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Actions You Can Take Today To Boost Your Immune System

Taylor the Kinesiologist • Aug 30, 2021

What Can You Do To Protect Yourself From Disease?

Typically, your immune system does an incredible job at protecting you from disease-causing viruses, but occasionally it can fail. When this happens you can get very sick.

Is there a way to affect this process and augment your immune functions? What if you try to improve your diet, or take special vitamins or supplements? What if you make other various lifestyle changes with the hope of optimizing your immune functions? Let's take a brief look at some actions you can take today to improve your resilience and reduce your risk of becoming sick.

1) Lifestyle

The first and most important thing you can do is to choose to lead a healthy lifestyle. Following tried and true guidelines to proper health are the best steps you can take toward naturally keeping your immune system working properly.

Every part of your body, especially your immune system, functions better when enhanced by healthy living strategies, such as:
-Exercising regularly
-Getting enough quality sleep
-Minimizing stress
-Drinking alcohol only in moderation
-Maintaining a healthy weight and consuming a diet with varied fruits and vegetables
-Avoiding smoking
-Avoiding infection by washing your hands frequently and properly
-Keeping current with all medically necessary vaccines

2) Nutrition

Healthy immune systems require good, regular nourishment. Scientists have repeatedly identified that people who live in poverty and are undernourished are more vulnerable to infectious diseases. There is also some evidence to say that micronutrient deficiencies (such as zinc, iron, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C & E) alter immune system responses in animals.

Make sure you consume a well rounded diet that covers all your micronutrient needs, focusing on consuming real, whole foods if possible instead of supplements.

3) Exercise

Regular exercise is one of the pillars of optimal health & wellness. It improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight and ultimately protects us from a wide variety of diseases.

Optimally, you should try your best to include elements of both cardio and strength training into your regular routine. Just like a healthy diet, exercise can absolutely contribute to general good health and therefore maintain a healthy immune system.

4) Immunity boosting supplements and herbs?

Many products at health stores claim to support immunity, but the idea of boosting immunity through supplements actually makes little scientific sense. Boosting the number of immune cells in your body is not necessarily a great thing. For instance, elite athletes who undergo blood doping (the pumping of additional blood into their body to increase their number of blood cells and improve their performance) run the heightened risk of stroke.

Attempting to increase the cells of your immune system is especially complex because so many different types of cells exist in the immune system and they respond in numerous ways. What cells should you increase and to what specific number?

Researchers can not say for sure. In fact, no one really knows how many cells or what the best mix of cells the immune system needs to function at its best. For these reasons I cannot safely recommend any of these supposed immune boosting products.

Overall, it is hugely beneficial to commit to living a healthy lifestyle, paying special attention to a proper diet and regular exercise. This is the most effective method by far for ensuring that you have a healthy and optimally functioning immune system. 

That is why I would like to encourage you to continue to make your health a priority during these continued times of uncertainty in the world. Be safe out there and be good to yourself and others during these difficult times.

Are You ready to make your health a priority?

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