How to Boost your Immunity
How can we improve our immune system…? Probably this is one of the most searched topics, especially after we faced such a lethal pandemic situation. As a matter of fact, immunity is something which should be our top most priority because we need to stay away from all physical and psychological ailments.
Furthermore, to effectively perform our everyday activities including jobs, studies, workout or to reach any life goals, the last thing anyone would want, is to get ill. You would never want your body to become a roadblock for your mind and vice-versa. On the whole, our immune system plays a very vital role 24×7 or in other words, it is like a shield to our body and mind, which never rests. Having said that let’s first understand how our inner warrior works day and night so we could push ourselves towards our achievements smoothly.
How does our Immune System work
Our immune system is a very complex network of cells, tissues, organs which also makes the substances that helps the body fight infections and other diseases. The immune system incorporates white blood cells (also called Leucocytes), organs and tissues of the lymph system, such as the thymus, spleen, tonsils, lymph nodes, lymph vessels, and bone marrow.
There are other types of white blood cells such as Lymphocytes and Phagocyte who plays a very major role in fighting the foreign organisms (antigens) in our body. Lymphocytes act like our body’s surveillance who identifies the enemy organisms and the Phagocytes fight and kills them to defend our health.
In addition to this, the job of Lymphocytes, is to produce antibodies. Antibodies are basically a type of protein which stays in our body and save us from the same disease again. Same function is carried upon by the vaccines. Hope you were able to connect the dots.
Types of Human Immunities
1. Natural Immunity
This is something which we are born with i.e. our body’s natural capability to identify and prevent the germs from entering our system.
For example, consider common cold. Some people get very minor or no cold at all even after getting drenched in rain or taking bathe in river water etc. whereas some people get severe cold even after a climate change. This in turn is a result of our naturally high or low immunity.
Another example is our skin which prevents majority of pathogens from entering our body.
3. Active Immunity
Active immunity is a type which is developed by ourselves due to several external factors. This can be a result of our body developing antibodies followed by an illness or disease.
Alternatively, you can also consider it as vaccine-induced immunity. This a long lasting immunity compared to below one and lesser compared to natural immunity, which is obvious.
3. Passive Immunity
This is something which is provided to a person through antibodies instead of producing them by our own immune system. For example, a new born baby gets the immunity from mother’s milk. However, it lasts for few weeks to months but take effect immediately, unlike active immunity.
Factors which Devitalize Our Immunity
1. Ageing
This is a known fact that as we age, our shield starts getting down making us more vulnerable to immunodeficiency. As a matter of fact, our micronutrient deficiency plays a very vital role in this. Moreover, the organs which are related to immunity, stop producing significant immune cells to keep our defensive system up all the time.
2. Environmental Toxins
Many studies have found out that pollution plays major role in lowering down our immunity. Environmental pollution and smoke which consists of many harmful gases and toxic particles which keep making their way via water, foods, air etc., inside our body and thus making us less defensive to viral infections such as influenza.
Click Here to read the abstract.
3. Excess Weight
Obesity is largely accounted for increasing inflammation in our body which in turn increases pro-inflammatory proteins. As a result of which, our WBC count deteriorates and thereby immunity is decreased. Moreover, obesity attracts numerous chronic diseases like cardiovascular problems, hypertension, high blood pressure etc. which also affects our body’s natural immunity process.
Click Here to read the abstract.
4. Poor Diet
Diet always makes a priority when immunity is taken into picture. Living sedentary life and consuming processed foods, refined foods, low fiber diets etc. result in increasing inflammation and hence affecting our white blood cells.
However, not one or two healthy meals in a day can help to tackle this, rather we should always focus on a balanced diet throughout the day.
5. Chronic Diseases
Inflammation again is accounted for, when comes to chronic diseases. These include Cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension etc. which hugely impact the blood cells containing platelets, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes.
Click Here to read the abstract.
6. Chronic Mental Stress
The stress hormone corticosteroid(cortisol) suppresses the Lymphocytes. Therefore, being stressed, reduces our body’s capabilities to fight the antigens. Moreover, stress attracts many secondary as well as chronic diseases which again makes our immunity vulnerable.
