How You Can Boost Your Immune System

Taking care of ourselves is not something that always comes easy. Some of us do know what we should be doing to maintain a healthy lifestyle, however, we don't always follow through with it. We use so many excuses like, I'm too busy to make healthy meals or go for a walk, to meditate, or to go to bed earlier. All of these excuses only make our immune system weaker and weaker. So, what simple practices can we do, to boost our immune system?

Here Are 7 Ways That You Can Boost Your Immune System

1. Hydrate - Drink plenty of water, green juices and fresh fruit juices like orange juice. Drinking enough water each day is crucial for many reasons; to regulate body temperature, to keep joints lubricated, it delivers nutrients to your cells and it also helps to improve overall sleep quality.

2. Diet - Eat more fruits and veggies. This will greatly help to boost your immune system as fruits and vegetables are loaded with lots of vitamins and antioxidants. Focus on apples, citrus fruits, berries, papaya, leafy greens, broccoli, bell peppers, kale, spinach and sprouts. These all naturally contain high levels of vitamin C, which is one of the biggest immune system boosters.

3. Calm Your Mind - Practise mindfulness and meditation to reduce stress. Stress causes an inflammatory response within the body that can greatly affect your fight or flight response, by releasing too much of the stress hormone cortisol. So practise mindfulness by doing yoga, breathing, walking or simply meditating for 10 to 20 minutes a day. Reducing fear and anxiety by exercising your mindfulness is an important key, to a healthy and happy life.

4. Rest - Get at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. This is important especially when we are already under the weather. To achieve a sound and restful sleep, remember to have your last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime. Also, try to reduce your screen time as much as possible and instead, try reading a good book.

5. Get Outdoors for some Sunshine - Go for a good walk (at least 30 minutes) and get some natural vitamin D from the sun. This powerful vitamin helps to protect us from colds and viruses such as influenza. Getting some quality exercise, by moving your body and getting the blood flowing helps to boost immunity, and can improve your respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

6. Supplements- Zinc, vitamin C, B12, vitamin D, Elderberry syrup, Turmeric, Lemon Balm, and Oregano Oil capsules. These are all very powerful, healing and simple supplements that can defend against colds and flu. Of course, talk to your naturopath or doctor first before taking any of them. Also, incorporate fresh garlic, ginger, and other anti-inflammatory herbs of your liking into your diet, to strengthen the immune system.

7. Stop the Spread of Germs - And lastly, it's important that you wash your hands with soap. It's a simple and small thing, but it can make a big difference in improving our health. We all know that we should be doing this more often, and it is an effective way to help sanitize our hands. Especially when touching or grabbing things outside of our home.