Strengthen Your Immune System: Five Ways

Autumn is officially here as of September 23, bringing with it crisp mornings, gorgeous colored foliage and the start of cold and flu season. The bad news is that anyone can get sick when germs and viruses spread like wildfire. The good news is there are steps you can take to minimize your likelihood of falling prey to illness. Incorporate one suggestion from each category and you will face the season with your immune system stronger than ever.

What you eat

Good overall health translates into a strong immune system, so eating a healthy overall diet is the first step. Include foods from all food groups and remember that a colorful plate is a healthy plate. Certain fruits and vegetables are especially helpful in bolstering immune systems, such as citrus fruits, apples, berries, kale, broccoli and spinach. Fermented foods like sauerkraut and yogurt encourage healthy gut bacteria. Add flavor to foods while you add potency to your immune system by using jalapeños, garlic, and ginger. For dessert, enjoy an ounce of dark chocolate, arguably the tastiest way to boost immunity.

What you drink

Start each day with eight ounces of water and don’t stop there. Drink another eight ounces before each meal and snack; a well-hydrated body is a healthy body. Think of it as washing out your insides, going in clear and coming out colored as it flushes impurities and toxins from your system. Tea—green, black, white or red (rooibos)—is packed with antioxidants. Drink caffeinated in the morning and decaffeinated at night because both work equally well at ridding the body of free radicals. To your tea, add essential oils such as copaiba essential oil for an extra dose of immune support.

What you do

What you put into your body isn’t the only thing that affects what you get out of it. Even the best diet cannot make up for sedentary habits and carelessness. Moderate exercise is essential to good health and vigorous immune systems, in part because movement increases the circulation of antibodies and heavy breathing helps flush bacteria from lungs. Beware not to overdo it because strenuous exercise like marathon running or weightlifting every day can actually compromise wellbeing. Instead, opt for daily walks, bicycle rides, or gym sessions three times a week. Socialize—people with better emotional support networks show better resistance to disease—but remember to wash your hands frequently when around others to avoid receiving and perhaps spreading germs.

What you avoid

Naturally, you will want to avoid contact with sick people if possible. Remember that germs linger on many surfaces so avoid touching doorknobs, keyboards, remote controls and towels that have recently been used by others. Keep your living space and workplace as clean as possible by dusting and vacuuming frequently, wiping down solid surfaces with disinfectant, laundering towels daily, and replacing cloths and sponges regularly. Tobacco use is unwise for many reasons; nicotine suppresses the immune system while polluting lungs and mucus tissues, which are our first line of defense when it comes to eluding the cold and flu. Many substances, such as alcohol and opioid painkillers, are helpful when used appropriately but extremely harmful when abused so handle them with care.

How you think

Studies continue to show that how you think will affect how you feel. A positive frame of mind and optimistic outlook on life can be incredibly valuable when it comes to fighting disease. It makes sense; biological processes are driven by neurological impulses. Constant worrying will overwork the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, which in turn strain the immune system so learn meditation or mindfulness techniques to help you avoid chronic anxiety. But you don’t need to avoid stress altogether; while chronic stress is detrimental to the immune system, situational stress is unavoidable and can even be positive. Some health psychologists even assert that if you believe stress is helpful and frame stressful situations in a positive light—telling yourself that your racing heartbeat means you are excited rather than fearful, for example—the stress response will be helpful rather than harmful.