5 AMAZING TIPS TO IMPROVE YOUR IMMUNITY

The old adage 'health is wealth' is perfect for the modern population that majorly follows a sedentary lifestyle and generally has a high amount of stress in their lives. One thing that determines your long term health is your everyday routine. One of the measures that you can take is to boost your immune system that will help your body fend off any diseases or discomforts presented by microbes around us.

In addition to adding good habits into your life, there is also a necessity to replace bad habits that have a detrimental effect on your immune system. Here are some effective tips that improve your overall immune system.

Five tips to boost your immune health

Dietary approach:Your daily food intake plays an important role in shielding your body from diseases by supplying the necessary vitamins, minerals and nutrients to bolster your immune system. Some of the foods that you can try for this purpose include:

• Vitamin C - rich foods like broccoli and citrus fruits like orange. Lime possess rich anti-oxidants that boost the immune cells and help them respond quicker in case of an infection.

• Vitamin E- rich foods like whole grains and nuts are necessary to boost your overall immune system so that it is functioning at the peak of its ability and can fight off any infection.

• Vitamin A-rich foods like yams, carrots and the like are necessary for maintaining the mucus membrane that is the body's first line of defense against foreign bodies.

• Vitamin B rich foods like mushrooms, green leafy vegetables and milk products build up your body's resistance against bacterial infections and also help in the production and maturation of T and B cells.

• Zinc-rich foods like turkey, beef, crab, oysters and beans are to be consumed in small quantities for the proper functioning of the T cells.

• Selenium rich foods like chicken, whole grain, tuna, brown rice and eggs are necessary for increasing the cellular immune response of the body. They also help in the generation of interferons, cytokines and T cell proliferation.

• Ginger and Garlic- They help in keeping the body warm and help in removing toxins from lungs, sinuses and the lymphatic system.

Ensure that you get good sleep: When you sleep, your body produces many reparative and growth-promoting hormones. When you do not get enough sleep, the body releases higher levels of the stress hormone which then depresses the immune function of the body and increases the release of inflammatory cells. Doctors and sleep experts suggest that you get between 7- 8 hours of sleep as this decreases your chances of stress build up in your body.

Exercising regularly: is ideal for keeping your body in prime condition. When you are physically active it enables better blood circulation throughout the body and also allows the creation of immune cells. Regular exercise also helps you get good sleep and stimulates the lymphatic system. Indulge in about 30 minutes of moderate exercise like walking to increase your chances of fighting off seasonal infections.

Reduce stress: The human body can experience physical, social and psychological stress and this is known to have a negative effect on the immune system. Long-term stress releases stress hormones and reduces the production of lymphocytes like cytokines and interleukins. To keep stress at bay we suggest that you practice keeping your mind calm by practicing yoga for about 15 minutes every day. Another antidote to stress is to socialize with friends and family.

Keep smiling and laughing: The term "Laughter is the best medicine" truly has some medical backing. It helps in minimizing the levels of stress in the body. It also helps in the production of immune cells which can keep a variety of infections at bay.