7. Lack of Sleep and Rest
This is one of the many gifts, we can present to our body. When we sleep, our immune system starts fighting with stress hormone cortisol as well as promotes anti-inflammatory functions to tackle with pro-inflammatory Cytokines. This is why 7-9 hours sleep is always recommended.
Click Here to read the abstract.
7 ways you can boost immunity naturally
By looking at the above causes, you must have been aware of what changes we can bring in our daily lifestyle, so to keep our immune system up and strong all the way. Here are some go to factors to consider –
1. Eat Healthy Fats
Healthy fats such as Omega -3 plays a major role in boosting immunity. It helps our body to fight inflammation and also helps to prevent chronic diseases. You may consider having Olive oil, Salmon, Almonds, Walnuts, Chia seeds, avocado etc. which are great source of healthy fats. And the list goes on and on.
Researches have found that healthy fats very much help promote lipids in the membrane of immune cells. But please keep a note that fatty acids here means monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, not saturated fatty acids.
2. Exercise Regularly
Many studies have proved that even moderate level of daily exercise also helps in boosting the immunity. In the same fashion, exercise can help boosting cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases, thus makes it an absolute option when comes to boosting our immunity.
3. Nutrition Rich Diet
There is no second thought that a good diet always helps us keep stronger and healthier, hence boosting the immunity. However, just not a single source of nutrition, but we should always consider a diet plan which consists of enough daily % of micronutrients as well as macronutrients.
In addition to that, studies have proved that diets rich of zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E contribute largely to boosting our immunity.
Consider adding fruits and green vegetables to daily meals. Alternatively, which I have been doing, you can consider multivitamin supplements as well if you feel you don’t always has access to fruits or veggies. But remember, wholesome foods have no comparison with the supplements.
4. Manage Stress
As discussed previously, how stress contribute to lowering our immune system. Having said that, we have many options to tackle this. There can be personal as well as professional reasons of being stressed out, which I know many of us already know how to deal with. However, there are some proven ways to manage stress.
- First most and the best one is meditation or pranayama. Probably many people already be doing. Meditation and pranayama help our brain to keep calm and divert our focus from the disturbing factors.
- Secondly, go out for a walk in fresh air, preferably early morning and practice deep breath and let our mother nature do the wonders to us. If not morning, try for evening or even best one, after dinner.
- Third but not the least, follow #2 above i.e. indulge in some physical activity (gym, football, cricket or whatever you like) and let your heart pump out more blood throughout the body especially to the brain or I would suggest perform yoga for at least 30 mins everyday. Yoga has numerous benefits which you would not even realize performing that daily.
5. Maintain Hygiene
Needless to say but always remember, prevention is better than cure. No matter how healthy you are eating or doing exercise, if you can not keep yourself clean and hygienic, all the efforts will go into vein. Our hand always get in touch with numerous surfaces throughout the day making it a place of various bacteria and germs which easily make their way to our lungs and stomach.
Make a practice of keeping a sanitizer at least, near by your workplace or study or wherever you spend most of the time. When we will prevent the antigens from entering our body, obviously our defensive system would not need to struggle hard to fight those. The pandemic has already motivated us enough already…right? Yep.. I believe so.
5. Add Ginger and Garlic to the Diets
This is a well known fact that Ginger and Garlic carries anti inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-oxidant and anti-viral properties which makes these two a great option to include in our daily foods.
As a matter of fact, many researches have also confirmed that Ginger and Garlic prevents our cells from producing proteins which promotes inflammation.
5. Include Probiotics
Probiotic is found to be carrying both disease prevention as well as disease treatment properties. Adding to this, probiotics helps fight pathogens and toxins in our stomach to prevent exposure to infections.
Having said that, you can get the probiotics in your diet through yoghurt, cheese, butter milk and many more options are available, based on one’s accessibility.
Although this is in itself is a huge topic to discuss, however I am adding the research published, in case if you want to know in details, Click Here
—–To find more about clean eating and nutrition – Click Here
Resources –
- https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/immune-system
- https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/immune.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/immunity-types.html
- https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/nutrition-and-immunity/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3256323/