8 Ways to Strengthen your Immune System

Staying healthy is a big topic of conversation nowadays and most of what we are hearing about the topic is social distancing and wearing a mask. I personally feel that we should really be focusing on strengthening our immune system and making our bodies as healthy as we can. In this article, I am going to list 8 simple ways to strengthen your immune system and your energy levels. These are the eight strategies I use for myself and my family.

What is the immune system? According to the National Cancer Institute the definition of the immune system is; a complex network of cells, tissues, organs, and the substances they make that help the body fight infections and other diseases. The immune system includes white blood cells and organs and tissues of the lymph system. What are the signs of a weak immune system? Your stress level is high, you have frequent colds, stomach issues, frequent infections, slow to heal, and you are tired all the time. In the time we are living in with Covid 19 this shows us how important it is to strengthen our immune system.

1. Drink Water

I feel like this would be an obvious one but you would be surprised by how many of us are walking around dehydrated and don’t really even know it. It is important to drink water right when you get up in the morning because after sleeping all night we tend to be dehydrated. I personally drink 20 ounces when I get up with a pinch of Pink Himalayan salt. Recommendations are that we drink at least a half ounce per pound of body weight. Drinking water does add oxygen to your blood and helps all your body systems to function at their best which increases our immune system.

2. Get enough Sleep

The benefit of getting a good night’s sleep is that it keeps us healthy and functioning well. It gives your body and brain time to repair, restore, and reenergize. If you don’t get enough sleep your immune system can be weakened. The recommendations for adults are 7-9 hours of sleep and children and teens anywhere from 10 to 13 hours of sleep a night.

3. Eat a nutritious diet

What does this mean? With all the different opinions out there, it can be quite confusing what a nutritious diet actually is. Through the research, I have done and what I try to do for myself and my family is this. Eat real food, stay away from processed foods and foods with ingredients you can’t pronounce. Lower your sugar intake and gluten intake, both can cause inflammation which lowers your immune system and can cause disease. So eating a diet that gives us a variety of vitamins and nutrients is best for our immune systems. Especially fruits and vegetables.

4. Exercise regularly

Exercising regularly helps to flush out bacteria in your airways which can help reduce the chance of you catching a cold or other illness. Research shows that individuals that partake in regular physical activity have a lower chance of infection compared to those who live sedentary lives. Also being physically active can reduce the chance of chronic disease which will weaken your immune system. I personally have been exercising regularly since I was a young adult and have found that all of my children enjoy and exercise regularly. I think it is important as a parent to be an example.

5. Lower your stress

Stress causes your adrenal glands to make and release the hormone cortisol into your bloodstream. Cortisol can be a good thing, it is that fight or flight feeling we get and can boost your immune system by reducing inflammation. But too much stress or continual stress can cause your body to become resistant and end up creating inflammation and lower your immune system. One of the ways I combat stress in my life is by creating a morning routine for myself. I get up earlier than the rest of my family and spend time in prayer and reading the Bible daily. I also, if the weather is nice, go for a walk and spend some time outside. Then take my time getting ready for the day. I have learned starting my day this way sets my day up and has greatly reduced stress in my life.

6. Vitamin D3

Vitamin D3 is a supplement I use with my family and myself to boost our immune system. Two of my children both tested vitamin D deficient and this is the product we use from amazon, because of this it made us add this to our daily vitamin regimen. It is said that about 42 percent of Americans are actually deficient in vitamin D but how many of us actually know whether or not we are deficient. Some of the symptoms my kids were experiencing during their deficiency were stomach pain, lightheadedness, dizziness, fatigue, depression, and anxiety, and being more prone to viruses. We take vitamin D3 with K2 many studies are showing that the two together do a better job at balancing mood, keeping bones healthy, and regulating your immune system. Of course the best way to increase your vitamin D is to make sure you get outside in the sunshine and expose as much skin as you can without sunscreen. Make sure you are eating a diet that is high in Vitamin D foods which include fresh wildcaught fish, codliver oil, eggs, mushrooms, fortified milk, sardines, tuna fish, beef liver and cavier.

7. Zinc

Another supplement we have been taking especially this year is zinc. What does zinc do for us? It supports a healthy digestive system and supports a healthy immune system. It is recommended that you consume two to three servings of zinc foods daily which include lamb, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, grass-fed beef, chickpeas, lentils, cocoa powder, cashews, kefir, or yogurt, mushrooms, spinach, avocado, and chicken. As you can see there are many foods high in zinc and eating them works as a powerful antioxidant that helps to fight oxidative stress and reduces your chance of developing a serious disease. We have been taking Zinc along with a supplement called Quercetin which has had studies showing it helps fight against getting Covid-19 and the flu. I strongly suggest you do your own research on this. This is the product we use for zinc and the product for Quercetin.

8. Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that works from the inside out. Vitamin C works to improve your skin health to your immune system and pretty much everything in between. The top vitamin C superfoods are red pepper, kiwifruit, green bell pepper, orange, grapefruit, honeydew, lemon, guava, papaya, strawberries, kale, black currant, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts. Incorporate these foods into your daily food intake. During flu and cold season and of course now during Covid, we use a Vitamin C supplement powder that we add to water. This is the Vitamin C product we always use.

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Be Well!

Danelle