramp up the abilities of the immune cells, slightly increase your body temperature to help fight infections, and help lower your stress hormones.
So, in case you didn’t have enough reasons to start a regular workout plan, add increased immune function to the list.
Sleep is the time in which the body goes about healing, repairing, and resting itself. So, if you are aiming for a strong immune system, skimping on sleep is a bad idea.
Not getting enough sleep can affect your immune response (in addition to making you feel like a zombie.) Adults should aim for 7-8 hours of sleep a night, but if you feel like you are coming down with something, sprinkle in some extra Zzzs or naps as needed to let your immune system do its thing.
Your immune system is closely tied to your overall gut health, so making sure that you have plenty of healthy bacteria flourishing there is ideal.
Take a probiotic, or eat lots of healthy fermented foods to make sure that if pathogens find their way into your body or digestive tract, that you have plenty of good flora there to help you fight it off. Kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, yogurt, and miso are all good (and tasty) options to help keep your gut health top-notch.
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