9 Holistic Ways to Keep Your Immune System Strong

A healthy body is dependent on a strong immune system. This is how we are able to defend ourselves against things that can hurt us, such as viruses, pathogenic bacteria, and parasites.

Making health decisions that support our immunity, therefore, becomes a priority. But instead of deciding what supplements or pills our bodies can take to boost our immunity, let’s consider a more holistic approach where we can gently nudge our immune system to do its job and protect us, naturally.

Living consciously, embracing natural foods while rejecting artificial foods and other destructive habits can all help us achieve that strong immune system we need to live a happier, healthier life.

In this blog, we will cover a holistic approach to boosting our immunity. To be precise, we will delve into 9 holistic ways you can strengthen your immunity naturally.

Let’s dive in.

1. Natural dieting

The easiest and quickest way to boost your immune system is to change your diet and consume more natural foods. Visiting a grocery store can help you fend off a cold faster than you would think!

Here are some natural foods that are effective in giving you a strong immune system.

Broccoli

This vegetable is one of the best for the immune system. It contains a plethora of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, C, and E, with fiber and many antioxidants. It is one of the richest veggies that you can include in your diet.

However, to retain its potency, you must ensure you cook it within a very short period or not at all. Preferably, steaming alone will do the trick.

Ginger

As much as this food has been used in ancient times for the treatment of a number of health deficiencies, it is also an effective immune system booster. Research indicates that it aids the body in decreasing inflammation. Thus, inflammatory illnesses such as sore throat can be easily remedied with ginger.

Ginger can also lower cholesterol levels as research shows how it has helped some patients in dropping the level of cholesterol in their body.

Spinach

There’s a reason Popeye loved spinach! This veggie is very effective in strengthening your immune system. It is rich in vitamin C, beta carotene, and it contains many antioxidants. This helps to boost the infection-fighting ability that your immune system already has.

Like broccoli, spinach is best consumed when lightly cooked so as to retain its nutrients. Light cooking allows for easier absorption of its nutrients as well.

Pawpaw

This tropical fruit is rich in vitamin C, so much that one alone gives you double the recommended daily amount of vitamin C! This natural immune system booster also has a digestive enzyme called papain, which has anti-inflammatory properties. It also comprises potassium, magnesium, and folate, all beneficial to your health.

Green Tea

Green tea contains flavonoids and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG); powerful antioxidants that help boost your immune system. It is also quite effective in fighting germs in your T-cells as it contains amino acid L-theanine.

Consider swapping your daily coffee for green tea or matcha. This will instantly decrease your body’s anxiety response and reduce caffeine over-stimulation, while still giving you that boost you need in the morning.

2. Minimize stress

When taking a holistic approach to boosting immune systems, many practitioners will encourage you to observe your stress levels.

Stress significantly affects the response of your immune system. It also increases the production of cytokines and cortisol in the body which indirectly triggers inflammation. This, in turn, causes a reduction of white blood cells to fight infection and diseases, leaving you vulnerable to a variety of sicknesses.

Some activities that could help to minimize stress are mindfulness meditation, mental imagery relaxation and progressive muscle relaxation.

Acupuncture is also an amazing way of instantly relaxing the body and mind as well as lifting your mood. Acupuncture has been used by many to stimulate the body and promote self-healing as well as immunity-boosting.

3. Give yourself enough sleep

Your body’s immune system and sleep are very much intertwined. So, a lack of sleep could increase your chances of falling ill. In fact, a 2015 study revealed that persons who slept for less than six hours each night were more likely to catch a cold than those who slept for six hours or more.

It is recommended for adults to get up to 7 or more hours of sleep each night while younger children and teens should aim to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night. Good sleep strengthens the immune system and keeps sicknesses at bay.

If you have trouble sleeping, try limiting your screen time for at least one hour before bedtime. The blue light emitted from your mobile device, laptop or TV may affect the natural wake-sleep cycle of your body.

4. Exercise moderately

Engaging in moderate physical exercise is another good way to increase immunity. Research has shown that just a single moderate exercise session can boost the immune system significantly. Moreover, moderate exercise can not only decrease inflammation but also play a huge role in the regeneration of your immune cells.

Some moderate exercises you can try are swimming, light hiking, jogging, brisk walking, and bicycling. To make it more fun, try doing group activities with friends and family. Take your dog for a walk, play some music, and dance! Ideally, plan at least 30 minutes of exercise or activity per day.

