As we all know, immunity is the body's natural defense against foreign particles/antigens. There is no specific pill or a superpower to boost your immunity, it requires certain dietary and lifestyle modifications. As they say, Never give-up before you see the final results, just like that once you start working to improve your immunity continue it to get better results.

 

A . 1 . Dietary modifications:

 

a. Consuming whole foods:

 

Consuming whole foods such as Fruits, vegetables which are rich in nutrition like antioxidants will help to build immunity in the body. The high-stress level may also affect your body's immunity. These fresh fruits and vegetables gives you a refreshing feel and help you to relieve stress.

 

Antioxidants in these whole foods help to reduce swelling/inflammation caused by various other chronic health conditions like Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disorders. These Chronic health Conditions are said to be most prevalent in seniors who may also have low immunity due to conditions like this. Therefore, if seniors begin to consume foods rich in antioxidants they have a double benefit of getting relieved from the inflammation caused by these chronic health conditions as well as it helps to improve their immunity.

 

These whole foods are not only rich in antioxidants but also rich in fiber and vitamin C. The fiber present in these whole foods helps to relieve constipation and the Vitamin C content helps to enhance your immunity.

 

b. Consume healthy foods rich in fat:

 

Consuming foods rich in fat like olive oil and fishes like salmon will help to reduce swelling/inflammation. The major reason for consuming foods that reduce inflammation is because they repress the immune response. Olive oil is rich in antioxidants which reduces the risk of acquiring cardiovascular diseases. Salmon is found to be rich in omega -3 fatty acids helps to reduce inflammation.

 

C. Probiotic Supplements:

 

Probiotic supplements are fermented foods like yogurt/curd which produce good bacteria that help the body's immune system to differentiate between good and bad cells and kill the foreign cells that are harmful to the body.

 

d . Consume less sugar:

 

Consuming foods that are loaded with sugar leads to obesity that causes excessive weight gain. Excessive weight gain may lead to cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Lowering the excess sugar content may help to reduce weight and improve immunity.

 

B. Lifestyle Modifications:

 

2 .  Get Enough Sleep:

 

Getting enough sleep is closely related to boosting immunity. Poor (or) insufficient sleep has a higher chance of causing many sicknesses. Recent Studies state that people who have less than six hours of sleep a day have higher chances of acquiring cold. It is said that a healthy adult should have a minimum of six-seven hours of sleep. 

 

We might have noticed that doctors recommend us to take good rest while we are sick, that is not just because we are weak it's majorly for our body to develop the immunity to fight back against the odds. Sleep not only allows your body to rest but will strengthen your immunity. 

 

For people having improper sleep (or) conditions like insomnia, try minimizing the screen time 1-hour before your time of sleep. The blue rays that are emitted from the Tv and smartphone screens have higher possibilities of damaging your proper sleep. People who work in front of the screen the whole day can try wearing Blueray glasses (or) screen protection glasses, which might help to reduce the strain caused by high screen time. Have a fixed sleep time every day for your body to get used to it, varying sleep times might also lead to improper sleep.

 

3 . Get started with exercises and sample workouts:

 

Getting started with exercises doesn't mean you need to start weight lifting (or) heavy workouts. In fact, Excessive heavy workouts might also lead to diminishing immunity. Simple Workouts might help the body to regenerate and boost immunity. Simple workouts include walking, cycling, yoga, etc.

 

4 . Keep yourself hydrated:

 

Keeping yourself hydrated doesn't directly improve immunity but it indirectly helps to Prevent factors that affect immunity. Dehydration leads to dysfunction of other body organs. Consuming other fluids such as juices might also keep you hydrated but it contains excessive sugar content which is not necessary to boost the immune system.

 

5 . Minimise your stress levels:

 

Stress may suppress the immune response in the body. Stress leads to various other health issues that may cause an imbalance in the body. Therefore minimize your stress levels by Practicing yoga, Doing simple workouts, involving in other activities that ease your mind.

These are the few ways on how to boost your immunity with simple dietary and lifestyle modifications. As I mentioned earlier, Try to follow them regularly to get better results.

 

Author : Team 60Plus India

Keywords: Immunity, antioxidants, vitamin C,Inflammation, Dietary, Lifestyle modifications.

Tags:  #Immunity, #Inflammation # immuneresponse #antioxidants #vitaminC #propersleep #stresslevel #boostimmunity #bodysdefence