How can you improve your immune system?
Generally, your immune system does a very good job of defending you against disease-causing micro-organisms. But sometimes it fails and a germ invades successfully and makes you ill.
Is it possible to intervene in this process and boost your immune system?
Recent research seems to show that several factors can influence the strength of your immune system. A programme on BBC ‘Boost your immunity’ is worth watching. A doctor sets out to scientifically prove that certain factors can have a positive or negative effect on the body’s defences.
Healthy ways to strengthen your immune system
Your first line of defence is to choose a healthy lifestyle.
Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward naturally keeping your immune system strong and healthy. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies such as these:
- Do not smoke
- Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables- Try to eat as big a variety as you can.
- Exercise regularly- Even 20 minutes a day of regular exercise can help
- Maintain a healthy weight
- If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation. Alcohol badly affects the body’s defences
- Take Vitamin D in winter or all year if you do not go outdoors much.
- Get adequate sleep- 7-8 hours
- Try and avoid infections such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.
- Try to minimize stress.
Immune system and age
As we age, our immune response capability becomes reduced, which in turn contributes to more infections and more cancer. As life expectancy in developed countries has increased, so too has the incidence of age-related conditions.
While some people age healthily, the conclusion of many studies is that, compared with younger people, the elderly are more likely to contract infectious diseases and, even more importantly, more likely to die from them. Respiratory infections, flu, the Covid 19 virus and particularly pneumonia are a leading cause of death in people over 65 worldwide. No one knows for sure why this happens, but some scientists observe that this increased risk correlates with a decrease in T cells, possibly from the thymus atrophying with age and producing fewer T cells to fight off infection. Others are interested in whether the bone marrow becomes less efficient at producing the stem cells that give rise to the cells of the immune system.
A reduction in immune response to infections has been demonstrated by older people’s response to vaccines. For example, studies of influenza vaccines have shown that for people over age 65, the vaccine is less effective compared to healthy children. But despite the reduction in efficacy, vaccinations for influenza and S. pneumoniae have significantly lowered the rates of sickness and death in older people when compared with no vaccination.
There appears to be a connection between nutrition and immunity in the elderly. A form of malnutrition that is surprisingly common even in affluent countries is known as “micronutrient malnutrition.” Micronutrient malnutrition, in which a person is deficient in some essential vitamins and trace minerals that are obtained from or supplemented by diet, can happen in the elderly. Older people tend to eat less and often have less variety in their diets. One important question is whether dietary supplements may help older people maintain a healthier immune system.
Diet and your immune system
Scientists have long recognized that people who live in poverty and are malnourished are more vulnerable to infectious diseases. Whether the increased rate of disease is caused by malnutrition’s effect on the immune system, however, is not certain. There are still relatively few studies of the effects of nutrition on the immune system of humans.
If you suspect your diet is not providing you with all your micronutrient needs — maybe, for instance, you don’t like vegetables — taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may bring other health benefits, beyond any possibly beneficial effects on the immune system. Taking huge doses of a single vitamin does not.
Improve immunity with herbs and supplements?
Walk into any health food shop and you will find bottles of pills and herbal preparations that claim to boost the health of your immune system. Although some preparations have been found to alter some components of immune function, thus far there is no evidence that they actually bolster immunity to the point where you are better protected against infection and disease.
A good healthy balanced diet with a large variety of fruit and vegetables should be all you need. It is important to take Vitamin D see article
There is some evidence that Zinc also helps.
Vitamin D- How important is it?
Stress and immune function
Modern medicine has come to appreciate the closely linked relationship of mind and body. A wide variety of maladies, including stomach upset, hives, and even heart disease, are linked to the effects of emotional stress. Despite the inevitable difficulties in measuring the relationship of stress to immunity, scientists are making progress.
It does appear that persistent stress has a negative effect on health.
A short sharp stress such as a cold shower apparently has a positive effect and helps boost the immune system.
Does being cold give you a weak immune system?
Exposure to moderate cold temperatures doesn’t increase your susceptibility to infection. There are two reasons why winter is “cold and flu season.” In the winter, people spend more time indoors, in closer contact with other people who can pass on their germs. Also the influenza virus stays airborne longer when air is cold and less humid. Low humidity provides another boost for the bug; in one study the virus spread much more readily at 20% humidity than at 80%.
There has been a lot of research about the cold and immunity and there has been no conclusive evidence that going out in the cold affects immunity.
Exercise: Good or bad for immunity?
Regular exercise is one of the pillars of healthy living. It improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases. Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system. It may contribute even more directly by promoting good circulation, which allows the cells and substances of the immune system to move through the body freely and do their job efficiently.
See article on exercises Keep Fit- How much exercise should I do?
Sources-Health.harvard.edu