6 Ways To Give Your Immune System The Ultimate Boost
Obviously, immune function has been on the forefront of everyone’s mind in the last year. We all know the immune system’s number one job is to fight off disease and infections. It is an EASY system to take for granted as we get busy so here is a gentle reminder to keep this system in mind!
Remember things like an unbalanced diet, smoking, drinking and too much sugar can weaken the immune system, so avoiding these less than favorable habits can improve your odds. Let’s walk through a few important areas for immune boosting and overall function.
The Easiest Way: Sleep
In fact, sleep can directly affect immunity and is probably the simplest thing we can do to aid our immune system in fighting and preventing illness. Lack of sleep can lower levels of Cytokines which are necessary to modulate the inflammatory immune response. Specifically, these proteins help immune cells communicate with each other as well as direct these cells toward the infection. This creates a quicker immune response to combat any dangerous pathogens. Not getting enough sleep weakens our immune system thereby decreases the production of cytokines and additional infection-fighting antibodies and cells. When the immune system is weak, it slows down our body’s response time to infection. While everyone has different needs, the general recommendations are as follows:
7 to 8 hours for adults
10 or more hours for teens and school-aged children
Feed The Machine: Nutrition & Hydration Are Key
Gut health and digestive function also need to be in balance for better immune function. Keeping the gut biome balanced with beneficial foods are important to maintain this delicate balance. Some of the beneficial bacteria and their metabolites can produce short chain fatty acids, which support a strong immune system.
The immune system uses lymph to help circulate white blood cells and nutrients throughout the body. When you don’t drink enough water, toxins build up and can compromise the immune system.
How much water is enough? A great rule of thumb is half of your body weight in ounces each day. If you’re drinking alcohol drink two extra glasses per serving of alcohol. There are similar guidelines for coffee, in that you should drink 1 extra glass of water with every cup you decide to drink.
10 cups of water per day for pregnant women
12 cups of water per day for those who breastfeed
6 to 8 cups per day for children and teens
Remember food is a blueprint for your entire body. Your food provides valuable information and resources for how to response and work properly. Incorporate foods heavy on Zinc, Vitamin C, A, as well as antioxidants. Examples are citrus, red peppers, spinach, almonds and ginger. These foods provide much needed nutrients and antioxidants to decrease inflammation and protect immune cell membranes.
Work Up A Sweat: Exercise
Staying active helps your immune system too! Devoting just a small amount of time everyday to work up a sweat can make all of the difference. Working out also helps our white blood cells circulate.
Protect The Teeth: Keep Your Oral Health Up
Another way we can assist our immune systems is to avoid infections in the first place. While we mostly think of good hygiene practices consisting of hand washing and showering, something that often goes unmentioned is oral health. Teeth brushing is essential!
When we allow the bacteria in our mouths to proliferate, it can lead to gum disease and inflammation. This response causing our immune systems to weaken and not be able to protect the body to its fullest potential.
Build Up Your Defenses: Lower Your Stress
Stress can take a huge toll on our immune system. In fact, stress can decrease the number of lymphocytes and not only suppress our body’s ability to fight off illness but also leave us more susceptible to get infections. Especially in today’s uncertain times, it’s now more important than ever to do our best to minimize and manage our stress levels where we can.
Common ways to decrease stress include meditation, exercise, journaling, yoga, acupuncture or even taking up a new hobby. Time outdoors in nature has been proven to reduce stress and promote relaxation. Try to stay connected with loved ones as often as possible. Hearing a familiar voice and connecting with another person can make all of the difference!
Go Old School: Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine
Last but definitely not least, acupuncture and herbal medicine have been shown to boost the immune system (for the last 1,000 years)!
Acupuncture can both regulate immune function, speed up healing, reduce symptoms and treat underlying issues through stimulating specific points on the body which trigger immune responses. Each can safely be used as a complement to other medicines or therapies as well as a standalone treatment. There’s many different ways these treatments can help the immune system including:
Assisting with lymphatic drainage and detoxification
Increasing circulation, blood flow, and lymph production
Strengthening lungs and respiratory system
Regulate digestion
Reducing stress
Reducing inflammation
Acupuncture has been shown to boost T cells, as well as red and white blood cells, enhancing the circulation of these tiny warriors throughout the body which help destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. An increased presence of these cells after acupuncture can actually help prevent the body from contracting infections.
Traditional herbal medicine is also used to boost immune function. Herbal medicine is tailored to the specific constitution and needs of each individual patient, as no two people are exactly alike. Herbal formulas can be used to boost our immune systems to protect us from getting sick as well as help our immune systems fight if we do come down with something. It’s unique ability to be tailored for each patient's current condition is what makes it so effective.
When used together, these techniques are a powerful punch for the immune system. Mighty River Wellness has a full in office custom herbal pharmacy and is now offering telehealth consultations to get to the root of any issues you may be experiencing and optimize your immune functions. We work with you to develop your custom herbal formula, and we offer contactless herbal prescription pickup.
References
Besedovsky, L., Lange, T., and Haack, M. (2019, July 1). The Sleep-Immune Crosstalk in Health and Disease. Retrieved September 29, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6689741/
Ratajczak W, Rył A, Mizerski A, Walczakiewicz K, Sipak O, Laszczyńska M. Immunomodulatory potential of gut microbiome-derived short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Acta Biochim Pol. 2019 Mar 4;66(1):1-12. doi: 10.18388/abp.2018_2648. PMID: 30831575.
