The immune system involves many different cells, tissues, and organs working together to protect the body from foreign bodies, infections, and other diseases.
Keeping your immune system healthy year-round is key to preventing infection and disease.
Making healthy lifestyle choices by consuming nutritious foods and getting enough sleep and exercise are the most important ways to boost your immune system.
Research has shown that supplementing with certain vitamins, minerals, herbs, and other substances can help improve immune responses and potentially protect against illness.
There are many different types of natural supplements and herbal supplements said to help the body strengthen its ability to fight off disease. Dietary supplements involve a concentrated form of various types of nutrients and are aimed at increasing the level of nutrients the body absorbs. They can include vitamins, minerals, herbal supplements, amino acids, and enzymes.
However, note that some supplements can interact with prescription or over the counter medications you are taking. Some may not be appropriate for people with certain health conditions. Be sure to talk with your doctor before starting any supplements.
Ways to Boost Your Body’s Natural Defenses
- Get enough sleep – Sleep and immunity are closely tied. Getting adequate rest may strengthen your natural immunity. Also, you may sleep more when sick to allow your immune system to better fight illness. Adults should aim to get 7 or more hours of sleep each night, while teens need 8-10 hours and younger children, and infants need up to 14 hours a night. Inadequate sleep may increase your risk of getting sick.
- Eat more whole plant foods – Whole plant foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes are rich in nutrients and antioxidants that may give you an upper hand against harmful pathogens. Fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients like vitamin C, which may reduce the duration of the common cold.
- Eat more Healthy Fats – Healthy fats, like those found in olive oil and salmon, may boost your body’s immune response to pathogens by decreasing inflammation. Although low level inflammation is a normal response to stress or injury, chronic inflammation can suppress your immune system.
- Eat more fermented foods or take a probiotic supplement – Fermented foods are rich in beneficial bacteria called probiotics, which populate your digestive tract. Research suggests that a flourishing network of gut bacteria can help your immune cells differentiate between normal, healthy cells and harmful invaders organisms. Gut health and immunity are deeply interconnected. Fermented foods and probiotic supplements may boost your immune system by helping it identify and target harmful pathogens.
- Limit added sugars – Added sugars and refined carbs may contribute to weight gain and obesity. Obesity may increase your risk of getting sick. Curbing your sugar intake can decrease inflammation and aid weight loss, thus reducing your risk of health conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
- Engage in Moderate Exercise – Although prolonged intense exercise can suppress your immune system, moderate exercise can give it a boost. Regular, moderate exercise may reduce inflammation and help your immune cells regenerate regularly. Jogging, biking, walking, swimming, and hiking are great options.
- Stay Hydrated – Hydration does not necessarily protect you from germs and viruses, but preventing dehydration is important your overall health. To prevent dehydration, you should drink enough fluid daily to make your urine pale yellow. Water is recommended because it is free of calories, additives, and sugar. Given that dehydration can make you more susceptible to illness, be sure you are drinking plenty of water each day.
- Manage your stress levels – Relieving stress and anxiety is key to immune health. Long-term stress promotes inflammation, as well as imbalances in immune cell function. Lowering your stress levels through meditation, yoga, exercise, and other practices can help keep your immune system functioning properly.
- Supplement Wisely –
- Vitamin D – is a fat-soluble nutrient essential to the health and functioning of your immune system. Vitamin D enhances the pathogen-fighting effects of monocytes and macrophages – white blood cells that are important parts of your immune defense – and decreases inflammation, which helps promote immune response. Healthy levels of this vitamin may help lower your risk of respiratory infections.
- Zinc – Zinc is a mineral that is commonly added to supplements and other healthcare products like lozenges that are meant to boost your immune system. Zinc is needed for immune cell development and communication and plays a vital role in inflammatory response. Zinc also specifically protects tissue barriers in the body and helps prevent foreign pathogens from entering. Supplementing with zinc may help protect against respiratory tract infections and reduce the duration of these infections.
- Vitamin C – is the most popular supplement taken to protect against infection. This vitamin supports the function of various immune cells and enhances their ability to protect against infection. It is also necessary for cellular death, which helps keep your immune system healthy by clearing our old cells and replacing them with new ones. Vitamin C is vital for immune health. Supplementing with this nutrient may help reduce the duration and severity of upper respiratory tract infections, including the common cold.
- Elderberry – Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra), which has long been used to treat infections, is being researched for its effects on immune health. Taking elderberry supplements may help reduce upper respiratory symptoms caused by viral infections and help alleviate flu symptoms.
We offer two wonderful supplements.
Vitamin C 600 mg
Vitamin D 62.5 mg
Zinc 25 mg
N-Acetyl-L-Cysteine USP 600 mg
Quercetin Dihydrate 250 mg
Vitamin C 200 mg
Zinc 50 mg
Elder Berry Extract 200 mg
Request an appointment by texting 850-629-0345 or call our office today at 850-309-0356.