Helpful techniques for boosting immunity and preventing sickness
How can your immune system be strengthened? Overall, your immune system is incredibly effective in protecting you from pathogenic microbes. But occasionally it fails, allowing a virus to infect you and make you ill. Can you influence this process to strengthen your immune system? What if your diet was improved? take certain herbal or vitamin supplements? make additional lifestyle adjustments in an effort to generate a nearly flawless immunological response?
How can your immune system be strengthened?
Although increasing your immunity seems appealing, doing so has proven difficult for a number of reasons. In fact, the immune system is a system, not a single thing. It needs harmony and balance to work successfully. Researchers still don't fully understand the complexity and interdependence of the immune response. As of yet, no direct connections between a healthy lifestyle and improved immune function have been established by science.
But that doesn't mean that research on how lifestyle choices affect the immune system isn't important or interesting. Researchers are looking at how age, psychological stress, physical activity, food, and other factors affect the immune response in both humans and animals. Meanwhile, general healthy lifestyle practices make sense because they are known to improve other aspects of health and are likely to support immune function.
Immunity in action. A healthy immune system can defeat invading pathogens as shown above, where two bacteria that cause gonorrhea are no match for the large phagocyte, called a neutrophil, that engulfs and kills them (see arrows). Photos courtesy of Michael N. Starnbach, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School |
How to improve your immune system in a healthy way
A healthy lifestyle is your first line of defense. The best action you can take to naturally maintain a healthy immune system is to adhere to general good health recommendations. Every organ in your body, including the immune system, performs better when safeguarded from environmental irritants and strengthened by healthy lifestyle practices like these:
- Avoid smoking.
- Eat a lot of fruits and veggies in your diet.
- Regular exercise
- keep a healthy weight.
- If you do consume alcohol, do so sparingly.
- Get enough rest.
- Take precautions to prevent infection, such as often washing your hands and fully cooking meat.
- Aim to reduce your stress.
- Stay up to date on all advised vaccinations. Immune systems are strengthened by vaccinations so they can fight off illnesses before they become serious.
Boost immunity in a healthy way.
Numerous items on store shelves make the claim to strengthen or improve immunity. But from a scientific standpoint, the idea of increasing immunity is very illogical. In actuality, increasing the number of cells in your body, whether they are immune cells or other types, is not always a good thing. Strokes, for instance, are a risk for athletes who use "blood doping," which involves pumping blood into their bodies to increase the quantity of blood cells and improve performance.
Because there are so many distinct types of immune system cells and there are so many different ways that they can react to germs, trying to increase your immune system's cells is particularly challenging. Which cells, and in what quantity, should you boost? Scientists are still unsure about the solution. It is understood that the immune system is constantly producing new cells. There is no doubt that it creates many more lymphocytes than it could ever require. Some of the additional cells die naturally through a process of cell death known as apoptosis before they see any action, while others do so after the conflict is won. Nobody is certain of the best cell mix or how many cells the immune system requires to function at its peak.
Aging and the immune system
Our immune response capacity declines with age, which increases the risk of infections and cancer. Age-related illnesses have become more common as life expectancy has increased in affluent nations.
Many studies have found that, in comparison to younger individuals, the elderly are more prone to get infectious diseases and, more crucially, more likely to die from them. This is true even though some people age healthily. Infections of the respiratory system, such as influenza, the COVID-19 virus, and pneumonia in particular, are a primary cause of death for those over 65 globally. No one is certain why this occurs, although some researchers have noticed a correlation between the risk and the number of T cells, which may be due to the thymus atrophying with age and producing less T cells to combat infection. It is unclear whether the decline in T cells is caused by this decline in thymus function or if other alterations are also involved. Others want to know if the bone marrow loses its capacity to generate stem cells, which give rise to immune system cells.
Older people's response to vaccines has shown a decrease in the immune response to illnesses. For instance, research on influenza vaccines has revealed that it is less effective in older adults compared to healthy children (over age 2). The rates of illness and death among seniors have dramatically decreased as a result of immunization against S. pneumoniae and influenza, notwithstanding the decreased efficacy.
In older people, there seems to be a link between nutrition and immunity. "Micronutrient malnutrition" is a type of malnutrition that is surprisingly widespread, especially in wealthy nations. Elderly people are susceptible to micronutrient malnutrition, a condition in which a person is lacking in some critical vitamins and trace minerals that are derived from or supplemented by diet. Older folks typically consume less and frequently have less varied diets. Is it possible for dietary supplements to support older people's immune systems is a crucial subject. Older patients should speak with their doctor about this issue.
