6 Steps To A Stronger Immune System
We are exposed to viruses, bacteria and an array of potential threats every single day.
Yes, even before December 2019!
And there is one system in our body that does an incredible job of protecting us and fighting off these unwanted, outside invaders.
Our immune system!
This efficient, powerful and complex network of cells, tissues and organs coordinate our bodies defences against any threat to our health, and without it we would be exposed to billions of bacteria, viruses and toxins that could make something as minor as a paper cut or a cold, fatal.
But it needs our help, it’s our responsibility to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep our immune system as strong as possible to ensure we don’t need to rely on external sources to keep us virus free and safe.
In this blog post, I want to give you a quick introduction to the immune system and why it’s so important, along with 6 Habits you can incorporate to keep your immune system fighting fit!
Your own personal in-house security team?
When I’m on holiday, I am attacked left, right and centre by mosquitos lining up to have their turn feasting on the all you can eat buffet that is my blood.
Apparently, there are several specific factors that can attract mosquitoes, including the carbon dioxide you exhale, body odour, and your body temperature. A combination of these factors is likely what makes me so attractive to mosquitoes.
Maybe I should feel special, but it’s hard to feel special when you wake up in the morning and you’re covered head to toe in red itchy lumps.
One thing I do feel when I see those lumps though is grateful.
Why on earth would I feel grateful for red itchy lumps?
Our immune system relies on millions of defensive white blood cells also known as Leukocytes, these cells, begin their journey in our bone marrow and flow into our bloodstream and lymphatic system.
Once moving around the body, this team of vigilant cells are constantly screening the blood tissue and organs for suspicious activity.
Once they recognise a pathogen or foreign substance, they go to work in minutes through a cellular process that quickly creates antibodies to fight the virus or threat.
This is where the red itchy bump and high temperature come into play when we have a bite or virus. They are designed to help the immune response.
Hence the gratitude.
The high temperature is making it more difficult for a virus to survive in the body as they are sensitive to temperature, and the swelling is due to damaged body cells that leak fluid into the surrounding area which attracts the cells in your immune system to consume the invading substances and damaged cells.
We can usually rely on our immune system to deal with a threat within a matter of days, it may not completely stop us from getting sick, but that isn’t its purpose.
It is designed to stop a threat from escalating to dangerous levels and through constant surveillance of our system, create long term immunity.
In turn, keeping us alive!
So, I think you’ll agree, this is a pretty important system for us to keep as strong as possible.
So How Can We Do This?
Simply put, we can create better habits.
If you take one thing away from this blog post, let it be this.
Your habits create your life.
They will not only affect your health but also your happiness, the trajectory towards your goals and your overall success.
Brain Tracy said - Successful people are simply those with successful habits.
And the same goes for health, healthy people are simply those with healthy habits.
Below are some habits that we can adopt and a few we should be dropping to ensure our immune system is at its very best.
1 Master Your Sleep
Poor sleeping habits have been proven to lessen the production of those all-important white blood cells that we discussed above.
Not only that but while you sleep your immune system releases different types of cytokines (small soluble proteins that communicate among immune and non-immune cells) that help to protect your body from different types of infections and diseases.
Action Steps
· Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day
· Do your best to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night
· Try to have at least 30 minutes of no screen time before bed to ensure the best quality sleep
For more information on the importance of sleep, check out my blog post “To sleep or not to sleep”
2 Get Rid of That Refined Sugar
Your diet is one of if not the most important habits to dial in if you want to excel in terms of health and success, and refined sugar is the big bad of the food world.
Refined sugar actually prevents vitamin c from getting into your white blood cells, resulting in weakened immunity. The immune-suppressing effects of refined sugar starts within 30 minutes and can last for days after that chocolate bar is long gone.
Action step
· Try to replace refined sugars such as chocolate and sweets with fruits high in vitamin c, fruits such as oranges, apples, mango and watermelon will in fact increase your immune system’s strength as opposed to weakening it.
3 Curb the Booze
Having one glass of wine per day has been proven to aid cardiovascular health, but it’s so easy to overconsume enough to totally undo those health benefits and cause more harm than good.
High consumption of alcohol can reduce the production of white blood cells, slow down the digestive system and overload the liver.
Action steps
· limit your alcohol consumption to lower alcohol drinks like wine over shorts such as rum or vodka.
· Limit the number of days per week you are consuming alcohol
4 Smoking
I’ll keep this one short.
Smoking affects all systems of the human body, including the immune system.
Don’t smoke.
5 Manage your stress
High-stress levels can be detrimental to your health in so many ways and your immune system is right up there. Having continuously high levels of chronic stress increases your cortisol and in turn, lowers your immune system.
Action steps
· Try to take time each day to yourself, life can get very hectic very quickly
· Take 10-15 minutes each day for meditation, this doesn’t need to be floating on a lily pad in a Buddhist Garden
· Sit on your sofa for 10 minutes and just focus on your breath, try not to think about anything and just give your mind a rest
If you don’t take time to consciously give your mind a rest, it is constantly working. Even when you’re asleep, you’re dreaming.
So, try to give your mind at least 10-15 minutes per day to just be and not think of anything.
This will help you to manage your thoughts and emotions, and help lower stress levels, in turn boosting your immune system.
6 Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
I know you’ve heard this one before, but it really is worth mentioning again.
So many people tell me they know they should be drinking more, but they don’t.
Your body is mostly made of water, and it’s used to perform so many functions during the day. You must drink enough water to replenish what’s used by your body on a daily basis.
Not doing so will certainly affect your immune system’s ability to perform its necessary tasks.
Action steps
· Try to drink a minimum of 1 litre of water per day, if you can drink more or you’re already drinking 1 litre, double it.
You will see so many health benefits from just this one act. Your skin will be better, your eyes will be whiter, and you will generally have more energy.
So please, drink more water.
Ok, there you have some habits that if you implement into your life, you will no doubt notice the benefits, and next time flu season comes around you will be ready to tackle it with full force.
I hope this blog post has helped you see just how important your immune system is and why it’s so vital we all do as much as we can to give it everything it needs to save our lives each day.
Thanks for reading, if you have any questions, please drop them in the comments section below.
Nathan