Habits for an overall improved immunity:
- Limit salt intake: As per the recommendation of WHO, one should consume less than 5 grams of salt per day. So, to achieve this one has to limit the intake of foods with no added salt or reduced salt content.
- Limit sugar intake: Choose options low in sugar and keep a check on portion size. When fat is removed to mask the loss of flavour, often sugar is used so be well aware of the sugar content of low-fat options as they have high amounts of added sugar.
- Limit fat intake: Keep a check on nutrition labels to avoid trans fats. Processed, frozen and fried foods are high on trans fats. Stick to home cooking to avoid the risk of trans fat consumption and limit the intake of cookies, margarine and baked goods as they include hydrogenated fats.
- Limit smoking and alcohol: It weakens our immune system and also increases toxicity levels in our body.
Lifestyle changes that will help you to strengthen and build your immunity.
- Stop smoking: Tobacco is very damaging and has a negative impact on our immunity. It damages our immune system to a point that it stops responding and fighting infections.
- Reduce stress: Stress has an impact on your mental and physical health. It weakens your immune system and leads to problems like depression, high blood pressure, sleep problems etc. Chronic stress is related to inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. So focus on managing stress in order to keep up with a healthy immune system.
- Water: It is essential for the transport of various nutrients in our blood and gets rid of waste matter. Also helps to regulate our body temperature and cushions our joints. Keep a target of drinking up to 8-10 glasses of water/day. It is best to consume water and flavour it with fruits and vegetables. Avoid sweetened juices and drinks that contain added sugar.
- Focus on your diet: Good nutrition is the key to good health and helps build a strong immune system. Include gut-friendly foods like fermented, probiotics, sprouted, cultured foods along with antioxidants rich foods with balanced amounts of fibre, protein, carbs, vitamins and minerals in your daily diet.
- Focus on exercise: Daily exercise helps to build your immunity and decreases the chances of any health issues. It improves blood flow, helps in flushing out the toxins and strengthening the production of WBCs (white blood cells).
- Focus on sleep: Cytokines is a type of protein released by our immune system in sleep mode, it is responsible for fighting inflammation and infections. Lack of sleep affects the production of this protein and affects our body’s ability to fight infections.
