With the changing of seasons, our bodies go through a pretty big transition as well. The best way to help your body through this transition is to help boost that immune system and keep it strong. Taking lots of over-the-counter medicines and suppressants cannot only weaken your immune system, they may even cause your body extra unwanted symptoms too. Want to build-up that immune system safely? Here are 8 natural easy ways to level-up that immune system and keep it strong all year long!
- Laughter
Believe it or not, laughter is said to be awesome for boosting the immune system naturally! Laughing can increase your immune system by reducing stress hormones and greatly increasing the amount of white blood cells and infection-fighting antibodies. It also helps clean out the lymphatic system, which removes dead cells, waste, and unwanted microorganisms. Hmmm… I guess laughter really is the best medicine after all.
- Adequate Amounts of Sleep
Having a lack of sleep is said to bring down your body’s immunity and cause illnesses to stick around longer. When you get an adequate amount of sleep, your immune system releases proteins known as cytokines. Certain types of cytokines are essential to increase when your body is fighting off stress, infections or inflammation. Do yourself and your immune system a favor and try to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
- Exercise
People who do not get enough exercise are said have lower levels of immune cells, which are beneficial in helping the body fight off illness and infection. Exercise can boost your immune system by providing a boost in the amount of white blood cells in your body, which are assigned to attack harmful bacteria. Keep your immune system healthy by exercising regularly. Even just going for a half-an-hour walk once a day can really help.
- Anti-Viral Herbs
Anti-viral herbs such as cinnamon, garlic, Echinacea, and elderberry have been widely used by many people to naturally help boost the immune system and fight off common illnesses. Many anti-viral herbs can be ingested using tinctures or by brewing them into teas. One of my favorite anti-viral herbs is oregano, which can be ingested by placing only a few drops of oregano tincture in a glass of water and drinking it.
- Probiotics
Probiotics are known as microorganisms that are believed to provide health benefits when consumed by ingesting them. They are said to contain active cultures which help promote healthy bacteria growth in the intestine by either changing or reintroducing new bacteria, thus providing great support to your immune system. Today, there are many different kinds of foods rich in probiotics. Feel free to check out my article on powerful plant-based probiotic foods for some great plant-based ways to get more probiotics in your diet.
- Stress Relief
Too much stress can wear down and weaken your immune system. But don’t stress about it! Doing activities such as yoga, meditation, taking a nap, or relaxing to a warm cup of holy basil tea can easily help relieve some of that stress. By relieving stress, you can really help your body become less susceptible and vulnerable to illnesses.
- Cut out High Amounts of Sugar
Consuming high amounts of sugar can greatly slow down your white blood cells from fighting off sickness-causing bacteria. In addition to that, sugar attempts to push vitamin C, an essential nutrient for strengthening your immune system, out of your body. By cutting out sugar and replacing it with more veggies and fruits, you are allowing your immune system to function much better.
- Vitamin C
As I mentioned above, vitamin C is an essential nutrient for boosting your immune system. This is because it helps your white blood cells fight off infections and the harmful bacteria that tries to linger in your body. By consuming foods like tomatoes, grapefruit, lemons, or strawberries, you can increase your vitamin C intake as well as make that immune system stronger.
You can do your body a huge favor by trying one or more of these easy natural ways to level-up your immune system. Go ahead, you deserve a healthy body!
