When it comes to being healthy and fighting off the COVID-19 virus, enhancing your immune system is of utmost importance. Following precautions like washing hands, maintaining social distancing, wearing masks is necessary, so is taking care of your immune system. Thus, let’s check out the different ways to improve the immune system of your body, which can help you maintain an overall good health.
Tips to Boost Your Body’s Natural Defence System
- Get sufficient sleep: Did you know that lack of sleep can affect your immune system? That’s right! People who don’t get enough sleep are also likely to get sick more often. Thus, for stronger immunity, you need at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep. This will help your body produce T-cells (white blood cells), which will help improve your body’s immune response.
- Drink plenty of fluids: Dehydration can affect your normal bodily functions, thereby increasing susceptibility to illnesses. To prevent this, staying hydrated is important. Drinking plentiful water will help eliminate toxins from the body, thereby enhancing various bodily functions, including immunity. Always keep a water bottle handy and drink from it at regular intervals. Switching to herbal tea can also help you stay hydrated. Most importantly, avoid sugary sweetened beverages as they can put a strain on your immune system.
- Exercising regularly: Engaging in moderate exercises at home can help increase immunity. Different exercises can help improve blood circulation throughout the body. It can also improve your heart health and muscle & bone density. Instead of heavy workouts, you can opt for functional exercises, yoga and meditation to stay fit and mentally agile.
- Include more fruits and vegetables in your diet: Maintaining a nutritious diet is always the key to a healthy immune system. Vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes can provide you with all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Vitamin C is known to build the immune system, so having fruits like oranges and kiwis can be extremely beneficial. Foods like berries, carrots and leafy vegetables have antioxidants in them, which can help improve immunity. Plus, fibre-rich food can also improve your general health.
- Avoid sugar: Large amounts of sugar intake increases the risk of obesity. Obesity, in turn, increases the risk of many chronic illnesses like diabetes and heart diseases. Excessive sugar intake over a long period can also impair your immune system. As such, to boost your immune system, you need to reduce the consumption of added sugar significantly.
- Manage your stress levels: Reducing stress and anxiety is important for a healthy immune system. Chronic stress, especially, can lower the immune system’s ability to fight off infection. Therefore, it is critical to manage your stress levels, which you can do by practising yoga, meditation, deep breathing, and exercises.
- Take your supplements wisely: Many supplements may suggest that they can stimulate your immune system, but beware of such claims. There is not much evidence to support this theory. Also, they might not provide you with the required nutrients needed to fight diseases. So instead of having artificial vitamins and protein, it is best to simply switch to a healthy lifestyle to build your body’s immune system.
- Eat healthy fats: Fats found in foods like salmon and olive oil can help enhance your body’s reaction to fight off pathogens. They can also help decrease inflammation in the body. Olive oil is anti-inflammatory and reduces the risk of chronic illnesses such as diabetes and heart diseases. They also help fight off harmful bacteria and disease-causing infections.
These are just a few tips that can boost your immunity, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. A nutritionally rich diet and exercise are the key factors to build your body’s natural system. Also, ensure to manage your stress levels and avoid sugar to enjoy a healthy life.
