Your Immune system health is essential to your overall health and wellbeing. Your immune system sets you up to protect you for the rest of your life. Caring for this part of your body can easily be done by investing in your health through eating right, sleeping enough, maintaining healthy habits like exercising consistently, and refraining from overconsumption of alcohol. When you support your immune system your immune system will support you during times you.
What Are the Pillars of Immune Health?
Certain foundational principles make up a healthy immune system. To have a healthy immune system, you need to get enough sleep to replenish your body, proper nutrients to fuel your body, exercise to maintain and keep it moving, and not allow stress or negativity to overcome you.
Mindfulness
Stress can have very adverse effects on the immune system. Being a part of a stressful situation releases cortisol hormones throughout your body. These hormones activate a fight or flight response that lowers your immune response causing you to become sick more often. Chronic cortisol release causes high levels of inflammation to flood the body, creating a weaker immune system over time.
Learning how to incorporate stress relieving exercises and techniques can calm you down and help strengthen and build your immune system. Many people use things like meditation, yoga, exercise, or creative expression as stress relieving activities. Everyone is different and it's important to find what works for you. Lowering your stress can lower your inflammatory markers in every part of your body and brain.
Sleep
Sleep is one of the most crucial factors to our health and well-being. During sleep, our body uses that time to rest and recover, a process which only occurs during certain stages of sleep. Without going through all the complete stages of sleep our body fails to operate the way it should. Lack of quality sleep impacts immune cell production and makes us more susceptible to sickness and disease.
It's important to prioritize quality sleep. Sleep is one of the most important things you can do to promote optimal health and immune function. Establishing good sleep hygiene can be done simply by setting a timer of when it's time to start getting ready for bed. This can mean turning off and avoiding screens an hour before bed, taking a bath, or any relaxing activity that gets you ready for bed. Creating a routine can help your body begin to shut down from the business of the day so that when your head hits the pillow, sleep shortly follows.
Nutrition
Nutrition is one of the pillars of immune health to take very seriously. What you put into your body gives every organ system the nutrients it needs to operate optimally. Without proper nourishment, the body succumbs to nutrient and vitamin deficiencies. These deficiencies can lead to a poor immune system, more susceptible to disease and illness.
In today's society, good nutrition is harder to understand than ever. With so much misinformation, it has become more difficult to understand which diet is the healthiest, what isn't good for you, and what you shouldn't eat. It can become very overwhelming. You never go wrong when you go back to the basics. Eating a diet high in vegetables, fruits, and other naturally occurring foods. Avoiding fatty oils, saturated fats, and processed foods will help you strengthen your immune system and make sure your body is getting the nutrients it needs.
Exercise
Exercise is another component that is incredibly important to optimal immune health. Consistent physical activity helps to protect your immune system through means of detoxification and sweating. In addition to detox through sweating, your body flushes out bacteria in your lungs and airways which also help to increase circulation. Working out 30-60 minutes every day helps improve your immune health by cutting the number of days you are sick by more than half.
What Is Natural Immunity?
If you are wondering what natural immunity is, you are not alone. Natural immunity is a hot topic for discussion as we continue to deal with a pandemic. Many people are confused about strengthening and building the body's natural immunity. Natural immunity is the body's ability to defend itself against foreign invaders like viruses, bacteria and infection. Natural immunity does not come from a vaccine or medication; this type of immune function is cultivated through your body working as it was created to.
Natural immunity occurs when you get infected with a virus or certain germ and your immune system attacks it and creates antibodies. When exposed to that same virus or germ in the future, your body uses the antibodies it created from the first infection to fight against the returned invader.
What Builds a Healthy Immune System?
The strength of your immune system depends on the quality of your overall health. Many things help build a healthy immune system. A healthy lifestyle balanced with proper nutrition and exercise helps bolster your immune system. In addition, your surroundings and environment have major effects on the strength of your immune system. Living in highly polluted environments can influence the quality of your immune system and overall health. Staying indoors a lot can have detrimental effects on your health. Not only are you exposed to poorer air quality levels but lack of Vitamin D and physical activity have shown to damage the immune system as well.
