{"id":131631,"date":"2020-07-06T08:00:31","date_gmt":"2020-07-06T08:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eu.intelligentlabs.org\/how-to-boost-immune-system-naturally\/"},"modified":"2020-07-06T08:00:31","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T08:00:31","slug":"how-to-boost-immune-system-naturally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eu.intelligentlabs.org\/en-gb\/how-to-boost-immune-system-naturally\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Boost Your Immune System Naturally"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

We all could use a healthy immune system right now. There are plenty of unseen pathogens around us, just lying in wait to get inside our bodies. A healthy immune system<\/a> may not make us invincible, but it will help protect us from infection and disease. That being said, boosting our immunity should be our number one priority right now. In this article, you\u2019ll learn how to boost your immune system naturally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7 Ways To Help Boost Your Immune System Naturally<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Tip #1: Proper Nutrition Is Important<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Junk food always seems like a good idea, doesn’t it? It’s cheap and available practically everywhere. Flavor-wise, there’s junk food for every flavor under the sun. But you and I both know junk food is far from healthy. It’s calorie-rich but offers very little-to-nothing in terms of nutrition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to boost your immune system naturally, then you need to cut junk food out of your life. Instead, start eating healthy, unprocessed foods. Healthy eating means lots of veggies and fruits, and proteins like fish, chicken, and meat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to a 2018 study, nutrition plays an important role in immune cell metabolism and function. Both undernutrition and overnutrition are bad for the body. Undernutrition makes you susceptible to infection and disease, whereas overnutrition is associated with low-grade, chronic inflammation (1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, you should eat a variety of foods to get all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients your body needs. This infographic from the Harvard School of Public Health\u2019s Department of Nutrition is an excellent reference:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Image credit:<\/em><\/strong> Copyright \u00a9 2008. For more information about The Healthy Eating Pyramid, please see The Nutrition Source, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health,  www.thenutritionsource.org<\/a>, and Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy, by Walter C. Willett, M.D., and Patrick J. Skerrett (2005), Free Press\/Simon & Schuster Inc.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #2: Get Quality Sleep At Night<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t underestimate the power of sleep. You can get away with a lack of sleep every once in a while, but don\u2019t make it a habit. Quality sleep helps the body recover. When you wake up from a long, deep sleep, you feel refreshed and energized. This is because when you sleep, your body rests and recovers itself to prepare for the next day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One of those that benefit from a good night\u2019s sleep is our immune system\u2019s T cells. These T cells fight virus-infected cells and other intracellular pathogens. In a study by Dimitrov et al., they discovered that volunteers who had a good night\u2019s sleep had better functioning T cells than the volunteers who stayed awake all night long (2). What this essentially means is that getting quality sleep is necessary for your immune system to function properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At a minimum, you should aim for 7 hours of sleep every night. Make your bedroom conducive for sleep by making it cool and well-ventilated. Also, put your electronic devices out of arm\u2019s reach, so you don\u2019t get tempted to scroll through your social media feeds late at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related article: Which Magnesium Is Best For Sleep?<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tip #3: Minimize stress<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stress can\u2019t be avoided entirely. In fact, we likely experience stress in one form or another every single day. Stress makes our heart pound, our pulse and our breath quicken, our mouth dry, and our muscles tense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, not all stress is bad. In fact, short-term stress can be a powerful motivator. It can help you ace exams, interviews, presentations, and more. It can help you survive in life or death situations as the stress hormone \u2013 called cortisol – can trigger your body\u2019s fight or flight response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But if your stress levels don\u2019t go down to normal soon, then stress becomes chronic. Researchers analyzed over 300 studies on the relationship between psychological stress and the immune system. They determined that short-term stress which elicits our fight or flight response makes positive changes in the immune system. However, chronic stress (such as constant worries about money, health, love, relationships, etc.) led to more negative, detrimental changes in our immune system (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dealing with too much stress can make you sick mentally, emotionally, and physically. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize or reduce its effect on our psyche, our immune system, and our body as a whole. These include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n