Supercharge Your Immune System

Your immune system plays a vital role in your day to day life. Its primary purpose is to protect your body from viruses and bacteria. On the days that you are feeling well, your immune system is doing an excellent job of protecting you from falling ill. You can run around outside, have fun with friends, and enjoy delicious meals all because your immune system is doing its job. Without your immune system, you might be in bed sick frequently suffering from severe or even fatal illnesses or diseases.

It is vital to maintain a healthy immune system so that your body will have a strong defense against germs, bacteria, viruses, and infections that could cause all sorts of damage. Having a healthy immune system will help you to have a happier and healthier life. 

Healthy Living Strategies

Harvard Medical School, in their article titled “How To Boost Your Immune System”, has put together a list of healthy living strategies that will naturally help keep your immune system healthier. They are as follows:

• Don’t smoke
• Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables
• Exercise regularly
• Maintain a healthy weight
• If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation
• Get adequate sleep
• Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly
• Try to minimize stress

Things You Can Do To Support Your Immune System

While Harvard Medical School gives a simple list of things you can do to support the health of your immune system, here are a few specific ideas that you can try out: 

1. Sheet Pan Sweet Potatoes and Black Bean Hash. This recipe is full of nutrient-filled foods such as sweet potatoes, beans, zucchini, garlic, bell peppers, eggs, and more. Eating meals full of vegetables such as this is a great way to support your immune system.
2. Get that exercise in! Sometimes it can be hard to get exercise regularly because we don’t feel like we have the time or we don’t know what exercises to do. In addition to going running or on walks, here is a sample workout from Nerd Fitness that you can try out in your own home, backyard, at the park, or at the gym. For examples of how to do each of these exercises, check out the video on their website.
   1. 20 Bodyweight squats
   2. 10 Push-ups
   3. 10 Walking lunges (each leg)
   4. 10 Dumbbell Rows (use milk jug or other weight)
   5. 15 Second Plank
   6. 30 Jumping Jacks
   7. Once you’ve completed all the exercises listed above, do it again! Then again, if you are feeling up to it. 

Ginger Peach Detox Smoothie. Vitamin packed smoothies such as this one are a great thing to incorporate into your eating habits. This smoothie is full of healthy ingredients such as fresh cucumber, lemon, peaches, oranges, and strawberries that do a fantastic job of supporting the health of your immune system. Adding supplements into your smoothies such as echinacea, vitamin D3, probiotics, vitamin C, and ginger is another great way to support your health.