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Your immune system is a product of your lifestyle and any underlying health conditions you have. The foods you eat and the things you do will either strengthen or weaken your body’s response against fatigue and sickness.
Covid-19 and Immunity
Since the COVID-19 pandemic started in 2020, more and more people have become aware of this by learning that underlying health conditions such as overweight, obesity, and diabetes has put individuals at a much greater risk of infection with exacerbated symptoms and mortality rate.
Centers for Disease Control
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 78% of COVID-19 hospitalizations were individuals that were overweight or obese. Not only that, but your immune system will detect and destroy anything foreign to the body including bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and cancer cells, therefore it is imperative to take the best care of it for a life well lived.
No matter your current state of health, your weight, or your genetic predisposition, you can improve the function and strength of your immune system. Vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are going to be your keys to health, but we are not just talking about the supplement form. Where you need to start with these are in the foods you eat!
What about supplements?
Supplements like vitamins are made to supplement patterns of eating, not substitute them. What we mean is that through eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains every day, you will be filling your cells with the types of nutrients that will help your health and not even need to use different supplements.
For example, those who do not consume dairy, meat, fish, and eggs are advised to take Vitamin B12 and Vitamin D since plant foods do not contain high enough amounts to meet dietary needs. Always remember to make the majority of each of your meals include a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, while limiting intakes of sodium, sugar, and fat.
Lifestyle Choices & Activities
Lifestyle choices and activities are other significant factors in immune health. Lifestyle choices that would have an adverse effect include smoking, drinking alcohol in amounts excessive to 1 drink per day for women and 2 drinks per day for men, lack of physical activity, inability to manage stress, and poor sleep habits. Allow yourself to experience a happier, healthier life by quitting smoking, limiting alcohol consumption, exercising daily, practicing positive stress management, and getting adequate sleep every night.
With your immune system, you want to be proactive. Start today to build its strength and health. Make healthy choices every day to contribute to a future where you do not have to fight sickness or worry about being at a greater risk for disease complications.
Here are some tips to follow for a healthier immune system:
- Eat a variety of colors of fruits and vegetables daily. Make it your goal to have at least 5 servings every single day to ensure you have antioxidant rich foods in your diet!
- Eat more Omega 3 foods like nuts, seeds, soybeans, and greens. Omega 3’s are most known for helping to improve cardiovascular health by improving circulation, lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol, lowering triglyceride levels, and reducing inflammation. It is straight forward to say that a better functioning cardiovascular system will help the function of your immune system.
- Get your Vitamin D! Include Vitamin D fortified foods such as certain types of orange juice, cereals, soy products, and plant milks if you do not consume dairy, eggs, meat, or fish. Consult with your doctor about Vitamin D supplementation. Make sure you spend at least 10 minutes per day in sunlight!
- Skip the added salt! There is already so much sodium in packaged foods, so many Americans intakes are in excess to the Recommended Daily Allowance. Salt and sodium intake will reflect in your cardiovascular health and your body’s inflammation.
- Grill/bake/steam or broil – do not eat that greasy fried food, you already know it is bad for your heart. Skip the oil, margarine, or butter when you are cooking or limit to 2 teaspoons of olive oil per day.
- Watch the sugar – in your coffee, iced tea, juice, soda, alcoholic beverages, snacks, and sweets. Too much sugar will suppress immune system responses.
- Add anti-inflammatory food products to your meals/juice/smoothies such as turmeric, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, and flax.
- Drink water, water, water! Hydration is significant in overall health.
- Exercise regularly. Aim for 30 minutes every day. Even if you are only able to begin a routine by walking for 15 minutes twice a day, starting there will make a big difference.
- Sleep- and get good sleep. Many people can adapt to sleeping less and sleeping poorly but it is never ideal. Make your best efforts to get to bed earlier and have uninterrupted, deep, recovery sleep. Shoot for the recommended 8 hours, or what your body’s optimal functionality needs. Impaired sleep can be affected by lack of daily exercise and healthy diet.
- Choose happy and be positive. Your spirit can either strengthen or weaken you, and this is incredibly important to your health.