10 Natural Ways to Boost Your Immune Sytem

The world woke up January this year to discover a new strain of the COVID 19 coronavirus was slowly creeping across borders and ravaging nations. What started as a little infection in Wuhan, China December of 2019 soon grew out of proportion to become a pandemic.

However, one good thing that has come out of such a horrid situation is the fact more and more people are becoming health conscious and seeing the need to have a healthy immune system.

A strong, healthy immune system is one of the ways to increase your chances of survival against a virus that currently has no vaccine or cure.

A healthy immune system will combat and likely defeat this potentially deadly virus, especially when combined with other medications currently available for the treatment of the virus.

Your immune system is your defence house and it's main function is to protect your body from harmful toxins and pathogens. It does this by identifying these harmful cells that get into the body and attacking them before they can penetrate the host cells (your cells), replicate and cause sicknesses or diseases.

This immune system is made up of white blood cells and it is these defence soldiers that guard and protect your body. Your white blood cells make up just 1% of your blood and sadly, don't live forever, surviving for an average of 13-20 days, which means they have to be produced everyday.

Most people will produce around 100 billion white blood cell daily and this will boost their immune system, keeping it functioning optimally. Failing to produce enough of these white blood cells would mean your immune system is weak and susceptible to any infection or disease around.

Thankfully, you can boost your immune system in no time using very natural and easy-to-get methods.

Here are

1. Get Enough Rest

Getting enough rest is one of the best and easiest ways to boost your immune system.

A lack of sleep affects you in two ways:

- It reduces the number of T cells (white blood cells) in your body thereby making you prone to infections and diseases.

- Your system will also take longer to recover when you are sick, seeing as there are fewer of these cells to fight off this sickness.

Health experts recommend getting 7-8 hours of sleep daily for adults and up to 10 hours for kids to keep your immune system healthy.

2. Exercise Moderately

Besides keeping you fit, getting moderate exercises regularly also helps boost your immune system.

You might however, want to exercise moderately as too much exercise has been known to have the counter effect of weakening this same system you are trying to develop and leaving you prone to infections for as much as 72 hours.

3. Eat More Fruits and Veggies

Including fruits and vegetables regularly in your diet is another great way to boost your immune system as these contain lots of vitamins and nutrients that are needed to not just repair worn out cells, but to also build new ones.

Vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene are some essential vitamins and nutrients that your body needs in adequate quantities and regularly to do a good job.

4. Take Supplements and herbs

You can also include supplements and herbs in your plan to boost your immune system. You see, as much as we struggle to take in nutrients and vitamins in the foods we eat we sometimes might not get enough and turning to supplements can be a way of of this deficiency.

Some supplements that have been known to have great positive impact on the immunity include vitamins A, B, D and E, zinc, elderberry, garlic, astralagus, selenium and licorice.

5. Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated is important for your body and immunity and that's because it helps flush out toxins and other bacteria that might make you sick.

You should drink the recommended eight ounces of water everyday, especially when it's flu season to keep infections at bay.

6. Drink in Moderation

Alcohol might be able to help you relax or take the edge off when you're anxious, however, take too much and it will have the negative effect of weakening tour immune system.

Research has discovered that people who drink everyday are more susceptible to cold and flu.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans says moderate alcohol consumption is one drink per day for women and two for men. You might want to stay within the confine of this healthy drinking stipulation to keep your immunity strong.

7. Eat Citrus Fruits Daily

Citrus fruits are a huge source of vitamin C, which is one of the most important vitamins needed to boost your immune system.

You should endeavor to take it daily and you can get this in citrus fruits and other fruits like strawberries and papaya.

Vitamin C is also important as it can help regulate high blood pressure, reduce your risk of a heart disease and correct iron deficiency.

8. Eat Foods Known to Boost the Immune System

There are foods known for boosting the immune system more than others and you should include a lot more of these in your diets. Foods like carrots, onions, garlic, almond, fish, mushrooms and ginger have the power to do this.

9. Wash Your Hands Regularly

This might look like a really simple act, but it will help keep your immunity healthy.

Washing your hands regularly, especially when you have been to public places helps get rid of bacteria and other harmful toxins you might have unknowingly picked up.

You should wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds using soap and water.

10. Lose Weight If Overweight

While there aren't enough research to support this claim, it has been speculated being obese reduces your immunity and makes you susceptible to infections.

However, you might want to err on the side of caution and lose weight if overweight or obese. Doing so will also benefit you in a few ways anyways and one of these is going you a more healthy heart and body.