Strengthening Your Immune System

The immune system, our bodies’ natural defensive system against illness and disease, is always working to keep us safe, year-round. Still, you may be wondering if there’s any way to boost your immunity in the season its needed most. Thankfully, you’re in luck — there are numerous methods to help you strengthen your immune system, hopefully helping you make it through the winter without a sniffly nose.

Healthy eating plays a large role in immunity strength. All the cells in our bodies require proper nutrition in order to function, which includes all the cells within the immune system. Malnutrition, on the other hand, represses our immune system, making the cells slow to act when encountering illness. One study from 2022 found that viral respiratory infections, like COVID-19, affect our gut microbiota. The community of beneficial bacteria that live in our GI tract — our gut microbiota — are an important part of our immune system. They help keep harmful bacteria in check by training our immune system to tell the difference between helpful and harmful bacteria. Our gut microbiota also protects our gut barrier, suppresses inflammation, and takes up space that might otherwise be used by disease-causing bacteria. Supporting your gut health means strengthening your immune system — a two in one deal! You can improve your gut health by eating a diet that includes fermented foods (like yogurt and kimchi), fiber-rich fruits and vegetables (like bananas, asparagus, and broccoli), and grains.

Exercise is another wonderful way to boost your immunity. Research shows that exercising for less than 60 minutes, as long as the exercise is moderate-to-vigorous, can stimulate your immune system and improve its defense. The term “moderate-to-vigorous” encompasses a slew of exercise. “Moderate” exercise would include walking briskly, yoga, bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour, and general yard or home repair work. “Vigorous” exercise includes jogging and running, jumping rope, step aerobics, or kickboxing. As long as you’re getting your heartrate up, you’re probably doing a great job of strengthening your immune system. The same study mentioned before also shows regular exercise improves immunoregulation — that is, it helps make sure your immune system works as intended to detect and destroy disease. Immunoregulation is important or delaying the onset of age-related conditions, helping you stay healthier for longer. However, there is such a thing as too much exercise. Training for a marathon or other athletic competition can put you at risk of getting sick.

Sleep is another vital aspect of immune system strength. When you sleep, your body produces hematopoietic stem cells, a fancy word that refers to special shapeshifting cells that can transform into whatever cells are needed at the moment. This means that the cells can become white blood cells (WBCs), a type of cell circulates through our blood, finds infections, and destroys them. Sleep also influences immune responses, and can help protect us from cardiovascular disease, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, and other immune disorders.

Vaccinations are one of the easiest ways to keep your immune system strong and up to date on the diseases going around. Vaccines engage our immune systems by mimicking an infection. When the white blood cells discover the infection, they create antibodies, or soldiers, to fight the infection. The process of creating antibodies takes time, which could mean that you become sick before your body fights off the infection. Vaccines give your body the time needed to create antibodies, so if you do come in contact with the actual disease, your body is ready to fight it. Antibodies are only trained to recognize the specific infection they were created to fight, however, which is why different vaccines are needed for different diseases.

Stay healthy through this cold and flu season by eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and staying up to date on your vaccinations. Don’t wait until you’re already sick to take care of yourself, start now!