The hot topic at the moment that is affecting EVERYONE is this COVID-19…aka the Corona Virus. I wanted to provide you with some simple and straight forward ways to boost your immune system and better protect yourself from the possibility of getting sick. These will not prevent or kill the corona virus directly, but they have all had science to back their effects on boosting the function of your immune system. Some of these may seem like a “DUH”. Some of them work together. All of them should become part of your daily routine and practices.

1. Don’t smoke

Smoking can make the body less successful at fighting disease. Not only does smoking compromise your lung health, but it can expose you to a greater number of viral and bacterial infections. Overall smoking has overwhelming evidence supporting the fact that smoking is massively carcinogenic, and it is bad for your health. A great general rule in your immune system is the better health you are in overall, the better your immune system will work. Eliminating carcinogens like smoking will only improve your health, and therefore your immune system.

2. Eat Lots of Fruits and Vegetables

There are many essential nutrients in fruits and vegetables. An essential nutrient is one that we can’t produce ourselves, and therefore need to consume it from food sources. Some of these include potassium, folate (folic acid), dietary fiber, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

- Potassium: helps improve nerve function, helps muscles to contract

- Folate: plays an important role in your metabolism

- Dietary fiber: lowers blood sugar and cholesterol levels, helps maintain healthier body weights

Ascorbic Acid: needed for growth and repair of tissues, it is also an antioxidant that helps decrease harmful effects of environmental toxins. Shown to mitigate severity of cold symptoms and length of sickness.

3. Exercise on a regular basis

Exercising helps you be healthy. We should all know this by now. The ways in which, those might not be as obvious. There are a lot of ways in which exercising can actually boost or potentially affect your immune system. First of all, it may help flush bacteria out of your lungs and airways. This stops bacteria from adhering to tissues and therefore giving them less opportunity to infect you. Exercise has also been shown to change your antibodies and white blood cells (immune system cells) to circulate more rapidly. The effect if the speed of transport isn’t all the way understood but it may increase your ability to fight and prevent infections. Bacteria and other pathogens can also be temperature sensitive. This means that they will be affected negatively by hot/cold temperature extremes. Increasing your temperature when you exercise may have a beneficial effect on stopping bacteria from growing. Lastly, exercise can slow your release of stress hormones. Stress hormones actually increase the permeability of tissues in the body. Greater permeability can lead to greater susceptibility. So, by decreasing the immediate effect of these hormones, we can increase our ability to reject foreign pathogens from entering your body.

4. Focus on Maintaining a Healthy Body Weight

Studies have shown that when individuals are restricting their calorie intake and are in a deficit, the immune system is compromised. There was a significant decrease in T, B, monocyte and granulocyte function. That is scientific speak saying that the immune system cells are functioning in a significantly decreased capacity. Both body weight and body composition are important here.

5. Drink Alcohol in Moderation, IF At All

Alcohol consumption has been shown to suppress both the innate immune system and adaptive immune system. The innate immune system is the system you were born with and that provides a base protection. The adaptive immune system is the how your body fights off illnesses that you acquire or that you are exposed to. Your body will produce antibodies that can identify the pathogens as they enter your body, and when they are recognized they will be eliminated.

6. Get Enough Sleep

Adults NEED about 7-9 hours of quality sleep per day for optimal health. You may be thinking, “I only sleep 4-6 hours and I’m fine”, trust me I’ve said it. The truth is, you’re actually not functioning optimally. Sleep and your circadian system are very important and strong regulators of immune processes. When you lack sleep, your body also produces more stress hormones which have an effect on the immune system as well. (refer to stress heading)

7. Wash Your Hands Frequently

Washing your hands with soap removes germs from the hands and this can help prevent infection through many mechanisms. Frequently people touch their hands to their face, mouth and nose which provides a direct pathway into the body for the sickness to take hold. Not only is it important for preventing yourself from getting sick, but it also helps prevent the spread of the pathogens you might pick up on your hands. Keep in mind as you touch objects in your environment you transfer these pathogens to the surfaces you touch. By washing your hands, you prevent this from happening.

8. Minimize Stress Where Possible

Like stated in point number 3, stress hormones can cause increased potential for getting sick. Stress hormones increase the permeability of your body tissues, meaning that your body tissues allow more things through, which can include viruses, bacteria, and other harmful pathogens.

9. Get Some Sunlight

With small exposures to sunlight your body to synthesize vitamin D, and it also energizes T cells which play a very central role in human immune systems. These energized T cells can then move quicker through the body and identify pathogenic invaders for the immune system to fight. Vitamin D helps fight inflammation (discussed in number 8) while also enhancing the function of immune cells like the T cells and macrophages. Without sunlight, you are likely to be deficient in Vitamin D, and therefore lacking the benefits listed above.

Author: Chris Whalen

9 Simple Ways to Boost Your Immune System