Your immune system is your body’s natural defense against illness and infection. It’s a defensive network of organs, tissues, proteins, and white blood cells that work together to fight off microorganisms that cause disease.
Your overall health depends on having a healthy immune system. Notably, in the wake of the COVID pandemic, people are beginning to realize how important it is to support immune health as a primary defense against serious illness.
In this article, we’ll talk about the basics of immune system health and some things you can do to support yours.
1. The Impact of the Environment on Immune Health
One of the most important influences on your immune system is the environment. In fact, studies have shown that twins, despite having shared genes, can have significantly different immune health, depending on their lifestyle, locations, and diet.
Factors like stress, environmental pollution, smoking, and illness can negatively affect immune health.
2. Maintaining Immune System Balance is Important
A healthy immune system knows how to fight infections and bacteria without hurting your body in the process.
On the other hand, an overactive immune system can be as bad for your health as a weak one.
3. The Immune System is a Defensive Network
Your immune system is like a defensive network for your body and includes many organs, tissues, proteins and white blood cells as well as:
- Tonsils
- Thin skin inside nostrils and throat
- Skin
- Bone marrow
- Lymph nodes
- Digestive system
- Spleen
4. Inflammation and Fever Show the Immune System is Fighting Infection
Inflammation is a sign that your immune system is fighting off infections and harmful microorganisms that are threatening your body.
However, when your immune system is weakened and not functioning well, it overreacts and produces an inflammatory response to normal cells.
When this happens, you have the immune system attacking the body itself instead of hostile viruses and bacteria. Unfortunately, this can lead to chronic inflammation, causing chronic pain and autoimmune disease problems.
5. It’s Easy to Support Immune Health
Just as a robust immune system can fight off diseases and infections, a weakened immune system or one not functioning correctly can do much harm.
For both of these reasons, immune health is the key to good health overall. Luckily, it’s surprisingly easy and fun to maintain and support your immune health.
A healthy lifestyle, along with a balanced diet, and a positive outlook can go a long way in helping you fight off infections and stay healthy.
6. Stress is Hard on the Immune System
We’ve all heard people casually remark that stress is a killer, but it’s true. Stress is terrible for your immune system, especially chronic stress, because it makes you more vulnerable to disease and infections.
Chronic stress can weaken your immune system, making catching colds and the flu easier. But unfortunately, it also makes you more likely to develop chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.
Unfortunately, it isn’t always possible to avoid stress. However, you can make a conscious effort to reduce your stress levels through practices like yoga and meditation.
7. Laughter is Good for Immune Health
While stress and worry are bad for immune health, the opposite is true when it comes to joy and laughter.
Laughter is indeed the good medicine it is claimed to be. In addition to making you feel positive and upbeat, it has measurable physical benefits.
Laughter produces more infection-fighting antibodies, especially in your nose and respiratory system where viruses first land.
8. Exercise Boosts your Body’s Defenses
Exercise, as we all know, has multiple benefits. It lifts your mood and helps circulate immune system cells to do their job.
For most people, moderate and regular exercise is the key to better immune health. In addition, exercise is known to release endorphins, the feel-good hormones that can reduce pain and improve your overall sense of well-being.
9. Sunshine is Good for You
A sunny day puts everyone in a cheerful mood, and there’s a medical basis for this. There are many health benefits to moderate exposure to sunshine, including better immune health by producing Vitamin D and T cells, both of which are an essential part of your immune system.
10. Sleep Helps to Regulate Immune Function
Doctors and health practitioners agree that sleep nourishes life. In addition, numerous experiments have shown the role of sleep in regulating immune functions.
If sleep is a challenge for you, you can consider supplementing with saving Grace Sleep Formula, an all natural formulation of full-spectrum or THC-free CBD and CBN.
11. A Balanced Diet Supports Immune Health
A balanced diet is not only the most natural way to have a healthy immune system, it also may be the most effective. A healthy diet can mean many things, but some of these steps can help support immune health:
- Reduce saturated fats like those found in dairy, baked goods, and red meat
- Avoid trans fats found in partially hydrogenated oils
- Add Omega-3 fats that you would find in fish like tuna, herring, mackerel, fresh-caught salmon, and trout, and in plant-based foods like canola oil, chia seeds, edamame, pumpkin seeds, and walnuts
- Try a Mediterranean-style diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, lean meats and proteins like chicken and fish, legumes, seeds, nuts, olive oil, and whole grains
- Avoid over-processed foods like hot dogs, bacon, sugar, and sugary desserts, white or refined bread, fried and fast food
It isn’t easy to change your diet all at once, but you can do it in small steps. As you make more changes, your body will recognize and crave more healthy and natural foods.
12. Supplements Add Missing Nutrients
There are times when you need supplements like vitamins and minerals to round out your diet. The lack of nutrients like zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E negatively impact the immune system’s functioning.
Particularly for older people, whose immune systems also age and become weaker, nutritional supplements can play an essential part in maintaining immune health.
New research shows promise that CBD (cannabidiol) oil and other cannabinoids taken as supplements can benefit immune health. That’s because the phytocannabinoid activity is mediated by the endocannabinoid system. Cannabinoids affect the nervous system and play significant roles in the regulation of the immune system.
Immune Health Is Easy to Balance With the Right Care and Attention
Your immune system works round-the-clock to keep your body healthy and functioning efficiently.
You can help it out with just a few simple steps that will also make a difference to your overall well-being.
Diet, food, exercise, and a positive outlook on life , laced with a little bit of laughter and gratitude will go a very long way to keeping your immune system in tip top shape.
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