Improving Immune Function in The 2020’s
Improving immune function in this day and age is all about prevention and consistency. Put your mind at ease knowing there are many small changes you can make in your daily practices that will make a HUGE impact on your immune system function. Focusing on prioritizing practices such as: eating a well balanced diet, getting enough sleep, IV therapy, detoxing, and meditation will have your body thanking you in the long run. If you are trying to incorporate some or all of these healthy habits into your lifestyle, start with one thing at a time and build from there. Making too many changes at once can lead to discouragement and may not be sustainable. Get started improving your immune system right now so you can focus on things you love instead of being held back by illness!
Improving immune function will be a priority for anyone in 2021. Your body’s immunity is correlated with a number of factors and small changes in your lifestyle can go a long way in improving your health naturally. Here are some things you should regularly do to improve your immunity-
Eat a Healthy Diet
Include immunity-boosting foods like citrus fruits, leafy greens, almonds, turmeric, green tea, blueberries, yogurt, etc. in your daily diet. Try to minimize your caffeine intake and substitute it with herbal teas made from licorice roots, ginger, lemongrass, green tea, and holy basil.
It’s also best to diversify your nutrient sources. Include healthy protein sources like soybean, chicken, shellfish, seeds, and nuts to gain the entire range of amino acids. Similarly, rotate between different fruits and vegetables as they provide a range of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and antioxidants.
Also, try to make your diet as colorful as possible since plant pigments like carotenoids (yellow, orange, red), anthocyanins (blue, red, purple), chlorophylls (green), and betalains (red) increase nutrient diversity and help reduce inflammation.
Never Compromise Sleep
A good night’s sleep is the key to a healthy immune system. It not only helps refresh our minds but also restores the physiochemical balance of our bodies. Getting less than 6 hours of sleep can adversely affect our stress levels, mood, blood pressure, hormone balance, appetite, and cardiovascular health.
IV Therapy
IV therapy is a quick way to fix long-term nutrition deficiencies and boost immunity with intravenous injections of IV fluids. It bypasses the digestive system and ensures faster and better absorption of nutrients. IV therapy is great for general wellness but is also recommended for specific conditions like stress, infections, detoxification, and nutrition deficiencies.
Mindful Meditation
Meditation is a great way to promote mental wellness and improve immunity. Numerous studies have proven that meditation helps manage stress, improve neural pathways, lower blood pressure, increase attention span, and reduce anxiety and depression. Meditation also helps prevent a number of psychological conditions and improve cognitive function. It is a natural mood-enhancer and people have reported feeling an increased sense of wellbeing after just 15-20 mins of mindful meditation.
You can also practice different breathing exercises, or pranayama, for a few minutes that have a host of benefits like improving blood oxygen levels, boosting natural immunity, bettering sleep quality, increasing mindfulness, regulating blood pressure, and relieving stress. Some beneficial pranayama techniques are:
- Alternate nostril breathing (Anulom-Vilom)
- Forced exhalation (Kapalbhati)
- Honey Bee humming breathing (Bhramari)
- Deep-inhalation-exhalation (Ujjayi)
Detoxify Naturally
Since global pollution levels are on the rise, it’s best to detoxify your body at regular intervals in order to stay healthy and keep your immune system primed. Detoxification has become a hot health trend in 2021 in order to counter the rising cases of infections, asthma, liver diseases, heavy metal accumulation, and cardiovascular deterioration.
There are several ways to detoxify like complete fasting, juice fasting, and moderate detoxification with selected food items. It is best to consult a dietician to plan out your detox program. Some food items that naturally detoxify the body are:
Fruits
Fruits like plum, apple, orange, and grapefruit contain high levels of pectin; a polysaccharide that binds cholesterol and heavy metals to flush them out of the bloodstream.
Antioxidant-rich food
Food items like spirulina, blueberries, green tea, kale, beets, avocado, spinach, dark chocolate, and broccoli contain antioxidants that help fight free radicals in your body. They work at the micro level to reduce toxicity.
Water
Water is the best detoxifier and it helps flush out a variety of toxins that accumulate in the liver, spleen, lungs, and cardiovascular system. Drinking lukewarm water with lemon first thing in the morning is a great way to detoxify your system. It’s recommended to drink at least 8 glasses of water daily to stay healthy.