Best Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System

Now, more than ever, we are striving to prevent illness through having a strong immune system.

Every day your body fights hard to keep you healthy, but sometimes foreign intruders slip by and cause infection or disease.

We’re constantly exposed to bacteria, viruses, fungi, and toxins and it’s your immune system’s job to combat them. Taking preventative measures to ensure your immune system is at peak performance will allow you to rest easy, knowing you’re giving your body it’s best fighting chance to be healthy.

A weak immune system not only leaves you more susceptible to getting sick, but can also leave you feeling tired, having gut issues, feeling stressed, and more. A healthy immune system brings your body into balance. You’ll have more energy, less stress, get sick less often, and feel better all around.

Luckily there’s a lot you can do to help your body be at the top of its game. Here are the 5 best ways to strengthen your immune system:

1. Eat foods that boost your immunity

A study in Immunity, discusses the link between a standard western diet high in white flour, refined sugar, processed food, and animal fat and a heightened inflammatory immune response.

When your body is busy trying to fight inflammation caused by your diet, it doesn’t have the proper resources to fight off foreign intruders too. A healthy diet rich in fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals keeps inflammation down and allows your immune system to do what it’s meant to.

The best diet to strengthen your immune system is one chock-full of fruits and vegetables, plus lean protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates like whole grains, beans and legumes. While overall diet is the most important, there are also some scientifically proven foods that give your immune system even more of a boost.

• Fruits High in Vitamin C - A Nutrients article shares that vitamin C boosts immunity in several ways. To reap the rewards of these super-charged antioxidants, eat fruits high in vitamin C like oranges, guavas, papayas, cantaloupes, and grapefruit.

• Foods Rich In Zinc - Another study in Nutrients says consuming enough zinc allows your body to adequately defend itself against foreign intruders. Some of the foods richest in zinc are oysters, beef, chicken, pork, yogurt, firm tofu, hemp seeds, lentils, oatmeal, and shiitake mushrooms.

• Flavor Your Foods With Garlic, Ginger, or Tumeric - These three natural ingredients have been used as anti-inflammatories and immune boosters for thousands of years. Cleveland Clinic states a compound called allicin is responsible for garlic’s immune boosting abilities. Ginger not only strengthens the immune system, but also has anti-cancer qualities according to the International Journal of Preventive Medicine. Turmeric hits the mark on all of these qualities as well, according to the Journal of Clinical Immunology.

• Almonds, Sunflower Seeds & Avocados - These foods aren’t just ways to get your daily doses of healthy fats. According to a study in the IUBMB, vitamin E is found in very high concentration in immune cells. Eating foods rich in this vitamin is one of the best ways to give your immunity a boost.

2. Prioritize sleep

While not everyone will have the luxury of being able to prioritize sleep, many of us have some room for improvement. It’s not uncommon to stay up late binge watching your favorite show, going out with friends, answering emails or scrolling on your phone until the wee hours of the night.

According to the CDC, even just one night of getting less than 4 hours of sleep will negatively impact your immune system. While you sleep your body produces proteins that fight off infection and inflammation. If you aren’t sleeping, then your body isn’t able to produce what’s needed to keep you healthy.

3. Wear a BioActivate Immune Boost Patch

Scientists have learned how to harness the power of your body’s natural energy field thanks to advancements in quantum physics. There are no drugs or ingredients on these little patches, but they pack a powerful immune-boosting punch. They offer energy medicine technology that will bring your body back into a state of balance completely holistically.

4. Make healthy lifestyle choices

Besides eating a healthy diet, there are more ways to strengthen your immune system by making healthy lifestyle choices. Harvard Health Publishing touts these choices as being one of the first lines of defense for a healthy immune system.

• If you drink alcohol, only drink in moderation - Alcohol suppresses immune responses, making your body less capable of fighting off bacteria, viruses, and disease.

• Don’t smoke - Besides the very well-known cancer risks, smoking also suppresses your immune system. This means you’re more susceptible to infection and disease.

• Exercise regularly - Studies show that an active lifestyle directly reduces your risks of bacterial infections, viral infections, and non-communicable diseases like cancer.

• Reduce stress with healthy coping mechanisms - Activities like meditation, yoga, and tai chi are scientifically proven to reduce stress. When you have a regular practice, you’ll be less likely to reach for unhealthy coping mechanisms that negatively affect your immune health like junk food or alcohol too.

5. Take a vitamin D supplement

A study in The Journal of Investigative Medicine states that low vitamin D levels are directly linked to decreased immunity and increased risk of infection. It’s important to note that most people struggle to get enough vitamin D from diet and the sun alone.

If you live above 35 degrees latitude, it’s not even possible to get vitamin d from the sun in the winter. In the north you can get vitamin D outside during the summer and in the south you can get it year round.

Keep in mind that your body produces vitamin D most efficiently midday, which also happens to be when your skin is most at risk to harmful rays. Taking a D3 supplement is your best bet due these complexities, but if you do choose the sun method, make sure to wear proper sun protection.