Steps to Strengthen Your Immune System. Your immune system is important. Very much like your own personal army, it guards your body against attacks from invaders (like bacteria, fungi, and viruses), defending against infections and several kinds of cancer. And it’s smart, too, often “remembering” certain infections so it’s ready for them the next time they try to attack. But just like any other body system, your immune system can deteriorate if you don’t treat it well. Keep it functioning at its peak performance, so you can stay healthy, too, by following these six steps. Eat Right. In theory, this one is pretty simple: Eat just enough of the right foods when you feel hungry. Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple to put into practice. We’re tempted by unhealthy options everywhere we turn, we eat for emotional reasons, or we don’t even know what the “right” foods are. For those of us who struggle in this area, this may take some work. Avoid eating too much, which can lead to weight gain and harm the immune system. Research performed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has shown that obesity prevents the immune system from functioning properly, increasing its vulnerability to infection. The immune system is critical when fighting cancer. While some treatments kill cancer cells and other treatments revert the cancer cells into normal cells, the immune. Three natural ways to strengthen your immune system and help prevent Ebola infection 12/20/2014 - With the current Ebola crisis happening in Africa, many are worried. Boost your immune system to fight cancer. Many people with cancer wonder if there’s anything they can do to boost their immune systems — to fight off the. Every day we confront challenges to our health. Viruses, bacteria, and toxins are all around us, but our bodies manage to ward off the great majority of them. In the study, obese mice were found to be 5. The researchers believe that the same holds true in humans. To find out how many calories you need to maintain or lose weight, refer to your customized Nutrition Tracker. Just as important as how much you’re eating, is what foods you’re eating. Some nutrients and foods that have been found to enhance the immune system include. Vitamin C- rich foods, like citrus fruit and broccoli. ![]() Vitamin E- rich foods, like nuts and whole grains. Zinc- rich foods, like beans, turkey, crab, oysters, and beef. Bioflavanoids, which are found in fruits and vegetables. Selenium- rich foods, like chicken, whole grains, tuna, eggs, sunflower seeds, and brown rice. Carotenoid- rich foods, like carrots and yams. Omega- 3 fatty acids, found in nuts, salmon, tuna, mackerel, flaxseed oil and hempseed oil. Supplements can be shady, since no regulating body ensures that they contain what they claim to, or that they’ll be absorbed as well as nutrients you get from food. ![]() This also keeps your immune system in optimal working order. Adrenal Fatigue can play havoc with your cortisol levels, sending them either too high or too low, which can quickly weaken your immune system. On the whole, your immune system does a remarkable job of defending you against disease-causing microorganisms. But sometimes it fails: A germ invades successfully. Some immune system all- stars that have recently garnered a lot of attention in the scientific community are vegetables from the brassica family, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage. According to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and published online in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, a chemical produced when these vegetables are eaten can stop the growth of cancer cells and boost the production of certain components of the immune system. Turns out, Mom was onto something when telling you to each your broccoli! Exercise Regularly. According to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports (PCPFS), data from numerous studies show that regular exercise reduces the number of sick days. In three separate studies cited in the June 2. PCPFS’ Research Digest, women who engaged in 3. Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous to provide these benefits—in fact moderate exercise may even achieve a better result. A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that upper respiratory infections were more common among athletes during heavy training. Whatever you do, listen to your body. If you’re under the weather already, take it easy until you feel better. Get Enough Sleep. Deep sleep stimulates and energizes the immune system, while sleep deprivation has the opposite effect. ![]() According to authors of a sleep study published in 2. Seminars in Clinical Neuropsychiatry, significant detrimental effects on immune functioning can be seen after a few days of total sleep deprivation or even several days of just partial sleep deprivation. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult needs between 7 and 8 hours a night, although some people may need as few as 5 hours or as many as 1. To make sure you are getting enough quality sleep, avoid caffeinated drinks (and other stimulants), decongestants, tobacco and alcohol. Alcohol can assist falling into a light sleep, but it interferes with REM and the deeper stages of sleep, which are restorative. Manage Stress. Between fender benders, work deadlines, marital problems and hectic schedules, keeping stress out of your life is impossible. But how you choose to react to stress can greatly impact your overall health. Sweeping problems under the rug as opposed to solving them can turn short- term stress into chronic stress, which can cause health problems. According to the National Institutes of Health, hormones (like cortisol) that hang around during chronic stress can put us at risk for obesity, heart disease, cancer, and a variety of other illnesses. These stress hormones can work in two ways, either switching off disease- fighting white blood cells or triggering a hyperactive immune system, which increases your risk of developing auto- immune diseases. So find ways to de- stress a few times per week, whether you exercise, practice yoga, meditate, or take a relaxing bath. Quit Smoking. In an older but still relevant study published in the 1. Medical Journal of Australia, immune system markers in 3. Compared with a control group who continued to smoke, the ex- smokers had significant, positive changes in many measurements of their immune systems. Smoking and using tobacco products contributes to a host of health problems, and this is one more you can add to your list for reasons to quit. Consume Alcohol in Moderation. Chronic alcohol abuse is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as the use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Besides the social and economic consequences of chronic alcohol abuse, a 1. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research states that alcohol abuse can also cause lead to immunodeficiency, making you more susceptible to bacterial pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases. But the moderate use of alcohol (one drink daily for women, and two for men) has not been associated with negative effects on the immune system. ![]() ![]() ![]() In fact, according to a 2. British Journal of Nutrition, there is an increasing body of evidence linking health benefits linked with moderate consumption of polyphenol- rich alcoholic beverages, like wine or beer. The article states that, while heavy alcohol use can suppress the immune response, “moderate alcohol consumption seems to have a beneficial impact on the immune system compared to alcohol abuse or abstinence.” So for the time being, the advice remains: everything in moderation. Natural Ways to Build Up Your Immune System. Your immune system is a complex network of structures and functions that protects your body from pathogens, diseases and the overgrowth of cells. Healthy people are born with a highly functional innate immune system that begins its defensive work in early infancy. Pathogens that are able to evade this portion of your innate immune system then must face the more sensitive portion of your immune system called . Without adequate sleep, your body and brain cannot perform optimally and the ability to complete complex reasoning and retain memory is greatly diminished. One of the results of a body that is not performing optimally is a depressed immune system, because a lack of sleep impairs your body's ability produce immune cells. There is no definitive number for the amount of sleep your body needs, but the National Sleep Foundation research suggests that too much sleep is as detrimental to your health as too little sleep. Fewer than seven hours of sleep per night can increase mortality over time while getting more than eight hours of sleep can also increase mortality. That means that the ideal number of hours to spend in bed is within the seven- to- eight hour range. Exercise is not just useful for building strong bones and muscles, but it is also important for building your immune system. Regular exercise can reduce the level of stress hormones in your body, increases the amount of defensive white blood cells, and increases the rate of elimination of harmful pathogens via sweat and urine. Fruit and vegetables are rich in phyto- chemicals, nutrients and vitamins that are beneficial in boosting immunity. Vitamin C is important for immunity because the high stores of it present in immune cells are easily depleted during times of infection. Many people assume that since vitamin C is good for you, large doses of it will be even more useful. However, large doses of synthetic vitamin C can be harmful to the liver. Instead, it is better to choose from the array of natural foods that contain vitamin C, like citrus foods and green vegetables. Probiotics, otherwise known as beneficial bacteria, are living microorganisms that are similar to the flora already present in your gut. These bacteria have a multitude of strains and the availability of use to your body depends on the strain and the function it needs to serve. Eating foods with a high probiotic content can boost your immunity merely by outnumbering the strains of bad bacteria already in or attempting to enter your body.
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