Blog
5 Ways For A Healthier Immune System
Feb
Plus: The Best Vitamins for Immune System Strength
There comes a time when we really question our health. We start getting little twinges here and there. Nothing new, but it’s bothersome. The occasional ulcer or foggy head. We tend to put it down to everything else other than what it tends to be. A Lowered Immune System.
There are a few different signs of a weak immune system.
- Maybe you always seem to be getting sick.
- Or that tummy trouble has been around too long.
- Perhaps you feel stressed often.
- Maybe your wounds take a long time to heal.
- Or you feel tired a lot of the time.Table of Contents hide
You feel always run down and infections seem to be drawn to you. If any of these sound familiar, you may need to work on your immune system. Science tells us we can no longer get all our vitamins from food. We know that. Perhaps picking up the shortfall with good nutritional supplements is what we should be doing after all?
So, what are the Best Vitamins for the Immune System?
Follow this through to get an powerful indication on what types of foods would be useful to boost your immune system and what types of nutritional supplements you may want to add into your daily health regime.
1. Get Enough Vitamin C from Food.
The key to fighting infections is to increase your white blood cell count, and citrus fruits with vitamin C can help you do that. The body doesn’t produce or store vitamin C; so include lemons, limes, grapefruit, oranges or your favorite citrus fruit in your daily diet. Men need around 90mg a day, and women need 75mg. But bear in mind – these are on the lower levels.
For optimal levels of Vitamin C try USANA Booster C 600 for a more positive immune response.
Bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, papaya and kiwi fruit are some of the other foods rich in this vitamin – load them up!
A medium-sized navel orange contains about 70 mg to 100mg of vitamin C so you can see how important it is to not only eat healthy, but to supplement well so you pick up the shortfall where food can’t provide.
2. Find Ways to Include Garlic in your Meals.
Garlic doesn’t just add a subtle and complex flavor to your food; it also helps you fight infections and inflammations. Ancient civilizations have known about garlic’s flu-fighting abilities. The heavy concentration of the sulphur-containing compound allicin is what boosts the immune system.
This compound helps make some of the body’s white blood cells stronger when they face viruses like those that cause common flu and cold.
Garlic helps not just prevent cold and flu; it can also reduce symptoms and how long the cold stays.
You can slice garlic, crush it or chew it to enjoy the benefits of allicin. Heat may deactivate the effects of allicin, however. To compensate for using garlic in heated food, try to use more than one clove in a meal. You can also chew a clove of garlic raw – perhaps not if you’re heading out on a first date…
If you crush it for use in salads, you should let crushed garlic sit for 10 minutes before using it to allow the allicin to increase. Powdered supplements and garlic oil may also give you your daily dose, but in varying degrees, depending on the brand.
One clove twice or thrice a day is the ideal dosage. If you’re taking supplements, 600 to 1200 mg should be your goal. Take it at night while your immune system is repairing itself.
3. Exercise Regularly
Regular exercise can help you strengthen your immune system, no matter your age. Moderate exercise for 30 minutes, five days a week, is the best to maintain immunity.
What is moderate exercise?
You can find out by simply measuring your maximum heart rate and exercising to about 50% to 70% of it. Swimming laps for 20 minutes, walking 2 miles for 30 minutes and jumping rope for 15 minutes are all moderate exercises you can do daily.
Try to include strength training for muscles and flexibility as well. Resistance training also helps with losing weight. Muscle is one of the best at metabolizing fat cells so don’t be afraid to pump a little iron!
You should exercise for at least 30 minutes of low impact hiking, biking, swimming etc., three days a week is enough for most people to maintain healthy immunity. Regular exercise will protect you against chronic diseases and stave off aging-related immunity problems for longer.
4. Get your Carbs and Polyphenols….Ok, Your What?
Polyphenols, powerful micro-nutrient found in green tea, berries, dark chocolate, cloves, beans, nuts, soy and some other foods also boost the immune system. They can help protect you against allergic diseases and tumors and even bring about changes in your cells – all good things so never skip on the Polyphenols.
If you ever want a rich source of this super-nutrient USANA Proflavanol C200 sure packs in a ton of this super-food in a daily dose.
Ok – back to carbs. There are enough studies with evidence around to check on the benefits and how much you should eat. To support your workouts, don’t skip the carbs. Carbs help to lower post-exercise aches and pains caused by inflammation.
Note that carbs make the most difference on inflammation and immune markers after 90-minute workouts or endurance exercises like running, marathon or heavy muscle-building workouts – but ensure the correct carbs are being taken in. There is a difference between a cream bun and brown rice.
5. Meditate for Low Stress Levels
It’s well-known that the stress hormone, cortisol, kicks in when you’re under physical or psychological stress. It channels all your energy and resources towards staying alert. As a result, your blood pressure goes up, and so do your blood sugar levels. In an unexpected and complicated process, your metabolism goes up and suppresses your immune system.
Meditation is known to lower the levels of cortisol in your blood and increase serotonin. There is evidence that suggests serotonin plays a role in immunity and reduces inflammation.
Practicing meditation the correct way and consistently, whether you choose mindfulness or spiritual reflection, loving-kindness or transcendental meditation will strengthen your immune system to do its job. You could try USANA Stress Relief and USANA Calm Response for a new clean, healthy approach to lowering stress levels.
Supplement with USANA Proglucamune & USANA Probiotics
A few right supplements in the market can also help support your immune system, like the USANA Proglucamune. This multivitamin and mineral booster contains a unique combination of powdered shiitake mushroom and reishi mushroom, along with a baker’s yeast extract.
The mushrooms are rich in antioxidative properties. The Chinese have used them in medicine for thousands of years. The baker’s yeast extract comes from organic Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Something called beta-glucan in this yeast is perfect for maintaining the immunity of your upper respiratory system. Proglucamune puts your microbe-fighting cells in high alert and ready to fight disease-causing bacteria.
But not all bacteria are harmful. We’re talking of gut flora. Another supplement to also include into your healthy immunity-boosting new lifestyle is the USANA Probiotics. Probiotics promote beneficial microbes in the stomach.
The gut has a significant role to play in building immunity, as we all know by now. You may be relying on yogurt to populate your gut with good bacteria, but that may not be enough. You need anywhere between 1 million and 10 million colony forming units (CFU) of bacteria for health benefits.
USANA Probiotics contains 12 CFU bacteria when it’s made, and the product is designed, so the microbes are stable at room temperature. This supplement can support your immune system against the assaults on it from the environment by helping your body eliminate waste properly.
The Bottom Line
Nothing beats healthy eating and exercise.
A powerful combination of healthy eating, exercise, lowering stress levels and taking the best vitamins for immune system strength will keep your energy levels high and your immune system oiled. But you must also stay hydrated and get enough sleep to keep everything running like clockwork.
So kick up your heels, eat healthy, supplement well and get back feel like a million bucks!
