4 Top Ways To Boost Your Immune System

Now more than ever, it can be important to find ways to boost your immune system, especially for those who feel that they could use a boost to begin with. The good news is, that you have some control over your health and the strength of your immune system, and much of it boils down to making the right lifestyle choices. If you feel that your immune system could use some strengthening, here are a few things for you to try.

Eat Enough Nutrients

When it comes to giving your immune system a boost, getting enough nutrients into your diet can be a key way to help accomplish this. One way to do this is by making sure that you eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. However, it may at times be difficult to get all of the nutrients you need this way, so trying out superfoods, like beets, leafy greens, raw nuts and salmon, and superfood supplements, like green superfood powder can be a good way to help ensure you're getting the nutrients you need.

Avoid Risk Factors

Along with getting enough nutrients, it can also be helpful to take extra care in avoiding things that are bad for your health. One of the most dangerous things for your immune system is smoking, which can be damaging to health overall, but can be especially harmful to your immune system. Additionally, avoiding eating a poor diet full of sugar and refined carbs is also important, as is avoiding excessive alcohol intake. These things are important because substances like sugar, carbs, and alcohol can be difficult for your body to process, and can put undue stress on your system that can in turn have a negative impact on your immune system and its ability to function well.

Reduce Stress

Stress can wreak havoc on the immune system like few other things can. This is due partially to the fact that when you are feeling stressed, your body produces excess amounts of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline. These two hormones can throw all of your other hormones out of whack, and have a significant negative impact on many of your body's functions, including immune function. In fact, there may even be evidence that stress can temporarily suppress your immune system altogether. While it may not be possible to banish stress or avoid it completely, taking steps to manage it when you can may prove beneficial. Additionally, there can be a variety of ways to manage stress, from practicing deep breathing exercises and meditation, to taking nature walks or journaling.

Get Enough Rest

Just as finding ways to reduce stress can be important for maintaining proper immune system function, so can getting enough sleep. When you sleep, your body undergoes many healing and reparative processes, some of which are related to the immune system. When you don't get enough sleep, or are not able to sleep deeply enough, your body may not be able to undergo these processes, which can potentially leave you with a weakened immune system. Even if it may not be possible to get the full recommended 8 hours of sleep every night, finding ways to make sleep a priority, like ensuring that your bedroom is cool, dark, and comfortable, can be a good place to start.

The Bottom Line

Having a healthy immune system is always important, but can be even more so during times when colds and other viruses are spreading. This can be especially true for those that feel they already need a boost, or that their immune system is not as strong as they would like for it to be.

That doesn't mean, though, that there's nothing you can do about it. By making some lifestyle tweaks, like pumping your diet full of nutrients, learning to de-stress effectively, or getting some extra shut eye, you can help to give your immune system the boost it needs.