Boost your
Immune System
I wondered how we
can build up our immune system. Here are some things I found out:
News flash: the
biggest drains on our immune system are stress, aging, poor nutrition, lack of
proper rest and lack of exercise. The first two we can’t do anything about, but
the last three are another story. So, the issue becomes how do we build our
immune systems to adequately deal with the inevitable? Nowadays, people tend to
look for the answer in pill form. Some swear by Echinacea and ginseng, but
studies on both are inconclusive. Like anything else worthwhile, some work is
involved.
“The most important
thing you can do is to actually stay very healthy," says David L.
Woodland, an immunologist at the Trudeau Institute, a nonprofit research center
in Saranac Lake, N.Y. "The immune system is directly related to your
general state of health."
Woodland says the
biggest drain on our immune systems in the modern age is stress. Where our
ancestors faced the fight-or-flight response for short bursts, we are subjected
to those same brain chemicals for extended periods of time. These chemicals,
most notably cortisol, suppress our immune systems.
Stress-relieving
activities are more important than ever for good health. These include such
things as meditation, exercise, spending time with friends, taking time off
from work. Taking the pressure off the immune system helps it build up,
Woodland says.
Adequate sleep
recharges your immune system, and most people don’t get enough nowadays. Recent
studies have shown that children don’t get as much sleep as they used to, due
to parents having to take the kids to childcare as early as 6 a.m. in order to
get to work on time. Working parents tend to let their kids stay up later as
well, so they can spend more time with them.
Elderly people have
problems with sleep too, but for different reasons. Dr. Janet McElhaney, a
geriatrician at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington, says
that elderly bodies tend to cool down too early in the morning, awakening them
at around 3 a.m. "We recommend that older people not turn down their
thermostats at night, or [to] use electric blankets or take a hot bath at
night," she says.
In addition, after
age 70, the immune system begins to decline, according to McElhaney. While
people tend to get fewer colds as they get older, since their immune systems
have developed defenses against many strains of cold virus, “the immune system
decline outweighs the benefits you’ve been accruing,” says Woodland.
Older people also
have more difficulty getting all the nutrients they need. McElhaney says
protein is of particular concern, which has a direct effect on the blood cells
in the body that fight infection. Taking a multivitamin in addition to beefing
up protein intake can really make a difference.
Again, kids are at
risk for poor nutrition as well, which adds to sick days. Dr. Michael Frogel,
chief of the division of general pediatrics at Schneider's Children's Hospital
of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, N.Y., says good nutrition
is a must for kids year-round. "Many kids who go to school don't eat
breakfast, and that's not a good thing," he says.
Good nutrition is a
must for kids year-round, says Frogel, and that kids, like adults, need plenty
of sleep and regular exercise. Watching more than two hours of TV a day has
been shown to promote obesity in kids: "Even if you're watching TV, get up
and move around."
Good nutrition does
not mean more food—quite the contrary. Losing weight can help build immunity,
according to a study by Tufts University's Friedman School of Nutrition Science
and Policy. When a group of adults with high cholesterol lost weight on a
low-fat diet, most also showed evidence of improved immune function.
Writing for
www.123relax.com, Carrie Angus M.D. strongly recommends whole, fresh foods.
“Fruits, vegetables, and grains have a very strengthening effect on our immune
function,” she says. “So strong is this correlation, in fact, that the National
Institutes of Health have developed a Designer Foods Program to study the
cancer-preventing effects of cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli and
cauliflower). Fresh foods not only carry a diverse mixture of vitamins and
trace minerals absent from most processed foods, but they also have vitality.”
Buyer Important Facts to Know
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