10 ways to boost the body’s natural immunity
Te Whanganui-a-Tara - Exercise, probiotics, plant food and walks in the bush all help strengthen the immune system through physiological and muscular processes.
There are many ways to improve overall health, according to various studies around the world. Other practices include improving sleep and staying hydrated.
Many people know that maintaining a healthy lifestyle includes getting a good night’s rest and eating a balanced diet.
However, people are also guilty of approaching their health with a maintenance mindset, and sadly, may refer to taking care of themselves as indulging in self-care.
Here are 10 ways to boost the body’s natural defences:
1. Sustain a sleep pattern
According to Harvard University, poor sleep means a slow and grumpy immune system, triggering inflammation in the body. In turn, infections influence the amount of sleep people get and when. In general, not sleeping well may be linked with forcing the body to sleep at a time it just won’t do.
2. Stay hydrated
Many people accept the old advice of drinking eight glasses of water daily as a hard rule for adequate water intake. The hydration need of each body differs, however. Many people stay hydrated by drinking water and other fluids when they feel thirsty.
3. Increase plant-based foods in a diet
While eating some meat each week isn’t too bad, a balanced plant diet remains important. Plants such as chickpeas and tofu make the diet healthier and well-rounded. A plant-based diet fortifies the immune system to safeguard against microorganisms and germs.
4. Bathe in the forest
Nature showers are just as important as regular showers. Bush or forest visits improve immune health, and several studies the department cites also support the benefits of forest bathing. .
5. Keep stress out
Stress weakens the immune system. Recent studies have linked loneliness and social isolation with lowered immune health.
6. Nurture the gut microbiota
Probiotics nurture the gut bacteria and help balance the gut biome. Natural probiotic health foods include yogurt, sourdough bread and kimchi. Probiotics can be taken orally as capsules.
7. Exercise at least moderately
Moderate to intense exercise with two days of strength training regularly boost immune health and lowering risk of chronic disease.
8. Dance more
Dance benefits overall health by strengthening the immune system through physiological processes and muscular processes. Dance conditions an individual to moderate, eliminate or avoid tension and chronic fatigue.
9. Take care of the skin
People are born with innate immune mechanisms that detect and block germs from entering the body and this includes the skin.
10. Keep up with check-ups
General health checks were associated with increased chronic disease recognition and treatment, risk factor control, preventive service uptake and improved patient-reported outcome.
Lisa was born in Auckland at the start of the 1970s, living in a small campsite community on the North Shore called Browns Bay. She spent a significant part of her life with her grandparents, often hanging out at the beaches. Lisa has many happy memories from those days at Browns Bay beach, where fish were plentiful on the point and the ocean was rich in seaweed. She played in the water for hours, going home totally “sun-kissed.” “An adorable time to grow up,” Lisa tells me.
Lisa enjoyed many sports; she was a keen tennis player and netballer, playing in the top teams for her age right up until the family moved to Wellington. Lisa was fifteen years old, which unfortunately marked the end of her sporting career. Local teams were well established in Wellington, and her attention was drawn elsewhere.