How To Maintain A Strong Immune System
From the past Covid-19 pandemic situation we learn that maintaining our body endurance is very important to protect our health from any germs or viruses. It is very important to know that a good immune system will not only protect our body from virus attacks. But with a healthy body, we can reduce any harmful potential that we may get.
The main way to protect yourself from disease is to have a strong immune system. The immune system is the first line of defense against germs that cause infection. If your body's resistance is strong, the germs or viruses won't be able to affect your health. The body will avoid infection and you won't get sick.
Keep on reading to know more about what you should do to maintain your body's immunity.
Eat nutritious food
According to health experts, 80% of our body's immune system is formed in the gut. A healthy stomach will definitely help to provide a higher level of resistance. Thus, to keep your body's immunity strong, you need to eat a balanced nutritious diet.
Various healthy foods that you can choose from include fruit, vegetables, fish, eggs, milk, whole grains, and nuts, such as green beans, edamame, and soybeans. Other foods, such as seafood, cheese, and yogurt, are also good for consumption to strengthen the immune system.
Exercise regularly
Another way to increase endurance is to exercise regularly. This activity holds a myriad of health benefits, such as preventing obesity, protecting yourself from the risk of cardiovascular disease, and reducing the risk of osteoporosis (bone loss). Another benefit of exercising is that it helps remove bacteria from the lungs and respiratory tract. This is what makes people who exercise diligently less prone to colds or other respiratory diseases.
Routinely exercising for 30 minutes every day or at least 3-5 times a week is known to increase the body's immune response in fighting infection. If you easily get tired and don't like sports at all, you can just do an easy light workout such as walking, jogging, or cycling around the house. If you want to avoid crowds, you can also do simple exercises at home. There are tons of youtube videos you can try.
Take care of your past medical issue
Many medical conditions can increase the chance of getting hypertension, heart disease, and lung disease. Thus for anyone who has a congenital illness, it is expected for them to do the extra mile to maintain their health. Because it is just so easy for their condition to deteriorate quickly due to the illness.
Taking supplements
Adequate nutritional intake is needed to support the immune system so that it can be stronger against any disease or germs. However, if you don't get enough nutrition from food, you need to take immune-boosting supplements, especially those containing vitamin C, vitamin D, and Echinacea. Adding antioxidants to your diet, such as glutathione, can also help support a healthy immune system. Make sure you take any vitamins or supplements as recommended by your doctor to avoid issues such as glutathione side effects.
According to research, vitamin C has an important function in increasing the body's resistance. Thus why, for people who live with 4 seasons, upon entering the new seasons, it is suggested for them to eat more foods that have a higher vitamin C content. Apart from being found in fruits such as oranges, guava, kiwi, and berries, vitamin C is also present in vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, peppers, and tomatoes. If necessary, you can increase your intake of vitamin C by taking vitamin C supplements.
Get enough rest
Adequate and good quality of sleep can help us to maintain and even strengthen the immune system. Conversely, lack of sleep can make the body susceptible to disease. This is because when you sleep, the body's immune system releases substances called cytokines, which can improve sleep quality and are needed when infection or inflammation occurs.
Conversely, when you are sleep deprived, the production of cytokines and T cells in the body decreases. T cells are a group of immune cells that play an important role in fighting viruses. That's why sleep deprivation can lower your immune system and make you susceptible to illness.
Therefore, make sure to get enough and proper sleep! Adults generally need about 7-9 hours of sleep per day, while teenagers need about 8-10 hours of sleep per day.
Manage stress
Stress can also be a source of disease, especially when it is excessive and uncontrolled. When you are stressed, the body will produce the hormone cortisol. Increased cortisol due to prolonged stress can reduce body endurance. Examples of ways to manage stress are having hobbies, exercising, meeting with friends, letting out feelings, doing self-care, and so on.
Keep the home environment clean
A person's hygienic living conditions can determine how big or small their risk is of exposure to germs that cause infection. If you spend your life in a house with good sanitation, it will definitely help to enhance your immunity level.
What you can do to keep the home environment clean is to thoroughly clean the house every day, and regularly have your HVAC system maintained by Luce Aircon. Ensuring that your HVAC filter is changed once every month is important to ensure it won't influence your susceptibility to infectious and metabolic diseases. Keep the environment where you live clean to reduce the risk of exposure to germs that cause infection
Disease not only can be caused due to viruses, but even when we are entering the new season, cases of the disease can become more numerous than usual. If your immune system decreases at the change of seasons, you also become susceptible to disease. Thus, for your immune system to work properly and optimally, you need to carry out these suggestions below on a regular basis.
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