In the human body, the immune system is one of the most important components available. This protects the person from many of the diseases and injuries that people go through in life. Thus, it is important to make sure it is in good condition.
Unfortunately, not everyone is born with a well-functioning immune system. Or, they suffer from certain diseases that completely destroy the immune system.
Some people are born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), which rarely occurs in 1 out of 100,000 births.
However, others have a suppressed immune system due to prolonged drug use or medical conditions like AIDs. In fact, back in 2016, a study showed that 3% of the surveyed Americans had a suppressed immunity.
While it is not easy to fix a weakened immune system, medical advancements allow it to get better.
In fact, you can take some particular measures to improve the immune condition in your body naturally. 15 of them are mentioned below for your perusal.
- Consume the correct vitamins
One of the first steps you can take is including proper vitamins in your diet.
Indeed, those who have lowered immunity are shown to have severe depletion of micronutrients.
So, people need to have vitamin supplements every day. Not to mention, adding this to the diet would also benefit you tremendously.
Not only would that help with the immune system but also strengthen your overall health.
In this concern, experts recommend using vitamins like E, A, D, B6, C, and B2. So, you should consume food items rich in them or take them as supplements. For example, one ounce of almonds contains 35% of the amount of Vitamin E you need. So, have them everyday as snacks or in recipes.
Overall, vitamins would effectively improve the immune response in the body. And protect people from falling ill. Even some supplements are also needed in some cases.
- Meditation
Another good method that would have many positive ramifications on your body is meditating.
The reason for this is that this activity helps reduce stress. In reality, stress can cause a lot of damage to the human body, physically and emotionally. Similarly, it affects the central immune system too.
So, you should try meditating every day to feel better, and it would have a lasting effect on your immune system. Plus, listening to calming music and getting a massage also has a similar impact.
- Walk outdoors in the morning
Certainly, getting sun rays first thing in the morning would have high effects on your immune system. There is a very good reason why this is possible.
Specifically, sun rays allow your body to naturally produce Vitamin D. As mentioned earlier, Vitamin D is one of the important micronutrients that help the immune system. It actually helps generate antibodies.
So, taking a morning walk would improve your immunity due to the higher percentage of Vitamin D. Plus, it would also reduce other risks like respiratory infections.
- Include turmeric in the diet
Turmeric is a bright yellowish-orange spice that can fight many anti-inflammatory diseases. This spice is a common ingredient in Indian dishes like curries, and it helps people get less sick.
Aside from that, it helps in other health conditions, too, especially for the elderly.
Having turmeric extracts helps slow down symptoms of Alzheimer’s, reduces the pain of arthritis, etc. Many studies have proven these uses.
- Eat more vegetables
Green leafy vegetables have verifiable benefits for the immune system. They contain a lot of fiber and probiotics. Not only would your immune system work better, but also your GI tract would function well.
Since a human’s gut holds 70% of the immune cells in the body, keeping it healthy is important.
Here, vegetables are very valuable. Some of the common types you can mix and match into your meals are kale, spinach, etc.
Eating other vegetables like avocado and bell peppers would also help. Plus, you can prepare these dishes with other ingredients and seasoning for taste and get better immunity in the end.
- Drink green tea
Having green tea would have many good effects on your body. Indeed, these Camellia sinensis buds and leaves strengthen the immune system naturally.
The beneficial properties it has are anti-fungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and antioxidant in nature.
Overall, it is very healthy for the human body and relaxes your senses too. Plus, it makes the immune defenses stronger when you drink a cup every day.
For the best effect, try to drink at least two cups of green tea per day, with 6 ounces of quantity.
- Lemon plus water
Really, when one wakes up and drinks a glass full of lemon water, they feel fresh and energetic.
While it is a great-tasting option with hydrating capabilities, one major benefits people get from it is better immune health.