Your immune system and diet
The immune system army marches on its stomach, just like any other fighting force. Healthy immune system fighters require wholesome, consistent nutrition. Scientists have known for a long time that those who are undernourished and living in poverty are more susceptible to infectious diseases. For instance, scientists are unsure whether specific dietary habits, like consuming a lot of simple sugar or processed meals, can negatively impact immune function. The impact of nutrition on the human immune system has only received a small number of research.
Certain micronutrient deficits, such as those in zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E, have been shown to affect animal immunological responses when tested in a test tube. The effects of these immune system modifications on animal health, however, are less evident, and it is also unknown how similar immune system abnormalities would affect human immune responses.
What can you do, then? If you feel that your diet isn't meeting all of your micronutrient needs—perhaps because you don't enjoy vegetables—taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may offer additional health benefits in addition to any potential immune system benefits. Megadosing on a single vitamin doesn't work. Not always is more better.
Supplements and herbs to boost immunity?
If you enter a store, you will see bottles of herbal remedies and tablets that advertise that they "promote immunity" or otherwise improve the health of your immune system. Although some treatments have been shown to change certain immune system components, there is currently no proof that they actually increase immunity to the point where you are more resistant to illness and infection. It is still very difficult to prove that a herb, or any drug for that matter, can improve immunity. For instance, it is unknown to scientists if a herb that appears to increase blood antibody counts is truly enhancing immunity as a whole.
Immune system response to stress
Modern medicine has learned to recognize the interconnectedness of the mind and body. Emotional stress has been related to a wide range of illnesses, such as heart disease, rashes, and stomach distress. Despite the difficulties, researchers are working hard to understand how stress affects immune system performance.
Stress is hard to define, for starters. A scenario that could seem stressful to one individual may not be to another. When people are subjected to conditions they perceive as stressful, it can be challenging for them to quantify their level of stress, and it can be challenging for scientists to determine whether a person's subjective assessment of their level of stress is accurate. The only things a scientist can measure that can indicate stress are things like how many times the heart beats per minute, but these measurements might also indicate other things.
However, most scientists who research the link between stress and immune function focus on chronic stress rather than sudden, transient stressors, such as those brought on by interactions with family, friends, and coworkers or persistent difficulties in performing effectively at one's job. Some researchers are looking into whether sustained stress weakens the immune system.
However, it is challenging to conduct what scientists refer to as "controlled experiments" on people. In a controlled experiment, the scientist can alter just one variable, such as the quantity of a specific chemical, and then assess the impact of that alteration on another quantifiable phenomenon, such as the quantity of antibodies produced by a specific type of immune system cell in response to the chemical. Since there are so many other things happening to the animal or person at the moment that measurements are being taken, it is just impossible to exert that type of control over a living creature, especially a human.
Scientists are making progress despite the obvious challenges in determining how stress and immunity interact.
Does having a cold make your immune system less robust?
We've all heard it from our mothers: "Wear a jacket or you'll catch a cold!" Is she accurate? Most likely not, since exposure to mild cold doesn't make you more susceptible to infection. Winter is known as "cold and flu season" for two reasons. People spend more time indoors and are in close proximity to others who may be carrying diseases throughout the winter. Additionally, chilly, less humid air allows the influenza virus to remain airborne longer.
However, this issue continues to pique the interest of researchers in various communities. According to certain studies done on mice, exposure to cold may lower one's body's resistance to infection. What about people, though? Scientists have conducted tests in which volunteers were momentarily submerged in chilly water or exposed briefly to below-freezing temperatures while naked. Both individuals who resided in Antarctica and those who participated in Canadian Rockies excursions have been researched. Mixed outcomes have been obtained. For instance, researchers discovered a rise in upper respiratory infections in competitive cross-country skiers who engage in strenuous exercise in the cold. However, it is unclear whether these infections are brought on by the cold specifically or by other elements like the intense exercise or the dryness of the air.
There is no need to be concerned about moderate cold exposure because it has no negative effects on the human immune system, according to a group of Canadian academics who have studied hundreds of medical publications on the topic and conducted some of their own study. When it's cold outside, should you dress warmly? The answer is "yes" if you're uncomfortable or if you plan to spend a lot of time outdoors where conditions like hypothermia and frostbite pose a risk. Don't worry about immunity, though.
How can exercise affect immunity?
One of the cornerstones of healthy life is regular exercise. It enhances cardiovascular health, reduces blood pressure, aids in weight management, and guards against a number of disorders. But does maintaining and boosting your immune system naturally help? Exercise, like a wholesome diet, can support overall health and, by extension, a strong immune system.