5. Drink enough water

It is vital to stay hydrated at all times. It cleanses your system, protects you from germs and viruses and also improves your immune system.

When your body is not getting enough water, you can suffer from headaches and your heart and kidney function, physical performance, digestion and mood can be affected.

To avoid being dehydrated, make sure to drink enough water daily. How do you know when you’ve had enough? Here’s a trick. When you drink enough water, you’ll notice your urine color is pale yellow.

Although you might feel tempted to have juice, soda or other drinks, nothing beats regular water as it is, without any added sugar, additives and calories free.

6. Embrace positive thinking

The law of attraction states that if you think positively, positive things come to you. In holistic healing, it is important to think positively as your mental state influences your overall health.

According to a research by experts at John Hopkins Medicine, positive thinkers are less likely to suffer from a heart attack than people who think negatively. Positive emotions could play a good role when it comes to boosting the immune system so always employ positive thinking.

7. Cut down on added sugar

Numerous researches indicate that added sugars and refined carbohydrates are part of the causes of being obese and overweight.

Obesity is a condition that renders you vulnerable to many illnesses. To avoid this condition, it is ideal you cut down on your sugar intake so as to decrease inflammation, weight gain, and also lessen the risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and so many others.

Therefore, try reducing your sugar intake to at least 5% of your calories daily. Start slow and over time you will see how big of an impact it will make! This will definitely help boost your immune system in a sustainable way.

8. Regular meditation

Holistic healing views your health as a connection of the mind, body and soul. Therefore, calming the mind and nourishing the soul through mindfulness activities such as meditation can make a huge difference to healing the body and boosting your natural immunity.

So, taking at least an hour to sit quietly and focus on your breathing is an effective immune system booster. Meditation is relaxing as it reduces your heart rate, blood pressure, and anxiety. This also helps you have a good night’s sleep.

9. Regular use of essential oils

Oils, such as eucalyptus oil and other tea tree oils, contain antiviral properties which help protect you against viral infections. You could inhale it through an oil diffuser or use it as a hand sanitizer to prevent any viral infection from infecting you.

Research also indicates that lavender essential oils calms you down and improve your sleep. Essential oils are an easy immune system booster that you could include for the betterment of your health, plus they smell extra good!

7 Incredible facts about your immune system

1. Most times, getting a fever signals that your immune system is in perfect shape. A rise in your body’s temperature is a common immune response that your immune system deploys to get rid of certain microbes and also trigger your body’s repair process. So, when you get down with a fever, it may just be a good sign!

2. Your immune system has the ability to remember every single microbe it has fought. What this means is that if a microbe your immune system has previously defeated enters your body for the second time, your immune system is able to recognize it and get rid of it before it gets a chance to infect you.

3. A runny nose, having food allergies, dermatitis, allergic reactions to medications and stinging insects, eczema, and itchy eyes are all symptoms of your immune system’s overactivity.

4. Most people don’t know this but the immune system doesn’t have a centralized location in the body just like the brain and heart. Rather, the cells that make up your immune system are created in organs all over the body including the bone marrow, adenoids, spleen, tonsils, and lymph nodes.

5. As you age, your immune system becomes weaker as your immune tissues start to shrink and your white blood cells begin to diminish.

6. Laughter improves your immune system! They say that laughter is the best medicine and it is absolutely true. Laughter causes the release of some feel-good chemicals in the brain that aid to reduce stress. So don’t hesitate to be a clown whenever you get the opportunity!

7. Sufferers of auto-immune diseases are mostly women. An auto-immune disease is a disorder that causes the body’s natural defenses to become hyperactive. This causes it to attack normal body tissues as if they were foreign bodies.

With a holistic approach, you can support your immune system naturally.

In summary, these are 9 holistic ways to boost your immune system and help you to keep your health in check. With a holistic approach, you will not only pay attention to how your body acts and reacts, but also tune into your emotional and spiritual state to understand how your current lifestyle and health are affecting you on a deeper level.

If you want to learn more about holistic health, acupuncture and other natural ways you can empower your body to regain balance and heal itself, we invite you to check out our health and wellness blog. We have plenty of resources to guide you.

If you are located in Vancouver and have questions about holistic health and acupuncture, we would love to help you! Simply send us a message and we will reply to you as soon as we can.