9 Ways to Boost Your Body’s Natural Defenses

14 Apr 9 Ways to Boost Your Body’s Natural Defenses

By now we know how best to avoid catching COVID-19. The Telluride Med Center for one has been beating the drums about hand-washing and social-distancing. But this story by SaVanna Shoemaker, MS, RDN, LD for EcoWatch offers ways to boost your immune system that complement the now common sense mandates.

An Important Note

No supplement, diet, or lifestyle modification — aside from social distancing and practicing proper hygiene ⁠— can protect you from developing COVID-19.

The strategies outlined below may boost your immune health, but they don’t protect specifically against COVID-19.

If you want to boost your immune health, you may wonder how to help your body fight off illnesses.

While bolstering your immunity is easier said than done, several dietary and lifestyle changes may strengthen your body’s natural defenses and help you fight harmful pathogens, or disease-causing organisms.

Here are 9 tips to strengthen your immunity naturally.

1. Get Enough Sleep

Sleep and immunity are closely tied.

In fact, inadequate or poor quality sleep is linked to a higher susceptibility to sickness.

In a study in 164 healthy adults, those who slept fewer than 6 hours each night were more likely to catch a cold than those who slept 6 hours or more each night.

Getting adequate rest may strengthen your natural immunity. Also, you may sleep more when sick to allow your immune system to better fight the illness.

Adults should aim to get 7 or more hours of sleep each night, while teens need 8–10 hours and younger children and infants up to 14 hours.

If you’re having trouble sleeping, try limiting screen time for an hour before bed, as the blue light emitted from your phone, TV, and computer may disrupt your circadian rhythm, or your body’s natural wake-sleep cycle.

Other sleep hygiene tips include sleeping in a completely dark room or using a sleep mask, going to bed at the same time every night, and exercising regularly.

Summary

Inadequate sleep may increase your risk of getting sick. Most adults should get at least 7 hours of sleep per night.

2. Eat More Whole Plant Foods

Whole plant foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes are rich in nutrients and antioxidants that may give you an upper hand against harmful pathogens.

The antioxidants in these foods help decrease inflammation by combatting unstable compounds called free radicals, which can cause inflammation when they build up in your body in high levels.

Chronic inflammation is linked to numerous health conditions, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and certain cancers.

Meanwhile, the fiber in plant foods feeds your gut microbiome, or the community of healthy bacteria in your gut. A robust gut microbiome can improve your immunity and help keep harmful pathogens from entering your body via your digestive tract.

Furthermore, fruits and vegetables are rich in nutrients like vitamin C, which may reduce the duration of the common cold…

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