7 Best Immune System Boosters
Posted on 5 September 2008
Stay Strong
With winter on its way, its time to start keeping our immune systems in top shape. Boosting immunity can come from a variety of different factors including how you handle Stress, Exercise and Eat. This post is going to run through what are in my opinion the best ways to keep your Immune System strong and bug resistant in the coming months.
1- Keep Stress to a Minimum
I know this is a tough one as stress catches up with us all and is a part of everyday life, we must learn to deal with it as best we can. Don’t get frustrated over the smaller things in Life sometimes we just need to let go and accept what is…..
Chronic stress has been shown to alter our immune response, this basically means that things like Stress, Frustration, Anxiety and Anger can all dampen our body’s defenses. Check out my blog post on handling these negative emotions here: Free Yourself from Stress, Anxiety and Fear
2- Get Some Fresh Air
Regardless of the weather this Winter always make your best efforts to get outside and stay active; Go for long walks (See Walking your way to Health and Fitness), or try to do some outdoor exercise. The fresh air that comes from nature is the best tonic for our physical health and immunity, it pumps your blood full of fresh oxygenated air which simply isn’t available from Gyms smelly air conditioning….
“Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies.” – Erich Fromm
3- Drink Green Tea
We hear is so much these days how good green tea is for us and how we should drink it all the time. Well this isn’t for no reason; on top of doing things like boosting your metabolism and providing an alternative to generic fat burners. Green Tea is also a potent anti-oxidant which is key to keeping your body strong as it fights off the free radicals we find in our everyday environment (pollution, pesticides etc).On top of this Green Tea supports the growth of “good” intestinal bacteria, while stopping the ‘bad’, namely e-coli, clostridium and salmonella which can reak havoc on our digestive system.
“Up to 70% of your immune system is located in your digestive tract,” says Susan Bowerman of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of California
4- Cod Liver Oil
This sruff is amazing and something I always keep a bottle of in my Fridge. Its packed with absorbable forms of Vitamin A and D. Vitamin D is essential for the Immune System and due to it only being available from the sun, the bleak months of winter are times when we are in dire need of an extra hit to boost our immunity. Check out this post on Vitamin D from Matt Metzgar: Vitamin D and the Flu
I would suggest taking 1-2 Tea Spoons of Cod Liver Oil a day, its probably the best bang for your buck supplement you can buy. Just make sure you get a high quality version that hasn’t had its Vitamins removed/distilled and keep your bottle in the Fridge.
5- Up Your Vitamin C
Firstly always keep on hand a good quality Vitamin C supplement for times you are feeling run down or stressed. Not only is it a great anti-oxidant Vitamin C is a potent Cortisol blocker. More importantly than taking it in supplement form though is to eat your local and fresh fruit. Its no Coincidence that just as the flu/cold season starts all the amazing Citrus fruits come into season they are packed to the brim with Vitamin C and will help keep your immune system in top shape. So load up on Oranges as soon as they come into season, Eat them whole and avoid the juice from packets the nutrients are all gone as is the fiber, plus its just more fun to peel an orange and eat it!!
6- Relax
Do whatever you enjoy doing to relax and feel your body. Things like deep meditation, Hot Baths and Massages really let your Lymphatic system work to flush out toxins and detox your body. If your lucky enough to be able to afford a neck and back massage once a week its a worthwhile investment……And if your a shower person make sure you give yourself a god soak in a hot bath a few times a week. Try taking up Yoga or learn to meditate, all these things will help you to no end when dealing with what life throws at you…..