Certainly, fresh lemons contain a lot of important nutrients. Some known ones that help with immunity comprise Vitamin C, antioxidants, magnesium, and potassium.
So, fill a glass of filtered water and squeeze at least one lemon into it. Then, take the water and lemon juice mixture and have it in the morning.
- Sleep for the right period
Without a doubt, sleeping well would have many positive effects on the body of the person. It makes the immune system stronger when you sleep for 7 hours every night, at least.
Truly, a lot of people have trouble sleeping on time. In such a case, you should adopt certain practices. Like, not watching TV or your phone, using warm bedding, good room temperature, eating at the right time, etc.
- Consume less refined sugar
When the natural immune system stops working effectively, that allows an illness to stay for long.
There are some particular actions you unknowingly do that cause this drop in immune health. One of them is taking a lot of refined sugar in food.
In reality, this causes inflammation to occur in a person’s body. So, when you are sick, try not to eat or drink anything with refined sugar in it. That way, you can heal at a good pace.
- Exercise regularly
Doing proper exercise every day has many benefits, both for outer physique and inner health. It helps improve the immune system and protect the body from harmful chronic diseases, bacterial, and viral infections.
Some of the chronic disease examples include type 2 diabetes, obesity, and heart diseases. These can badly affect the health of a person.
Plus, when you exercise, you would release endorphins inside the body. This hormone is responsible for the feeling of pleasure, reduced pain, and helps manage stress.
Thus, having this would boost the immune system highly and keep it safe.
Several studies on the matter include doctors’ opinions, who suggest adults get a proper workout for a fixed time. Either you should do a 75 minutes high-intensity or 150 minutes medium-intensity aerobic workout.
For both, one should maintain this schedule each week.
Not to mention, doing this outside would work wonders for boosting immunity. Also, one would have a better mood, lowered inflammation, and low blood pressure.
- Have bone broth
One of the natural ways you can improve your immune system’s functioning is by having bone broth.
Indeed, such soups are full of amino acids and minerals that seep from the bone marrow.
Having this would surely benefit you in many ways while boosting immune health. It helps fight infections, reduces inflammation, and also heals your body faster.
Furthermore, there are different recipes available that you can try if you are not a fan of one particular one. When you prepare one such recipe, you should have it daily.
If you are going out, for work or with friends, take a thermos full of broth. After that, sip it little by little through the entire day.
- Elderberry
Many people use this plant type for its many medicinal properties. However, it is more common in folk medicine than in regular health supplements.
It can improve the immune system’s condition well and helps with congestion, coughs, and colds.
With the dark berries and flowers of this shrub, traditional medicine experts made syrups or teas. Previously, many steeped it within vinegar and used it as medicine, too.
Currently, you can find syrups and tinctures of this plant in many health stores.
- Herbal remedies
Some herbal supplements would improve the immune system naturally.
Consequently, people have used it for generations in many ways. Two common herbs that would help with improving your immune health are ginseng and echinacea.
There are not many studies that show how these herbs affect the immune system. But, having either one would help you reduce stress and feel better afterward. Plus, it improves sleep too.
Before trying it, though, you should contact an herbal expert or your doctor. Then, you can decide if you want to use it regularly.
- Mushrooms
Some varieties of mushrooms can help generate more immune cells in the body. And, a lot of them have antioxidants too.
Overall, having mushrooms would protect your health well.
A few of the best mushroom types you can try for a healthy body are shiitake, oyster, and maitake mushrooms. All of them originate from Japan.
- Add certain spices
Some spices help boost the immune system naturally. So, you should add them to your diet, like ginger and garlic.
Both have individual beneficial qualities.
Ginger is useful for treating symptoms of cold, nausea, and flu. And garlic, raw ones especially, have antimicrobial content. It also protects against cancer cells.
Conclusion
To improve your immunity, you should take the appropriate measures. There are many changes you can make in your diet, lifestyle, etc. All of them would have a positive effect on the immune health and other health areas too.