Are you feeling run-down and finding it harder to snap back from sickness? Make a few fundamental changes with these easy ways to boost your immune system.
Your immune system is both your best defense and your best offense against
sickness and poor health. It keeps you healthy by staving off infections and diseases from bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and even your own cells, should they become unhealthy. Naturally, you want to keep your immune system in fighting trim.
If you don’t know how to start, here are a few easy ways to boost your immune
system. Some may seem obvious, but they’re your best bet for maintaining a healthy immune system and, by extension, a healthy life!
Get Some Exercise
Whether you want to improve your immune system, lose weight, fight depression, or simply re-energize yourself and your outlook on life, you can never go wrong with exercise. Clearly, a healthy body that receives regular exercise is better able to protect itself from illness. When you work out, you challenge your heart and lungs to beat and breathe faster, become stronger, and fill your blood cells with oxygen that enriches every part of your body. Exercise also works to lift your spirits and alleviate stress, putting less unnecessary pressure on your immune system.
Change Your Diet
If you’ve chosen a vegan lifestyle, you’re already ahead of the game. Eliminating meat, especially red meat, from your diet goes a long way toward better health in general, and the same goes for processed foods. There’s no specific food that can instantly boost immunity on its own, but a better and more balanced diet overall can only help you. Ensure you’re getting enough water, fruits and vegetables, nuts, and other kinds of nutrition in your daily diet. Some studies have shown a likely connection between strong immune cells and foods containing vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc, selenium, iron, and protein. Probiotic foods can also help, but with yogurt out of the question, seek healthful bacteria through sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, pickled vegetables, and fortified dairy alternatives.
Sleep Is Good
In our fast-paced world, sleep gets a bad rap, with some folks even bragging about how productive they are because they sleep less. In the long run, getting your full eight hours of sleep can only benefit you. Multiple studies prove that people who get adequate rest and sleep have a better chance of fighting off sickness or recovering more quickly when ill. Other research has shown that, during sleep, your immune system provides cytokines, proteins that help you sleep and are necessary to produce antibodies to fight off an infection.
Stay Clean
When considering easy ways to boost your immune system, don’t forget the importance of practicing good hygiene. Take regular showers and baths, and always wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after visiting the restroom and before preparing meals. Avoid touching your face, especially around your mouth and nose, and treat cuts, scrapes, and other wounds immediately with soap, water, and antiseptic. Don’t give germs a place to linger on your body!