Getting outdoors every day can enhance your immune system as well as increase your physical activity. Creating good habits of eating healthy nourishing foods, sleeping 7-8 hours a night, and staying hydrated can help build a healthy immune system. Eating food rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, and supplements with quality vitamins if needed are all ways to support your immune system. Many people struggle with their health and find that they develop autoimmunity or have problems with inflammation and detoxification. Taking supplements that support this process can help as well as using tools like an infrared sauna, exercising, and drinking ample amounts of water are all things you can do to care for your vital systems.
What Are 5 Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System?
Strengthening your immune system is not as difficult as one would think. Here are 5 ways to strengthen your immune system:
- Refrain from smoking - Smoking causes so many different illnesses and it is not worth the risk. Smoking pollutes your lungs, causes lung disease, and inflammation throughout the body. If you smoke, it is time to quit.
- Eating fermented foods - The majority of your immune system is known to be located in your gut. Eating fermented foods help enhance the healthy bacteria in your intestinal tract, which in turn, improves immune function.
- Keeping a healthy weight - Disease prevention of any kind includes maintaining a healthy weight, eating healthy, and getting regular exercise. Maintaining a healthy BMI helps improve immune health as well as decrease the risks for heart disease, high blood pressure, and certain cancers.
- Creating healthy habits - Diligent hand washing, avoiding cross-contamination when cooking, and washing your foods thoroughly before ingesting and regular exercise will help minimize your risks for unnecessary infection.
- Staying on top of your health - It's important to see your doctor regularly for checkups, get dental cleanings every 6 months, and stay current with all your vaccinations. It's also important to get all the recommended checks and exams when recommended to do so by your doctor. Every system is connected to your immune system and they rely on the health of one another to function properly.
What Are the 4 Pillars of Wellness?
In order to achieve a healthy lifestyle there are 4 pillars of wellness that you should consider:
- Nutrition - eating antioxidant and folate-rich foods like dark leafy green and blueberries are great for brain health, improving memory, and supporting your immune system. Citrus foods, garlic, and anti-inflammatory foods like sweet potatoes and salmon are also great to incorporate into your diet.
- Exercise - Getting 30-60 minutes of activity a day is optimal, but if you can exercise at least 3x a week, it will positively affect your immune system.
- Relaxation - It's important to take time to unwind and relax from the stressors of the day. Some people do this by taking a warm bath, drinking green tea, or repeating daily affirmation during a 20 minute meditation. It's important to find what works for you and take time everyday to relax.
- Sleep - Sleep is one of the most important pillars to wellness. Your body carries out so many different restorative processes while you go through the various stages of sleep. Getting quality rest can make or break your immune health.
Does Nutrition Play a Part in Immune Health?
When people are sick, they either do not want any food or crave comfort foods like high fat, sugary, or processed foods. Many people find themselves asking, "is nutrition important to immune health?" The answer is, absolutely! What you put into your body is very important, especially when you are ill. Sugar and sodium increase inflammation. Many people are headed in the right direction with chicken noodle soup as our ancestors used soup broths and bone broths to help nourish themselves when they were sick. Today's standard chicken noodle soup is highly processed and so loaded with sodium that the nutritional content is somewhat voided.
What Are the Symptoms of a Strong Immune System?
Below are just a few symptoms of a strong immune system include:
- Not getting sick often
- Well rested and getting quality sleep
- Good hygiene habits
- No autoimmune conditions
- Good circulation
- Healthy digestive system
- Energized
- Healthy skin
- Manages stress well
- Good wound recovery
What Are the Symptoms of a Poor Immune System?
Someone with a poor immune system may experience things like:
- Skin Problems
- Joint issues
- Frequently ill
- Poor Circulation
- Chronic Fatigue
- Digestive issues
- Poor hygiene habits
- Insomnia
- Dry eyes
- Fevers
- Sensitivity to sun
Supplements Can Help
Supporting your immune system can be even easier than you imagined. In addition to living a healthy lifestyle, supplementing with Spermine can provide your immune system with the support it needs. Spermidine decreases the inflammation throughout your body and prevents the build up of toxins which may damage your immune system and brain. Spermidine helps to induce the effect of autophagy which is an important mechanism for cellular repair and recycling.
Autophagy is your body’s natural cellular detoxification process during which your body recycles damaged or dysfunctional cellular material for energy. This not only clears your cells of toxic debris but allows your cells to continue to operate at peak efficiency. Autophagy has been shown to lower inflammation across your body, reducing the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, infections and inflammation.
