Your immune system does an excellent job of defending you against harmful pathogens and disease-causing microorganisms. But, at times, a germ may invade your system and you heal. On the dark side, frequent illness results in inflammatory responses, leading to chronic conditions like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. But is it possible to intervene to help you heal and stay healthy? Yes, several lifestyle changes can help support your immune system. Let’s look at them.
Table of Contents
Increase the intake of plant-based foods
Whole plant foods like legumes, cereals, seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables are rich in nutrients and antioxidants, which boost the body’s immunity. The antioxidants combat the free radicals that cause inflammation when they build up in the body. Thus, this prevents you from getting ill by decreasing inflammation. Moreover, whole plant foods are fiber-rich and feed your gut microbiome. This improves your immunity and prevents the entry of pathogens into your body through the gastrointestinal tract. Further, fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients like vitamin C, which naturally boost immunity and aid recovery.
Get adequate sleep
Adequate sleep is essential for the health of your body and brain. In fact, poor quality sleep increases your susceptibility to illnesses. Your natural immune cells reduce, and the inflammation cells go up. If you are an adult, aim to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, but teens need 8-10 hours, and younger children and toddlers need up to 14 hours. Sleeping adequately will strengthen your immune system. Moreover, adequate sleep will help your immune system fight the illness better if you are ill. If you struggle with insomnia, try and limit screen time at least one hour before bed, sleep in a dark room and go to bed at the same time every night.
Include probiotics and supplements in your diet
Eating a healthy diet is very crucial for a healthy immune system. But at times, we may not meet the necessary dietary requirements due to the unavailability of various foods or the destruction of nutrients during cooking and storage. As a result, you can take certified health and wellness supplements for the nutritional support you need to strengthen your immune system. Also, you, take probiotics from fermented and cultured foods like sauerkraut, kombucha, yogurt, and tofu, to mention a few. Probiotics contain live yeast and bacteria that are good for your gut and digestive system health.
Engage in Moderate Exercise
Moderate exercise is essential in keeping your weight in check and preventing chronic illnesses like hypertension and heart disease, which can compromise your health. Also, it contributes to a healthy immune system by reducing inflammation and helping the immune cells regenerate regularly. Further, exercising promotes good blood circulation, enabling the immune system to function optimally.
Limit your intake of refined carbohydrates and added sugars
Intake of refined sugars and carbohydrates is linked to overweight and obesity. Obesity and overweight increase your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, suppressing your immunity and making you susceptible to illness. Moreover, intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates increases inflammatory responses in the body. Lower your sugar and refined carbohydrates to decrease inflammation and your risk of developing conditions that compromise your immune system.
Wrapping Up
The burden of ill health is unspeakable, from lack of productivity to all the expenses you will spend on medication and check-ups. Make lifestyle changes we have covered above to strengthen your immune system. You will reduce your probability of getting sick, and you will return to good health faster once you fall ill.
Tiffany is a Medical Student and also works as a fitness coach in part-time. She is also a writer and writes on health and fitness articles. Tiffany loves to engage with users and help them provide various useful information on General Health. She provides researched-based information and also featured on various blogs and magazines.