Natural Ways to Boost Your Immunity and Stay Healthy

In these times of the COVID-19 crisis, the importance of a strong immune system is felt more than ever before. A strong immune system enables you to fight off of infections, viruses, and disease keeping you in good health and free from illnesses. While there may not be a way of preventing anyone from getting sick by any particular way, we can naturally boost our immunity and remain healthy!

Maintain a balanced diet: Eating a balanced diet with a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein will help your immune system be in the best possible shape. All are high in essential nutrients like vitamin C, E and B6 that are crucial in the fortifying of the immune system. And a low-sugar, processed-food diet can curb inflammation and thus weaken the immune system.

Hydrate: Ensuring you drink enough water is vital for the body’s hydration and how well it works. Your immunity can easily become compromised if you let yourself get dehydrated, potentially leaving you with an infection (to say the least) or even worse, in a sense of physical stress. Drink enough water as part of your daily routine to make sure that your immune system is happy and flourishing.

Exercise regularly: Not only is exercise good for your body but it is actually a way to improve your immune system. Why? Because regular & consistent exercise makes your white blood cells move around--those critters are also the first line of defense against disease. Exercise regularly also helps to fend off stress, which can impair the immune response.

Take plenty of rest: Sleep helps to keep your body in good working condition, including your immune system. If you do not get enough rest, your body will manufacture fewer cytokines, which are proteins that help fight infection. Lack of sleep is also linked to having a greater likelihood of catching a cold or the flu, so make sure to take plenty of rest every night.

Reduce stress: Chronic stress has been shown to weaken the immune system, and it will be increasingly difficult for your body to fight off infections and diseases. To reduce stress, try to engage in relaxation activities such as yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. You can also try doing things you like, such as reading a book or taking a walk in nature.

Quit smoking: Smoking has been proven to cause inflammation and oxidative stress, which can dampen your immune system. Second, smoking and secondhand smoking have also been proven to lead to an increased risk of certain infections, like tuberculosis and pneumonia. Quitting smoking and staying away from secondhand smoke can help increase your immunity.

Use probiotics: Probiotics are good bacteria which could help improve your gut health, and could contribute to establishing a strong immune system. Some studies indicate that probiotics might reduce inflammation, improve the immune system's ability to produce antibodies, and even boost your immunity in general. You can use probiotics by taking them as a supplement, or getting it from fermented food such as yogurt, kefir, and sauerkraut. Herbs and spices: Based on research, this includes ginger, garlic, turmeric, echinacea. From research on ginger, we know that it can reduce inflammation and fend off infection; garlic has actually been seen to increase the number of white blood cells. You can put all these herbs into your diet through cooking, or put them into your body as nutritional supplements.

Restrict alcohol intake: Heavy alcohol intake has been associated with a compromised immune system, as well as an increased risk of contracting some infections. In order to have a healthy immune system, it is crucial to restrict your alcohol intake to not more than one drink daily for women and two drinks daily for men.