With respiratory illnesses running rampant, your immunity is your best defense. Take a look at 10 things that are destroying your immunity, and self-check to see if you’ve done them.
Lack of sleep
Lack of sleep makes you more susceptible to viruses or germs, and once you’ve contracted an infection, you may take longer to recover. This is because your body can’t make enough infection-fighting cells and antibodies, as it only releases certain proteins (cytokines) that help the immune system when you sleep.
Anxiety.
Just having anxious thoughts can weaken the immune response in as little as 30 minutes. Constant stress can cause even more damage, making it harder for you to fight off the flu, herpes, shingles and other viruses.
Vitamin Ddeficiency
Vitamin D is needed for strong bones and healthy blood cells, plus it helps boost the immune system. Eggs, fatty fish, and fortified foods such as milk and cereals contain vitamin D. Sunlight is another important source. In the summer, 5-15 minutes of sun on your hands, face and arms 2-3 times a week is usually enough. In winter, a little longer is needed.
Eating too few vegetables and fruits
These foods help the body make more of the white blood cells it needs to fight off infections: fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds contain high levels of zinc, beta-carotene, vitamins A, C and E, and other nutrients needed for a healthy body. Plant foods also contain fiber, which helps lower the percentage of fat in the body, thus boosting the immune response.
Eating too many high-fat foods
Fats and oils can hinder white blood cells from fighting germs. Chronic high-fat diets can disrupt the balance of bacteria in the gut that contribute to the immune response. Choose unsweetened, low-fat dairy products, as well as lean proteins such as seafood, turkey and chicken, or lean beef with visible fat cut off. In addition, obesity seems to make you more susceptible to the flu and other infections such as pneumonia.
Little outdoor activity
Sunlight stimulates immune cells called T-cells in the immune system to help fight off infections. Being outdoors also provides other benefits, such as the fact that many plants in the woods produce phytofungicides and other substances, and breathing in these substances may boost immune function.
Smoking.
Nicotine from cigarettes, chewing tobacco, or any other source weakens the body’s ability to fight off germs. E-cigarettes do, too, and, in addition to nicotine, other chemicals in e-cigarette liquids can suppress immune responses.
Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Just one excessive drink of alcohol can weaken the body’s ability to fight off germs for up to 24 hours. Chronic excessive drinking weakens the body’s ability to repair itself, which increases the risk of diseases such as liver disease, pneumonia, tuberculosis and certain cancers. It is best not to drink alcohol, and if you do, you should try to limit it to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men.
Grief
There is evidence that grief, especially grief that lasts a long time, suppresses the body’s immunity. This effect may last up to six months, or longer if the grief is deep or unrelieved.
Lack of Exercise
Regular aerobic exercise helps the body to fight off illnesses caused by viruses and bacteria, this is because exercise helps the blood to move through the body more efficiently, which means that the antimicrobial substances get to where they need to go. Scientists continue to study exactly how exercise helps boost the immune system.
