Introduction
The immune system is the body’s natural defense against illness and infection. It is important to keep it strong and healthy in order to stay healthy and prevent disease. Eating the right foods can help boost your immunity and keep you healthy. In this article, we will discuss the best ways to increase immunity, according to experts. We will look at which foods to eat and which to avoid in order to keep your immune system functioning at its best. We will also discuss the importance of getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and managing stress in order to keep your immune system strong.
The Best Ways to Increase Immunity, Experts Say — Eat This Not That
Boosting your immunity is essential for staying healthy and preventing illness. But with so many different foods and supplements available, it can be hard to know what to eat to increase your immunity. Fortunately, experts have identified some of the best foods and supplements to help you stay healthy.
Eat This
- Fruits and vegetables: Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to increase your immunity. Fruits and vegetables are packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that can help boost your immune system.
- Yogurt: Yogurt is a great source of probiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that can help support your immune system.
- Garlic: Garlic is a powerful immune-boosting food. It contains compounds that can help fight off infections and boost your immunity.
- Ginger: Ginger is another powerful immune-boosting food. It contains compounds that can help reduce inflammation and boost your immune system.
- Turmeric: Turmeric is a spice that contains curcumin, a compound that can help reduce inflammation and boost your immune system.
Not That
- Processed foods: Processed foods are high in sugar, salt, and unhealthy fats, which can weaken your immune system.
- Alcohol: Drinking too much alcohol can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness.
- Caffeine: Caffeine can interfere with your body’s ability to fight off infections and can weaken your immune system.
- Sugar: Eating too much sugar can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness.
- Trans fats: Trans fats are unhealthy fats that can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness.
Eating a healthy diet and avoiding unhealthy foods and drinks can help boost your immunity and keep you healthy. By following these tips, you can help keep your immune system strong and reduce your risk of illness.
Every fall, with the onset of cold and flu season, your immune system needs all the help it can get. That’s especially true this year, as experts warn of the possibility of a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. Luckily, there are simple ways you can boost your immunity every day. Read on to find out more—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You May Have Already Had COVID.
Following a healthy diet—one high in fruits and vegetables, and low in processed foods, simple carbs, red meat and added sugar—is one of the best things you can do to support your immune system. Fruits and vegetables contain micronutrients that support immunity, while sugars, simple carbs, and processed foods increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and inflammation, all of which undermine your body’s disease-fighting defenses.
Exercise can supercharge your immune system. According to the National Institutes of Health, exercise can cause antibodies and white blood cells to circulate through the bloodstream more quickly, potentially neutralizing disease-causing invaders faster. You can get this immune-boosting benefit from just a moderate amount of exercise—even just walking 20 minutes a day.
Overindulging in alcohol taxes the immune system in several ways, increasing your risk of heart disease, respiratory infections, and more than 10 types of cancer. To avoid that, drink moderately: No more than two drinks a day for men and one for women.
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“Scientific evidence is building that sleep has powerful effects on immune functioning,” says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Studies show that sleep loss can affect different parts of the immune system, which can lead to the development of a wide variety of disorders”—including cancer, heart disease, obesity, diabetes, and dementia. Experts like the National Sleep Foundation recommend seven to nine hours of quality sleep every night.
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Studies have found that vitamin D can help control infections, reduce inflammation, and slow cancer cell growth, says the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, recommends taking vitamin D to support immunity. “I would not mind recommending—and I do it myself—taking vitamin D supplements,” he said last fall. “There is good evidence that if you have a low vitamin D level, that you have more of a propensity to get infected when there are infections around.”
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“Vitamin C deficiency results in impaired immunity and higher susceptibility to infections,” wrote researchers behind a 2017 study published in the journal Nutrients. “Supplementation with vitamin C appears to be able to both prevent and treat respiratory and systemic infections.” Fauci also advocates for vitamin C. “The other vitamin that people take is vitamin C because it’s a good antioxidant, so if people want to take a gram or so of vitamin C, that would be fine,” he said.
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Chronic stress causes the brain to pump out more of the stress hormone cortisol. That has a number of negative effects on the body, including weakened immunity. People who experience chronic stress are more prone to the common cold and viral infections like the flu. “Try to avoid or alleviate severe stress, which we know can sometimes impact the immune system,” said Fauci last fall. And to get through this pandemic at your healthiest, don’t miss these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.