Every day we face a new threat, and many hazards and problems come our way without us knowing. Our organism battles thousands of bacteria every single day and we are unaware of the extent of the battle because the majority of them are won, luckily. When they are not, and bacteria or viruses colonize a part of the body, we start feeling ill. But the reality is that health is relative because we never have a perfect health. The immune system constantly struggles with microorganisms and we don’t get sick when it does its job. But what if the threat becomes more pressing, or if your immune system does not work as it should? You would naturally start having symptoms of an infection.
We are living in a time when the immune system is put on a test every single day. We even have a new pandemic lurking around, and more people is becoming worried about whether or not their immune system is working as it should. What can we do to boost immunity in times like this?
You don’t really need drugs or an expensive treatment. The majority of recommendations we will give you in this article is easy to do in your own home by using three methods:
- Keeping an appropriate nutrition
- Staying active and exercising properly
- Using natural remedies and herbs
The relationship between immunity and nutrition
If you study the basics of immunity, you will learn about two different branches that make up the immune system. We have an innate immunity that protects the body against any possible threat. It is very fast, but very inaccurate. To improve accuracy, we also have something called adaptive immunity. This one takes very long to develop, but it is lethal and more accurate. Adaptive immunity is developed for each pathogen when your immune cells recognize it as a threat and builds a specialized defense against it. If you heard about antibodies, this is the best example of adaptive immunity. They are molecules specialized to detect and attack a very specific protein that is usually located in the outer shell of bacteria, parasites, fungi, or viruses.
Adaptive and innate immunity work together to achieve the same cause, and use thousands of metabolic processes and enzymes to work appropriately. We highlight nutrition as an important part of immunity because it provides what the body needs to keep these reactions going on. Moreover, being sick and fighting against disease takes a lot of extra energy, and you need to provide your body with sufficient calories to keep your body processes and fight infections, especially if you don’t feel right.
If you want to boost your immune system through nutrition, take in consideration the following advices:
• Be sure to get enough calories from your foods
Most people eat excessive calories every day, and that’s why obesity is prevalent in the modern world. But we should not go to extremes and cut calories excessively. Remember they are not harmful when consumed in moderation. You can have a weight-loss diet, but keeping in mind how much do you need to function properly. A licensed dietitian can help you achieving the balance between calorie deficit for weight loss and proper nutrition.
• Eat your proteins
Proteins are fundamental for the immune system. They are broken down into amino acids, and many of them are used by your white blood cells. For example, we have arginine, an amino acid used to create nitric oxide. The macrophages release this substance to increase the blood flow in infected tissues as a call for help to gather immune cells against their target.
• Eat your vitamins and minerals
Vitamins and minerals are also taken from foods, and they incorporate into enzymes to allow them to function properly. When they do, they are called coenzymes, and activate many body processes, including immunity. Zinc and vitamin A are two clear examples. They are required by the body to create more white blood cells and build the immunity cell army that will defend the body against disease.
• Don’t forget antioxidants
Eating plenty of antioxidant foods is also important. These substances contribute to the immune system and protect the body against free radicals, which also play an important role in causing disease.
What can you do if you want to check everything in the list above at the same time? Easy enough, you can just use a plant-based approach and consume more fresh foods. Fruits and vegetables are very important to achieve this, and you should try to avoid high-sugar foods and beverages as much as possible.
Staying active to strengthen your immune system
Physical activity is another source of immunity. It strengthens the immune system and maintains body functions as they should in various ways. Exercise results in physical and mental health improvements that contribute to the immune system. For example, it improves your mood and it is a useful way to relieve stress. As a result, the stress hormone cortisol is reduced. This is important because cortisol causes several changes in how the immune cells work, and impairs the capacity of your body to react against pathogens.
When you do physical activity, many things can happen at the same time in your body:
- Your breathing accelerates, and the airways are cleared from mucus and other debris. Airway clearance reduces the chance of having a respiratory disease.
- White blood cells circulate more and more rapidly in your body when you are physically active. This allows your immune system to detect and fight disease faster and more efficiently.
- When you’re doing exercise, your body temperature naturally increases. You don’t have fever, but the effects in bacteria is similar. Higher temperatures reduce the growing rate of several microorganisms.
It’s not very hard to achieve the right level of exercise for these immune benefits. You only need a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity, 5 days a week. That includes walking around your block, doing bodyweight exercises, or simply walking up the stairs. If you can do more strenuous activity and more than the minimum, the benefits will be even more noticeable.
Surely, if you combine physical activity with a healthy diet, you will most definitely achieve a better health and better immunity. But sometimes we don’t get enough of a few nutrients, and you will find that several herbs improve your body responses in many ways. Thus, in this article we are also recommending a few supplements and herbs you can try to boost your immunity.
Supplements to boost your immunity
If you go ahead and try to find immunity boosters, you will come across advertisements of all types. But what do you really need? First off, let’s talk about supplements you may consider if you have immunity problems. Then, we will give you a list of herbs and natural treatments that improve your immunity in many ways.
Supplements for immunity:
♦ Probiotics
Probiotics have living strains of bacteria that colonize your gut. But instead of being a bad thing, they are good bacteria that contribute to your health. Moreover, your body uses these microorganisms to stimulate the immune system. That way, your body will be alert and detect bad bacteria as soon as possible. It will have a direct effect to prevent infections in your gastrointestinal system, too. You can get probiotics from foods such as sauerkraut, kimchi, and yogurt. But if you don’t consume them daily, probiotics supplements are a fitting alternative.
♦ Zinc
We mentioned zinc as an important nutrient that contributes to replicate white blood cells. It is certainly very important for this and other features of the immune system. For example, studies show that zinc interferes with the buildup of bacteria in your upper airways.
♦ Vitamin D
If you live in northern countries and in winter days we usually don’t get enough vitamin D through sun exposure. Getting vitamin D through foods can be a bit difficult because it is mainly found in seafood and fish. Luckily, cereals, milk, and other foods are sometimes fortified with vitamin D, and we can also get a share of this nutrient through supplementation.
Natural remedies for immunity:
♦ Peppermint leaves
A tea with peppermint leaves goes fantastic if you have gastrointestinal complaints. But besides that, this herb also has antifungal and antibacterial properties that will contribute directly to your immune system and help you fight disease.
♦ Chamomile
It is also a soothing herb, and contains a substance called apigenin. This substance allows your body to achieve the right level of inflammatory cytokines. The body uses these substances to send an “under attack” message that is very important for your immune system. That’s why chamomile has been found useful to improve respiratory problems.
♦ Lavender
This herb significantly reduces your circulating levels of cortisol. As mentioned above, cortisol impairs your immune response. Thus, it is expected that after using Lavender your white blood cell count goes up and your adaptive immunity starts to create more antibodies.
Boosting your immune system can be summarized into living an active life, eating healthily, and using the right supplements at the right time. You don’t have to buy an expensive formula and convoluted books that, in the end, will say the same thing in other words.
References
Childs, C. E., Calder, P. C., & Miles, E. A. (2019). Diet and Immune Function.
Jones, A. W., & Davison, G. (2019). Exercise, Immunity, and Illness. In Muscle and Exercise Physiology (pp. 317-344). Academic Press.
Verma, P. (2019). Immunity with Herbs. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Immunology, 8(3), 1-2.