5 Helpful Ways to Strengthen your Immune System

As your body’s first line of defence, your immune system plays a crucial role in protecting your health by fighting against foreign viruses and bacteria. When attacked, your immune system triggers a response and releases antibodies to attach to foreign substances and remove them. 

While you can reduce your risk of foreign diseases (like the flu) by getting vaccinated, other ways can also boost your immunity. In this blog, we’ve outlined five ways to strengthen your immune response today and reduce your risk of catching anything in the next cold & flu season. 

5 Ways Strengthening the Immune System 

1. Maintain a Proper Diet

Your diet has a direct effect on your health, the majority of your minerals, vitamins, fibres and antioxidants comes from your diet and lifestyle — all things needed for a healthy immune system. 

A proper diet includes: 

• Eat plenty of fresh vegetables and fruit: We recommend a minimum of five servings of fruit and vegetables daily. Many beneficial minerals and vitamins are found in fruits and vegetables that boost immunity and fight infections. But be sure not to overcook them, or you will lose their nutritional value (such as vitamin C and folates, which can degenerate by excessive cooking).
• Avoid refined sugar (in sweets or junk food): Experimental evidence has found these to decrease immunity and increase susceptibility to infection. 
• Avoid alcohol (especially binges): Increased intake can weaken your immune system too. 
• Avoid smoking: harms your whole body, including your immune system as it tries to fight off the inflammation and damage caused by tobacco. So chest infections are more common in those who smoke than those who don’t.

2. Regular Exercise

Physical activity has been found to help boost immunity too. Regular and moderate exercise helps to improve all areas of your health. 

Taking 45 minutes of aerobic exercise 3 to 4 times a week would help your immune system. But be careful, as you should not overdo it. Prolonged heavy physical training can cause stress, weaken your immune system, and cause harm to your health. If you are feeling unwell, listen to your body. Exercising while ill can be harmful; the lethargy you experience during illness helps the body divert resources to combat the sickness. 

3. Take Supplements

Supplements can be taken to increase your deficiency in specific vitamins and minerals, but you should never consider them as a substitute for a healthy diet. Several supplements have been shown to improve immunity:

• Vitamin: There have been large numbers of studies that show vitamin C as an immune stimulant, antioxidant and antiviral agent. Your body cannot produce this vitamin, so you must get it from your diet or supplements. Regular vitamin C will help decrease the severity of viral illnesses if you catch one (however, excessive vitamin C can cause diarrhoea and people with kidney disease should consult a doctor first). Another popular supplement rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties is Turmeric. 
• Cod Liver Oil: This supplement is high in Omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin D, all of which can boost your immunity (again, excessive dosage can be harmful, don’t take more than 8,000 units of vitamin A a day if you’re pregnant or may become pregnant). 
• Echinacea herb (aka purple coneflower): It can stimulate the body’s immune system and decrease inflammation. For proper dosage it’s best to consult the instructions that come with your specific brand.
• Mushrooms: Some extracts of mushrooms may help strengthen immunity, the most widely known being the lion's mane mushroom. This mushroom is packed with antioxidants to help immunity strength. 
  
  

These supplements are readily available at Mannings, Watsons and other health shops. Doses are written on the packaging, but consult your GP or a nutritionist if in doubt. 

4. Good Personal Hygiene 

Maintaining good personal hygiene is one of the most effective ways to prevent illness. Following the precautions recommended by the HK government, you can stop the infection before it enters your body and avoid spreading it to others. Here’s what you should do:

• Wash your hands properly before preparing food and after bathroom use
• Contain the germ by spreading my coughing or sneezing into a tissue or your sleeve
• Don’t pick at healing wounds or blemishes. Doing so allows germs to enter
• Take caution in cooking. Separate raw food from cooked food to avoid cross-contamination

Viruses and bacteria can easily enter the body through your eyes, mouth and nose. Especially after touching public installations or equipment (public transport, handrails, elevator buttons, door knobs), which can quickly gather germs from many people using it. So remember to wash your hands before touching your eyes, mouth and nose. If you’re feeling unwell, you should seek assistance from a medical professional. 

5. Reduce Stress

It should be no surprise that stress can be bad for your health. Recent research has shown that psychological stress can unbalance the immune system, making it less efficient at dealing with viral illnesses. 

Unfortunately, it’s hard to avoid stress with so many competing demands for your time and attention (most of which we have little control over). But try to set aside time each day to relax deeply, such as listening to your favourite music or playing your favourite board game. Switch off your mobile phone, don’t read the paper, don’t talk about current affairs or listen to the news during this time. It’s also recommended to get plenty of sleep.

Need More Help?

Although we don’t understand all of the factors that decide how any individual responds to a particular infection, the efficiency of an individual’s immune system is one, if not the most crucial factor. Taking the above measures may help to improve your immune response and decrease the severity of any viral illness. 

If you’re unsure what to do next, you can talk to our practitioners at OT&P, who can help set up a nutrition plan for you.