How to Support Your Immune System Naturally

When the first winter signs are showing all around, and the days are slowly getting shorter and gloomier, most of us typically start thinking about supporting our immune systems to help our bodies effectively fight any possible diseases, whether it’s the flu or a common cold.

In reality, taking care of your immune system should be an all-year duty. Only this way can you ensure your optimum health and general wellness all year round, without risking any occasional health problems.

If you think, though, that supporting your immune system equals performing multiple complex and demanding activities, you may be surprised. Instead, you can maintain health simply by regularly following just a few easy activities recommended by the doctors. The good news is they’re natural, cheap, and don’t require a lot of time or devotion.

To find out the best ways to boost your immune system naturally, follow our 5 simple steps.

Control Your Vitamin Intake

Vitamins are the fuel guaranteeing the proper functioning of your body, so control their intake in fruits, vegetables, and many other products.

For example, you should take vitamin A for good vision and a generally healthy immune system. Especially during the winter, when the sun is not out that often, purchase supplements with vitamin D to keep your bones, teeth, and muscles healthy. If you’re not a fan of certain foods, you might take your vitamins in the form of natural supplements.

While searching for the right supplements for your needs, always check the ingredients of a specific product. Many brands offer the supplements in various other forms, such as CBD Hemp Oil or herbal blends, so always make sure that’s what you’re looking for beforehand.

Regularly Wash Your Hands

Possibly the only advantage of the COVID-19 pandemics was that we finally learned about the importance of frequent hand washing. These days, occasional hand washing before a meal or after using the restroom is not enough – if you want to stay healthy, you should maintain additional hand hygiene in all public places, for instance, after touching the door handles.

Please remember that good hand washing is not only about the frequency, but also thoroughness. Don’t focus solely on the palms, but also your wrists, thumbs, and places in between fingers. Moreover, remember that good hand washing should last about 20 seconds; you might sing yourself a Happy Birthday song to make the time pass faster.

Take Care of Your Food

You might not know it, but the gut-associated lymphoid tissue is responsible for almost 70 percent of the immune system of your body. This means there is no robust immune system without a healthy gut. Unsurprisingly, proper nutrition and a healthy diet are essential for the proper functioning of your whole body.

Remember to keep your gut happy but enrich your diet with multiple different products, providing your body with various vitamins. It’s the time for you to become a connoisseur of whole-plant food, such as fruits, vegetables, seeds, and nuts, to strengthen your immune system. Those products, full of nutrients, fiber, and antioxidants, can help you fight any inflammation and provide your gut with healthy bacteria.

For a healthy immune system, you might even start consuming fermented food such as probiotics. Icky? Not at all! You can find the good gut bacteria even in delicious yogurts.

Get Enough Sleep

Did you know that lack of sleep may directly affect the worsening of your immune system? In fact, research has proved that people who don’t get enough sleep are more prone to getting sick when exposed to any virus.

Typically, during the hours of sleep, our immune systems have the time to respond to certain viruses. Because our bodies fight off infections best when we’re asleep, not getting enough sleep is likely to extend the time we typically need to recover.

People who don’t get enough sleep also have fewer cells and infection-fighting antibodies than those who sleep long hours each night. That’s why you should always remember to get some quality sleep to boost your immune system.

There is no golden rule of how many hours are right for every person. Typically, doctors advise 7-8 hours per night for adults, 9-10 for teenagers, and a minimum of 10 for children. However, each body is different, and if you find yourself waking up perfectly rested after a shorter time or need to sleep an hour longer than recommended, you should listen to the signals from your body.

Exercise Regularly

The health benefits of exercising every day are a tale as old as time. You’ve probably heard many times that intense exercises every day are bound to help you get skinny, happy, and in better overall health. However, did you know that it is one of the ways to boost your immune system as well?

The reason for that is that regular exercise is the best way to pump your blood pressure, which helps with circulation, and lets your body sweat out any toxins. It doesn’t have to be anything extreme – regular basic exercises such as jogging or a daily walk will be just enough. Please remember to keep yourself hydrated while, after, and before exercising!

Conclusion

According to doctors, the above tips are bound to help your immune system function properly and provide a fast immune response to any viruses. Moreover, combining all those is a great way to health and wellness and a generally positive attitude to life. It’s not a myth that a healthy person is a happy person!

Importantly, besides all these medical recommendations, don’t forget about the most important of them all: taking care of your mental health. In fact, depressed and deeply unhappy people are much more likely to fall sick due to viruses and bacteria. To keep your mental health intact, communicate with others and listen to the needs of your own body.

Moreover, try not to stress too much, especially over the things you have no control over. A session with a therapist, performing breathing exercises, or yoga might help you get you back on track if needed.