Keeping your immunity high is key to avoiding becoming sick.
Falling ill, even for a relatively short amount of time, can negatively affect many aspects of your life. It can cause you to fall behind on work, miss out on opportunities and just generally impact your ability to enjoy your life.
For those who want to stay in tip-top shape, finding ways to boost your immune system is a top priority.
The good news is that it isn’t actually that difficult to keep your immune system strong. Protecting your immunity is mostly based on making simple, healthy decisions that health professionals regularly recommend. Focusing on your diet, sleep, exercise, and hydration can go a long way to boosting your immunity.
Here are a few simple steps you can take to improve your immunity today.
1. Eat a balanced diet
Diet is one of the first things you want to focus on when you are trying to improve your immunity. Making sure your body is getting all the essential nutrients it needs is key to ensuring your cells have the strength to fight off any invaders.
You might be tempted to take supplements in order to meet your daily recommended value of vitamins and minerals, but the best way to consume nutrients is always through a whole-food diet. There are a few reasons for this. For one thing, overconsuming certain vitamins and minerals can actually be harmful and put an unnecessary strain on your body. You are much more likely to face this issue if you take supplements as opposed to eating whole foods.
Another reason why it is important to consume your nutrients via whole foods is that you need to be filling your body with calories if you want to be able to fight off sickness. Being in a calorie deficit while you are sick can make it difficult or even impossible to recover from illness, and it can make you more prone to getting sick in the first place.
2. Get enough sleep
It is essential to keep your body rested if you want to prevent yourself from getting sick. People who are sleep deprived or who get a poor quality of sleep are more likely to get sick.
If you have already gotten sick and are looking to aid your body in fighting off the illness, you should definitely sleep as much as possible. Sleeping more while sick can help aid your immune system and is a key part of getting better.
3. Avoid alcohol as much as possible
If you feel yourself coming down with something, you need to stay sober so that your body can fight it off. It can be tempting to put together a hot toddy to soothe your symptoms and feel good again. However, it is never a good idea to drink when sick.
Even occasional drinking can lead to problems in your immune system. Consistent drinking can significantly affect the immune system over time
4. Quit smoking
It’s no secret that smoking is bad for your health, but with vapes now popular, many people think it’s a safer alternative to smoking.
We are here to tell you that it’s not. Smoking from a cigarette or vape doesn’t only do damage to your lungs and heart in the long term – it also lowers your immunity in the short term.
It does this by throwing off the balance of your immune system that works to keep you strong. Studies have shown that smoking can lead to rheumatoid arthritis, which is a disease where your immune system attacks your joints.
5. Exercise regularly
Now, you don’t want to overdo it with exercise, but moderate exercise is a great way to boost your immune system. Moderate exercise can help to reduce inflammation and might help your immune cells regenerate.
While moderate exercise can be helpful, prolonged intense exercise can actually suppress your immune system. Keep this in mind when you are creating your exercise regime.
The one exception to this is if you are already feeling ill. If you are experiencing symptoms like fatigue or body aches, it is best to take a break from the exercise to let your body fight off whatever issue it’s dealing with.
6. Drink plenty of water
While it’s important to avoid alcohol if you want a healthy immune system, you should drink lots of water to stay hydrated! Hydration is an essential part of keeping your body in tip-top shape. Dehydration can impact your body’s physical performance, making it hard for your body to fight off diseases.
7. Take a Multivitamin
If you aren’t able to get adequate amounts of vitamins from diet alone, adding a multivitamin to your daily routine can help bridge the gap. Plus, studies have shown that taking a multivitamin can potentially help prevent Alzheimer’s disease and improve your overall brain health. The study also found that multivitamins had an added benefit for older adults who had a history of cardiovascular disease. That may be because those with cardiovascular risk factors typically have lower levels of vitamins and minerals in their blood. A healthier brain and heart are definitely steps to better health and immunity.
If you focus on adding these habits into your life, you should find yourself getting sick less frequently and having a shorter duration of illness whenever you do happen to come down with something.
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