Improve Immunity Naturally: 6 Ways to Boost Your Body’s Defense

Immunity is the body’s defense against harmful viruses and illnesses.

The stronger your immunity, the less vulnerable you are to get sick. The opposite is also true. 

If you have a weak immune system, you become more vulnerable to harmful agents in our environment.

The good news is that immunity is not fixed. You can boost it. And make it stronger.

In this article, we’ll go over some of the things you can do to improve immunity naturally. 

1. Get in more exercise

If you want to improve immunity naturally, then exercise is one thing you can’t take for granted. 

You’ll need to make time to exercise at least three times during the week.

When you exercise, the movement helps to circulate fluids in the lymphatic system within the bloodstream and liver. 

Exercise also promotes accelerated excretion of excess toxins in the body through sweat.

But there’s even more. 

Several studies have shown that regular physical activity helps to improve the heart’s immunity. 

Take for example a full-body workout like kickboxing. In such an exercise, you’re constantly engaging multiple body parts and muscles. 

This prolonged physical movement is a great cardiovascular exercise. It helps you keep your heart rates up. 

This improving the healthy circulation of blood to different parts of your body.

2. Add more garlic to meals

Garlic is a natural immunity booster. It contains antioxidants that help to fight off deadly cells in the body.

Additionally, garlic contains certain compounds that make help in the detoxification process. This compound is the Organo-Sulfur Compound. 

While the smell might be off-putting to people, you can get the complete benefits from garlic by eating it raw.

Make sure you add some crushed or grated garlic to your salad dressing to help detox your body. 

Allowing crushed garlic to sit for a while enables it to produce the enzyme called allicin.

Allicin is a powerful enzyme that helps contains antibacterial and anticancer properties.

Related: Best Detox Foods: The Ultimate List of 20 Foods to Cleanse Your Body

3. Avoid excess artificial sugar 

It’s difficult to completely get rid of artificial sugar in our modern diet. 

But it’s possible to make a conscious effort to reduce the number of sugary foods you take in. Especially when you cook at home.

Sugar affects our immune system. 

For example, eating too much additive sugar or artificial sweeteners can lead to gut problems like gut dysbiosis. 

Sugar halts down the cells that combat bacteria. 

Instead of artificial sugar choose natural sugars to help us to thrive and live a healthy lifestyle. 

Natural sugars also contain a whole variety of fibers, vitamins, and minerals. 

They come with an array of important vitamins and nutrients that give us valuable health benefits. 

4. Make sure you’re getting enough protein

When you are protein deficient, your immune system is affected in a significant way. 

Proteins forms antibodies that fight against infections. 

Any kind of harmful bacteria or virus is treated as invaders. And these antibodies created by proteins eliminate them from the body.

Once our body has developed antibodies against a virus, a memory is created in our cells.

In case the virus comes back, the cells would know what to do. Proteins help to create immunity against the diseases.

The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein varies among countries. 

But, research shows that a fair amount of protein intake is around 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. 

So if you weigh 77kg or 170lb, your daily intake of protein should be around 62 grams.

5. Get enough sleep

If you’re wondering how to improve your immunity, one crucial key is to sleep more. Our bodies produce and release cytokines when we sleep. 

Cytokines enable us to fight infection and inflammation, which in turn boosts our immunity. 

Our bodies produce and release different types of proteins to keep us immuned and healthy on its own. One of those proteins is Cytokines. 

So if we don’t get enough sleep, our bodies are less likely to produce less of this helpful protein. It’s helpful and possible for you, take afternoon naps, so your body can rejuvenate.

One research found that people who sleep less than six hours a night are vulnerable. 

They are three times more likely to develop a condition which leads to diabetes and heart disease

On top of that, your body is less likely to recover faster from sickness if you’re not sleeping more hours.

6. Eat more fiber

Fiber is a carbohydrate. On a nutrition label, carbohydrate is usually listed under “Total Carbohydrates” on the “Nutrition Facts” label. 

Soluble fiber improves excretion. It helps to get rid of toxins and unwanted hormones. This, in turn, decreases the risk of inflammation.

But there’s more. When we eat, soluble fiber attaches itself to cholesterol and bile acids.

Keep in mind the liver makes bile acid and stores it in the gall bladder to help the body digest fats.

When you eat more soluble fiber, you reduce bad cholesterol (LDL). This helps to improve your immunity against cardiovascular diseases.

A good way to make sure you’re getting in a good amount of fiber is to eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds.