Tips To Boost Your Immune System Naturally

Crazy busy lives we all lead and the constantly-growing amount of environmental toxins in our surroundings are taxing on our immune system. There’s only so much our bodies can take and process at the same time before getting overwhelmed and developing inflammation and disbalance. 

Luckily, there are some natural tools we can use to help boost our immune system and support it in its fight against disease, inflammation, stress, and other harmful factors.  

Clean Up Your Diet

The foods you eat are incredibly powerful and they can help you as much as they can harm you. Eating ultra-processed and sugary foods that contain a variety of artificial additives and fillers is proven to be extremely detrimental to our overall health and wellbeing. They are known to cause inflammation and cellular damage, wreaking havoc in all of your body systems and causing hormonal disbalance. 

Focusing on cleaning up your diet and adding more whole, plant-based foods into your life will undoubtedly help support your immune system and strengthen your immunity naturally. Vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes are incredibly rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and other powerful plant compounds that help you fight off harmful free radicals and their inflammatory effects. 

On the other hand, limit your sugar intake and avoid processed foods. With it, you’re lowering your risk of inflammation, preventing heart disease, and supporting a healthy immune system, one food at a time. 

There’s so much power in what you choose to put inside your body and it’s really true that “we are what we eat.” That’s why I’ve transformed my diet completely after finding out my diagnosis and contribute a large part of my healing to the ingredients and superfoods that make my healthy diet. 

Prioritize Sleep

We all seem to believe that what we do when we’re awake is way more important than sleep, and we follow the morbid, but very commonly said “we’ll sleep when we’re dead” statement. 

Sleep is an extremely important factor in our recovery and immune health as it’s the only time when our bodies rest and go through a complete reset, recharge, and cell repair. In fact, researchers have found a strong link between getting adequate sleep and healthy immune system function, with a notable increase in the production of cytokines associated with inflammation.  

Improve your sleep by implementing healthy pre-bed routines which will promote a more restful, deeper, and high-quality nighttime. Avoid using screens and any device emitting blue light at least two hours before going to bed, abstain from heavy dinners so your body has time to digest your food, remove all technology from your bedroom or put them on airplane mode, find a way to lower your stress and wind down for the night, make your bedroom as comfortable and cozy as possible, invest in good quality curtains to prevent any artificial light from disrupting your sleep, and try using earplugs if you live in a noisy area. 

Stay Active

Consistent, but moderate exercise boosts your immune function and helps you stay healthy. When you’re engaging in a healthy amount of movement, you’re improving your blood flow, lubricating your joints, maintaining good health of your muscles, and promoting optimal function of your lymphatic system. 

Exercise helps lower your overall inflammation and promotes the natural detox our bodies do themselves whenever there are substances and compounds that could potentially harm them. The sedentary lifestyle most people live inhibits this natural detox and creates the perfect environment for inflammation and diseases. The less we move, the harder it is for our bodies to properly function, causing our immune system to go into overload. 

Aim for at least seven to ten thousand steps per day and engage in some sort of physical exercise at least three days out of the week. It doesn’t have to be anything vigorous, simply find an activity you like and move your body. 

Implement Self-Care Routines

Self-care means different things for different people, but the goal is the same: to lower stress and relax. Chronic stress we all succumb to is the so-called “silent killer,” the cause of many diseases and disorders. It impairs our immune system and disables it from creating a healthy immune response that fights off harmful viruses and bacteria. 

Instead, our immune system may even start fighting our own cells, mistaking them for pathogens, and thus developing autoimmune diseases. The longer we ignore the signs of chronic stress, the worse the overall damage which, unfortunately, may become irreversible in some cases. 

Implementing a healthy self-care routine supports your immune system and brings on a plethora of other health benefits, from improved sleep and lower blood pressure to a better functioning digestive system and healthy blood sugar levels. Some people like to unwind by filling out their bathtubs and soaking in the warm, relaxing water; some like to get under a blanket and read; and others like to meditate. 

Whatever the case may be, find something you like to do and that really works for you. Don’t just force yourself to do things that supposedly calm you down if they don’t work. It’s important to tune into yourself, minimize stress, and with it, promote a healthy immune system. 

Be Smart With Supplements

The food we eat today is, unfortunately, depleted of many vitamins and minerals. Our soil, water, and air are all polluted and overworked, resulting in crops with fewer nutrients. That’s why smart supplementation is so important to prevent our bodies from becoming deficient. Some of the most important micronutrients you should supplement include:

• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• B Vitamins
• Magnesium
• Zinc
• Omega 3 fatty acids
• Probiotics
• Fiber (prebiotics)

All of these nutrients help boost your immune system, maintain a healthy weight, fight free radicals, promote heart health and bone health, optimize hormone balance, and aid in digestion and nerve function. In addition to actual supplements you can find in pill form, you should also consider powerful superfoods that pack a variety of incredible plant compounds and help improve your immune system naturally. 

It’s important to note that before taking any supplements on your own, it’s best to get professional medical advice from your doctor and have him perform micronutrient tests to know your true vitamin and mineral levels. That way you’ll know exactly what you need to supplement and in which doses to achieve optimal results. 

Final Thoughts

When it comes to our health, there may be some things that are out of our control, but there are plenty of factors that aren’t. Keeping a healthy and balanced diet, getting seven to eight hours of sleep, making sure to exercise regularly, and implementing relaxing, self-care routines will help optimize your immune cells and promote a strong immune system.