Four Steps to a Stronger Immune System

 

The Covid pandemic has been a gold mine for those marketing and selling "immune support" products, most of which do little or nothing to actually strengthen your immune system. Can something in a bottle, whether a vitamin formulation or probiotic, really rev up your immune system to help you stay healthy?

"Unfortunately, the reality is that those kinds of products aren't really offering you any benefit," says Michael Starnbach, a professor of microbiology at Harvard Medical School. "There's no evidence that they help in fighting disease."

But that doesn't mean that nothing helps. You just don't need to buy a product or supplement to do it. Here are four lifestyle strategies that really can help your immune system work better.

Basic Healthy Eating and Hydration

Make sure you nourish yourself with healthy food. That means plenty of fruits and vegetables, lean meat, fish, beans and whole grains. Antioxidants may be especially helpful so supplementing with Vitamins C and E may help, although you can get plenty of both from your diet.

Get Regular Daily Exercise

Numerous epidemiological studies have examined the effects of exercise on individuals with illness who are either moderately active or sedentary. These studies consistently show that people who are active or physically fit get significantly fewer upper respiratory tract infections per year than less active people. Research evidence from the studies supports the theory that moderate exercise training is protective against incidence of illness and symptoms.

Get Plenty of Sleep

What "plenty" is depends upon you but for most people that means 8 hours of restful sleep per night. Sleep exerts a strong regulatory influence on immune functions. Researchers from Germany have found that sound sleep improves immune cells known as T cells.

“T cells are a type of immune cells that fight against intracellular pathogens, for example virus-infected cells such as flu, HIV, herpes, and cancer cells,” Stoyan Dimitrov, PhD, a researcher at the University of Tübingen and an author of the study, told Healthline.

Manage Stress Constructively

Stress and the immune system have a complex relationship. The body’s natural defenses are sensitive to psychological stress, especially if it’s chronic. Stress can cause the immune system to produce an inflammatory response, which may have a short term benefit. But if inflammation is persistent and widespread, it can contribute to chronic diseases. Chronic stress can also produces higher-than-normal levels of the hormone cortisol. This can hamper the body’s anti-inflammatory response and cause continual infections, according to recent immunology research studies.

We can't arrange a life with zero stress, but there are many effective ways to prevent it from becoming a chronic health issue.  

There is nothing that you can do to guarantee that you never become ill. But by incorporating the four suggestions into your lifestyle you can minimize the risks and be better able to fight off an infection if you do get one.