WAYS TO BOOST ONE'S IMMUNE SYSTEM

Immunity is the defensive system of our body that protects us from the attack of all those foreign invaders that can cause any harm to our body such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, allergens, etc. (Swann and Smyth, 2007). This system is so organized and specific so that it may not attack our healthy body tissues or anything useful to our body. The problem occurs when it stops functioning efficiently, and immunity is compromised. This may cause mild to severe consequences for our bodies. So this system must work efficiently and actively all the time, and to make it happen, there are several things we can do to boost our immunity (Chaplin, 2010).

1. Adequate and balanced nutrition: As we know that each cell of our body is mainly composed of four basic nutrients i.e., carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, and water. Similarly, our immune system, consisting of different cells and tissues, is also made up of these nutrients. This system is constantly active in our body, so there occurs wear and tear that needs to be repaired. For repairing, our body needs adequate and balanced nutrition (Trichet, 2010).

2. Functional foods: Certain foods have a bioactive role in boosting the immune system other than providing basic nutrition. These foods include mainly those rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, and vitamin E (Calder and Kew, 2002). Fruits and vegetables such as citrus, bell pepper, carrots, berries are good to boost immunity. Similarly, some herbs like ginger, garlic, turmeric are also immune-boosting (El-katcha et al., 2016).

3. Colostrum and Exclusive breastfeeding: For a newborn to have strong lifelong immunity, he/she must be breastfed exclusively for at least the first six months of life (Hanson, 1998). Mother milk, especially colostrum is rich in antibodies and certain compounds that strengthen the immune system of newborns (Wheeler et al., 2007).

4. Quit bad habits: Any drug addiction or smoking weakens the immune system, so you have to quit them to make your immune system function properly (Souto et al., 2014).  Similarly, bad food habits, such as eating too many sugars, can also compromise the immune system.

5. Exercise: Regular physical activity helps your body to function correctly. Individuals who perform low to moderate level exercise on a regular basis are less likely to fall ill. Regular exercise helps immune cells to distribute in the body more efficiently, just like it improves blood circulation (Nieman, 2011).

6. Sleep: regular and adequate sleep is very important for any individual. Just like each machinery needs rest after a certain time, our body also needs rest as it acts like a machine throughout the day. Without sleep, our repairing mechanism is disturbed that can progressively cause significant damage to the body (Motivala and Irwin, 2007).

7. Stress management: The underlying hormonal mechanism of chronic stress damages our immune system. People with a lack of sleep or disturbed sleep cycle are more prone to infections. You can try different techniques for stress management (Glaser and Kiecolt-Glaser, 2014).

8. Avoid unnecessary medications: There are certain medications that suppress the immune system. So for those who do self-medication or use over the counter drugs should avoid using them if they want to strengthen their immune system (Graham et al., 1990).

REFERENCES

·         Borchers, A.T., Selmi, C., Meyers, F.J., Keen, C.L. and Gershwin, M.E., 2009. Probiotics and immunity. Journal of gastroenterology, 44(1), pp.26-46.

·         Calder, P.C. and Kew, S., 2002. The immune system: a target for functional foods?. British Journal of Nutrition, 88(S2), pp.S165-S176.

·         Chaplin, D.D., 2010. Overview of the immune response. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 125(2), pp.S3-S23.

·         El-katcha, M.I., Soltan, M.A., Sharaf, M.M. and Hasen, A., 2016. Growth performance, immune response, blood serum parameters, nutrient digestibility and carcass traits of broiler chicken as affected by dietary supplementation of garlic extract (Allicin). Alexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences, 49(2), pp.50-64.

·         Glaser, R. and Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. eds., 2014. Handbook of human stress and immunity. Academic Press, USA. pp. 414.

·         Graham, N.M., Burrell, C.J., Douglas, R.M., Debelle, P. and Davies, L., 1990. Adverse effects of aspirin, acetaminophen, and ibuprofen on immune function, viral shedding, and clinical status in rhinovirus-infected volunteers. Journal of Infectious Diseases, 162(6), pp.1277-1282.

·         Hanson, L.A., 1998. Breastfeeding provides passive and likely long-lasting active immunity. Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, 81(6), pp.523-537.

·         Jaffe, R., 2013. Diabetes as an immune dysfunction syndrome. In: Bioactive Food as Dietary Interventions for Diabetes. Academic press, USA. pp. 41-52.

·         Motivala, S.J. and Irwin, M.R., 2007. Sleep and immunity: cytokine pathways linking sleep and health outcomes. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(1), pp.21-25.

·         Nieman, D.C., 2011. Moderate exercise improves immunity and decreases illness rates. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 5(4), pp.338-345.

·         Souto, G.R., Queiroz-Junior, C.M., Costa, F.O. and Mesquita, R.A., 2014. Effect of smoking on immunity in human chronic periodontitis. Immunobiology, 219(12), pp.909-915.

·         Swann, J.B. and Smyth, M.J., 2007. Immune surveillance of tumors. The Journal of clinical investigation, 117(5), pp.1137-1146.

·         Trichet, V.V., 2010. Nutrition and immunity: an update. Aquaculture research, 41(3), pp.356-372.

·         Wheeler, T.T., Hodgkinson, A.J., Prosser, C.G. and Davis, S.R., 2007. Immune components of colostrum and milk—a historical perspective. Journal of mammary gland biology and neoplasia, 12(4), pp.237-247.