How to Boost Your Immunity

How to Boost Your Immunity

19. 2. 2021 12 min. reading

Do you suffer from frequent colds, runny nose or flu? Can't figure out how to help your body fight external influences? We bring you athletes proven advices to strengthen immunity.

10 Tips to Strenghten Immunity

  • Healthy gut

With a little exaggeration: "Healthy gut, healthy body". The intestine rightly holds the title of the largest immunological organ in the human body. The composition of the diet affects the state of the immune system in the intestine. This, in turn, affects the body's overall defenses. If you have good digestion, your immunity will also step on higher speeds.

You can support healthy bacteria in the gut by supplying "good breberes", either from the diet (sour milk products) or with food supplements (probiotics).

  • Varied and balanced diet

You have heard a million times that a regular and varied diet is the key to health. But what does regular mean? Ideally, eat 4-5 times a day. Between 3 main meals, this means 1-2 snacks. If it suits you to eat less times in larger portions during the day, fine, but try to give your body a system and eat at the same time each day. Choose high-quality food, preferably fresh. Limit industrially processed products. Did it grow / live happily in the open and before it got on your plate, did it just go through a modification in your kitchen? Ideal. Has it been processed in the factory before the purchase and the composition is longer than your Sunday shopping list? Avoid that. In addition to quality proteins, make sure you get a sufficient supply of carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates are mainly in the form of polysaccharides (compound sugars) with emphasis on fiber intake. Prefer vegetable fats to animal fats. If you do not suffer from any allergies or intolerances, regularly include dairy products and consume vegetables and fruits daily. Read the labels carefully - in most cases, "the shorter the composition, the better" really applies.

  • Sufficient protein in the diet

Of all three main nutrients (proteins, fats, carbohydrates), proteins have the most significant effect. Proteins are the basic building blocks and functional components of the human body. When they are lacking, the body cannot work properly. It is necessary to pay attention to the intake of quality and full-value proteins. You can find them, for example, in meat, dairy products or eggs.

  • Reasonable weight

The right weight goes hand in hand with a healthy diet. In case of malnutrition, there will certainly not be enough protein intake - so if you are losing weight, always do so sensibly and preferably under the supervision of a nutritional therapist. Also, if you overeat sweets and other delicacies and have some extra pounds, your body can paradoxically suffer: it lacks quality nutrients. If your body suffers (whether from protein, quality energy sources or vitamins and minerals), it will not be able to successfully defend itself against the pitfalls of viruses and bacteria.

  • Vitamins and minerals

A varied diet ensures a regular supply of vitamins and minerals. Support of immunity in case of lack of necessary vitamins and minerals is solved with the help of food supplements. The vitamins needed for immunity are mainly vitamins D and C.

Vitamin D can be obtained from the sun and from food. In summer, a certain supply of vitamin D is possible directly from the sun's rays. The need for sunbathing without a sunscreen with a factor of 8 or more significantly reduces this possibility (risk of cancer!). In winter, there is an even greater risk of vitamin D deficiency. On a plate you can indulge in vitamin D from fish (salmon, mackerel), meat or fortified dairy products. You can also supplement vitamin D in tablets. The most suitable form is vitamin D3 and the recommended dose for a 75 kg woman is 25 per day, daily.

Vitamin C deficiency can weaken the immune system. The organism itself also needs a higher amount of vitamin C in infectious diseases. It is used in the field of prevention and therapy. The source is mainly vegetables and fruits, but pay attention to the processing of raw materials. What did you probably not know? Vitamin C is destroyed, for example, on contact with metal (knife slicing).

Vitamin E with antioxidant properties can be found in vegetable oils, cereals and milk. Usually we have enough of it from food.

Of the minerals, zinc and selenium are important for immunity. Foods rich in zinc include meat (especially beef), whole grains, legumes. Selenium is found in nuts (the largest amount can be found in para nuts), also in meat.

  • Physical activity

Do you exercise regularly? Great, physical activity increases physical condition and thus resistance to disease. You do not have to practice heavy strength training or run 10 km every day. Just practice 3 times a week at home for fun. Are you tired of exercise? Even ordinary walking can work wonders! Get off the bus a stop earlier, ban yourself from using the lift (unless you are just pulling on a Sunday shopping), make the dog happy with a longer walk. Or you can go cycling every weekend, go on nature trips and spend the day out in the fresh air as much as possible. Simply move so that you enjoy it, and you can be sure that you are doing something for your physique, psyche and immunity.

  • Rest and sleep

We should train, but don't forget to compensate by a good rest. We each relax in a different way - reading, listening to music, bubble bath, walk ... It does not matter what we do, it is essential to take a break from normal duties, to evoke pleasant thoughts and a state of relaxation. Likewise, don't go to sleep. Quality undisturbed sleep will significantly increase the quality of your life. You know it for sure: when you don't sleep, you lack energy, concentration, and feel somehow more prone and irritated.

