How Can You Strengthen Your Immune System?

Being immune to someone means being protected from it. And that is the purpose of the immune system. It is the body’s natural way to defend itself in the fight against inflammation. Therefore, if your immune system is weak, your body’s ability to face inflammation will be reduced. You become more susceptible to certain diseases. Below are some tips to help you strengthen your immune system naturally.

How does the immune system work?

The most important cells in the immune system are called leukocytes or white blood cells. Thus, when an organism detects a threat, these cells set in motion and travel through the bloodstream until they reach harmful concentration. Their job is to repair damaged tissue, act as a barrier to inflammation, and produce pain-based substances that promote pain.

Inflammation is the way the immune system treats infections, whether they are caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, protozoa or prions. The immune system detects particles that are harmful to your health. Later, in response to the invasion, it responded by attacking and destroying them. The swelling only decreases when the threat disappears.

When the immune system is not working properly…

A weakened immune system has many negative effects on the body. Immune deficiency is one of them – the “protection down” of the system. Due to immune deficiency, natural defense and defense mechanisms become more inactive than normal.

Another negative consequence is the emergence of certain autoimmune diseases that cause the system to falsely attack healthy cells in the body. The organism is no longer able to distinguish its own tissues from infectious agents. And because it is confused, it inflames healthy parts of the body. There are over 80 different autoimmune diseases. Although in many cases their causes are unknown, they are believed to have a strong hereditary component. They are also more common in women.

Tips to strengthen the immune system

Just as there are internal factors that interfere with the functioning of your body, there are other external factors that you can better control. Therefore, you can intervene and change these external factors to strengthen your immune system. What are these factors?

Balanced diet

This is the most important part of the immune system. Your diet must be balanced. That means it must be based on consuming the nutrients your body needs in the right proportions.

A balanced diet includes unsaturated fats (nuts, salmon, tuna, olive oil), dairy products, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day. In addition, other nutrients that can supplement your diet and help strengthen your immune system include:

• Vitamin E found in wheat germ oil, sunflower, safflower, corn and soybeans. It is also found in almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, and green leafy vegetables such as spinach.
• Vitamin C is predominant in vegetables such as cabbage and broccoli, as well as fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, guava and lemons.
• Vitamin A is found in milk, butter and cheese. Also from vegetables like carrots or cabbage.
• Iron  is found in lean red meat such as veal or beef, shellfish, liver and egg.
• Zinc and selenium  are high in beef, turkey, and chicken, as well as shrimp, lobster, and most fish. The good thing is that these minerals are found in almost all foods that people regularly consume.

Avoid infections

In many cases, there is no personal hygiene and food hygiene. During the day, we touch many different places: door handles, the toilet, the computer keyboard… Therefore, all possible viruses and bacteria in our environment can infect us. Therefore, you should wash your hands thoroughly before putting anything in your mouth. While it may seem obvious, it is very important and it is also a very good way to prevent infections.

Likewise, even if food goes through the food safety chain, it is highly recommended to wash fruits and vegetables before eating them. Using water and vinegar is usually enough. In the same sense, it is recommended to keep the cold chain of meat and fish when cooking.

Exercise

Physical exercise for 30 minutes at least 3 times a week also helps. This regularity keeps your muscles active. It also helps every cell in your body become more oxygenated and perform its function better.

It is important that whatever exercise you decide to do, it requires the use of all the muscle groups in your body. For example, swimming, tennis, biking, running or just walking. All of these activities favor coordination, flexibility, and movement throughout the body.

But be careful! Because just like a sedentary lifestyle or just a little exercise damages blood circulation and promotes certain cardiovascular diseases, excessive exercise can increase the weakness of the immune system. Crossing the boundaries of your own body damages your own defenses because you take your body to extremes and thus make it exhausted. It is important to calibrate your workout intensity and know how far you can take it.

Meditation and relaxation

In many cases, stress, anxiety, or depression reduce the ability to cope with adversity. If they persist, in addition to a distracting state of mind, they can impair and weaken your own defenses and increase your risk of disease. A good way to avoid this and strengthen your immune system is to practice yoga, tai chi, awareness or meditation. They are all relaxation techniques that can help you improve your breathing. As a result, the balance between your mind and body also improves.

You are constantly exposed to harmful substances: tobacco smoke, environmental pollution, dust, aerosol… Therefore, strengthening your immune system is the best way to prevent damage to your body. If you put these guidelines into practice, your immune system will be strengthened and your body will appreciate it.