Eat Right. Sleep Well. Maintain a Healthy Weight. Exercise.
Sound familiar?
Well it turns out that to have a healthy immune system, this is what you need to do.
How long have you been hearing that to live a healthy life, that this is what you need to do?
With recent events. Yes, I am talking about Covid-19. Will you start listening now?
Take a Deep Drive into Our Immune System
It seemed more than appropriate with what is going on to take a deep dive into our immunity system. As you will see, after reading several education and medical papers there is a common theme among the experts as far as what it takes and does not take to have a healthy immune system.
Yes – Eat right, Sleep Well. Maintain a Healthy Weight. Exercise.
In a paper published by the Harvard Medical School in 2014 [1] and then updated in April 2020. The researchers state that “your first line of defense is to live a healthy lifestyle…is the single best step you can take toward naturally keeping your immune system strong and healthy”. They go on to say that adapting healthy-living strategies such as
- Not smoking
- Exercising regularly
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Getting adequate sleep
- Minimizing stress
Allow your immune system to work better.
Boost Your Immune System
The University of Penn’s Medical School published a paper in March 2020 [2] that states the ways to boost your immune system are –
- Eat a balanced diet
- Get enough sleep
- Exercise regularly
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Try to minimize stress
Are you seeing a pattern here?
The Houston Methodist Medical Center published a paper in March of 2020 [3] that said that the “five science-backed ways to ensure your immune system has everything it needs to function optimally” are –
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Exercise regularly
- Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate
- Get plenty of sleep
- Minimize stress
Seems to be unanimous to me.
What About Supplements?
As far as the use of supplements to boost your immune system. Houston Methodist [3] states “there is no evidence that supplements actually help your immune system or your chances of fighting off an infection or illness. In addition, unlike medications, supplements are not regulated or approved by the FDA. For instance, if you think a megadose of vitamin C can help you from getting sick, think again. If you are looking for ways to boost your immune system, consider keeping up the lifestyle habits above, rather than relying on claims on a label.”
Since stay at home orders and other restrictions have been placed upon us, I notice quite a lot more people in my neighborhood outside walking and using the local trails. It is quite possible that these people are becoming more physically active due to being stuck at home. I certainly hope that they continue to do this even when the restrictions have been lifted. Maybe then we will become a healthier society in the long-term due to it.