  • Sauna and hardening

Are you heading to the sauna on your first autumn days? So you're on the right track to boost immunity. The sauna serves as a prevention against infections (colds, colds, flu). It is important to visit the sauna regularly, ideally once a week. There are many important events in the body during the sauna. Among other things, there is an improvement in breathing, faster removal of mucus and an increase in the production of immunoglobulin A on the mucosa. Immunoglobulin A is a defensive substance, the increased level of which persists for up to 7 days after a stay in the sauna.

Lately, the bag has literally torn with hardening. Looks like he's not bothering like he's not. As with sauna, regularity is required here. Hardening is a kind of stimulus for the organism - after contact with ice water it activates the protective mechanism. Also pay attention to the gradual getting used to the cold, start by wearing a thinner layer of clothing, more frequent ventilation, progress from lukewarm water to ice water, from a short shower to a bath.

  • Correct room temperature

In winter, the room temperature should be around 20 ° C. In the bedroom, a few degrees less. It is not good to reheat the interior. Entering a superheated room in freezing cold weather can cause a thermal shock to the body.

  • Limit alcohol and smoking

If you like to light a drink during the day or have a glass of wine in the evening, it is difficult to read, but it is simply so: excessive alcohol consumption and smoking negatively affect the body's defenses. Alcohol impairs the absorption of other nutrients and minerals. Decreased levels of vitamins A, D, E, B6, B 12, folic acid, magnesium, selenium, zinc and copper can be found in chronic alcoholics. Thanks to smoking, there is reduced protection against infections, especially on the mucous membranes of the upper and lower respiratory tract. The effect was observed in both active and passive smokers.

  • Grandma's Advice to Strenghten Immunity

Our grandmothers' grandmothers already knew how to prevent disease. Healthcare was not as affordable as it is today, and proper immunity has been able to prolong life by decades. Available (local) ingredients such as honey, onion, garlic, horseradish or rose hips were recommended. They contain a large amount of vitamins, in addition to vitamin C and A, B, E, as well as minerals (eg zinc, magnesium, ..) and many other beneficial components. Do you want to go the natural way for immunity? Enrich your diet with the foods listed below.

  • Garlic and onions even contain the substance allicin, which acts as an antibiotic.  Their consumption can help as prevention, but also in the beginning of the disease.  How to include them in your diet? The easiest way is to enjoy the food with them.  They can also indulge in bolder tin or tea. 
  • The benefits of honey were already known in Ancient Egypt.  Among other things, they used it in medicines.  Our ancestors sweetened with honey.  If you can, exchange sugar for honey.  Caution: If you put honey in hot tea, the vitamins will "boil", so it is up to you when to consume it.
  • Horseradish has been in czech home medicine since time immemorial.  It worked well as a prevention, it was also used in the treatments of colds, especially in insemination.  Served grated with honey.  We recommend horseradish spread.
  • Rosehip hides a high amount of vitamin C - 747 mg/100 g (for comparison, orange - 51 mg/100 g).  Rosehip is most often used to make tea.  
  • Not to mention the two superfoods that often appear on our grandmothers' table.  We are talking about sauerkraut and meat broth. Sauerkraut contributes significantly to the body's defenses in two ways: in addition to the content of vitamins (believe that this miraculous food has many of them), it also ensures the proper function of the intestines. It is one of the oldest durable foods in the world. Sebastian Kneipp, a German healer, already knew about his positive qualities. Meat broth is easily digestible, but at the same time it satisfies well. A number of beneficial substances are boiled into the soup - both meat and bones and vegetables. It will serve perfectly as a preventive, curative, and it also tastes great.

How to Strenghten Immunity in a Natural Way

But we don't end with tips for strengthening your immunity! Other helpers are: sea buckthorn, gooseberry, oyster mushroom or echinacea. There are many products from them - teas, oils, tinctures, extracts, syrups, tablets.

  • Sea buckthorn with goji excel in high amounts of vitamin C.
  • Do you also have a cold associated with honest grated ginger tea at Grandma's?  Ginger contains antioxidants, has broad-spectrum affects and it's use lies not only in prevention, but also in the onset of infection. 
  • Oyster mushroom is important mainly due to the so-called beta-glucans.  They support immunity by stimulating white blood cells.  Long-term and regular use of beta - glucans has been shown to have a positive effect on the immune system.  Recommended dose: 250 - 500 mg/ a day.
  • Echinacea (purple coneflower) is one of the undemanding flowering plants.  Although it has a significant effect on immunity, it is not recommended to take for more than 2 weeks and it should be omitted by pregnant women - so always consult a specialist.

How to Quickly Increase Immunity

You don't build a well-functioning immunity overnight. It doesn't matter what way you defend against infections: the most important thing is perseverance and regularity.

But you can start now: choose one of the above tips and one natural food and include them in your daily ritual today. The reward will be a healthy body full of energy, able to resist external influences.

Sources: 

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