Put duties aside at least an hour before bed and perform soothing, quiet activities that will help you relax. – Dianne Hales
7- Get Some Color On Your Plate and Cook
Eat variety, make sure when your shopping you get all kinds of fresh and exciting foods to cook with. Experiment with things like peppers (Great Beef/Pepper Recipe @ Modern Forager) and buy loads of Fresh Herbs and Spices these things will keep you in great shape all year round not only staving off ilness but they will allow you to feel great! Have a look at these sites for some great wholesome recipies:
Cooking is not only a great stress reliever, it will save you money and allow you to experiment with fresh and tasty produce. Also add Loads of Chili to your food there mouth-melting capsaicin can help fight infection and keep inflammation down…
13 comments so far
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Comment by Parth
5 September 2008
I think working out itself is a great way to boost your immune system. I know I haven’t had a cold or any allergies or anything since I’ve begun working out. People are surprised, even those that work out. But I think the key is to train your immune system with certain movements and to limit the amount of isolation exercises you use. Also, overtraining puts undo stress on your body and so some trainees get sick just because of overtraining.
Comment by Helder
5 September 2008
Excellent advice, you know even in the winter i Love to train outdoors, when it’s raining the park is all mine, most people believe that they’ll get sick if they train under the rain, but the truth is that they won’t. The trick is don’t stay in the rain after your workout is finished, finish the workout at home or in your car. Relax when you’re in a warm place.
Comment by Blake
5 September 2008
i love #7. i love getting in the kitchen and creating stuff with tons of veggies. my wife is always amazed at how stuff usually turns out pretty good!
Comment by Methuselah - Pay Now Live Later
5 September 2008
I agree with Parth – I cannot find the references right now, but my understanding is that strong links have been established between resistance weight training and the strength of the immune system. So ‘working out’ is a strong candidate for number 8!
Comment by Lance
6 September 2008
These are all great tips – and many that I’ve done. I need to make some of them more regular parts of my daily living. Like drinking green tea. That’s one I only do occassionally – even though I’ve heard so much good about it.
Comment by Chris
6 September 2008
Some great points, Parth and Methuselah have a valid point weight/resistance training definitely is No.8.
@ Helder: Glad to hear I’m not the only one who trains outdoors on those rainy winter days.
@Blake: Its so true! amazing what can be thrown together with some veggies, herbs and olive oil.
Comment by warren
6 September 2008
Yeah I’d go with that. I think that alot of it is common sense and finding what makes you relax is different from one person to the next.
For those who dont get a great balanced diet at this time of year and who live in cold climes I’d say that the green foods like Spirulina, Wheatgrass, Barleygrass and Alfalfa give the immune system a great boost.
I’ve really got into making curries lately. You can throw anything in there and use lots of good spices that are beneficial to the body like tumeric and cayene pepper, garam masala etc. I bulk it up with loads of lentils and chick peas. Both of these are great for your gut and help cleanse your stomach. Great for cold weather meals too.
Cheers
Comment by Tom Parker
6 September 2008
Nice set of tips Chris. Ever since I’ve started drinking green tea I can’t stop. It’s just so refreshing. I generally have a couple of cups of coffee per day, a cup of regular tea (or English tea as you Americans call it
) and then fill the rest of the day in with green tea (yes I do drink a lot of hot drinks). Also agree with you on number 7. I try to make all my meals rich in peppers, onions and mushrooms and then also throw in other veg as I please. Not only does this improve the healthiness of the meal but it also adds more texture, variety and taste to the meal plus it makes the accompanying meats and sauces go a lot further.
Comment by Chris
7 September 2008
@ Warren: The idea of making curries is great, they are so versatile, its so easy to add a variety of spices and herbs, plus you can throw in loads of vegetables to bulk them up…..
@ Tom: Thanks for stopping by, your comments are great, getting creative with meals is a hugely satisfying experience!
Comment by Tom Parker
29 September 2008
Hi Chris,
I was wondering if I could feature this blog post in my September 2008 Free Fitness Tips Newsletter. Ideally, I would like to republish the entire post and provide a few links back to your blog and this post. You would of course receive full credit as the author of the article along with the previously mentioned links.
Could you let me know if this is OK?
Thanks,
Tom Parker
Comment by kiwan
30 November 2008
Great advise my friend,especially the cod liver oil, I’ve been taking it in capsule form and it really does wonder for boosting the immune system.