Retune Your Immune System

Your immune system is your body's defense against sickness, so you need to keep it strong at all times. But how would you know if your immune system has weakened?

Do you feel fatigued or exhausted even after just waking up in the morning or doing a few things? Do you frequently get afflicted with colds, flu, sore throat, or diarrhea? Do you have wounds that take a long time to heal?

If you answered yes to all the questions above, then it's a clear indication that your immune system is not able to handle the attacks of disease-causing viruses and bacteria. You need to retune your immune system so that it works the way it should.

Here are 5 tips on how to keep your immune system strong and healthy:

Boost your immune system through proper diet.
What you eat plays a big role in strengthening your immune system.

• Eat more bright-colored fruits and vegetables, such as citrus fruits, apple, red grapes, spinach, moringa (malunggay) and carrots. These foods are rich in immunity-boosting nutrients, particularly vitamins A, C and E. Another way to get the same nutrients is by drinking a deliciously refreshing can of Del Monte 100% Pineapple Juice with Vitamins A, C, E.
• Load up on probiotics. Probiotics, like yogurt, put healthy bacteria in your gut. A Swedish study showed that intake of yogurt with live culture for 80 days appeared to stimulate white blood cells production resulting in less incidence of sickness among the participants.
• If you suffer from frequent infections, adding herbal supplements, such as garlic, ginseng, shiitake or maitake mushrooms, to your diet can help enhance immune function.

Get enough sleep.
Experts' recommendation is 7 to 9 hours of sleep every day. Lack of sleep increases the level of stress hormones in the body and predisposes a person to infection and inflammation.

Take a 30-minute walk or any moderate exercise regularly.
Exercise boosts the feel-good chemicals in the body and helps a person to sleep better.

Have adequate vitamin D from the sun.
Daily exposure to the morning sunshine for 10 to 15 minutes triggers the skin to produce the vitamin D needed by the body. Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to increased risk or incidence of respiratory infections.

Manage your stressors.
Stress is a regular part of everyday life, be it from school, work or your personal relationships. Being under stress for a long time makes the body more vulnerable to sickness.

Manage stress better by spending time to meditate, relax and socialize with other people. Studies show that being alone somehow weakens the immune system. So, nurturing a meaningful relationship is a really good idea. In addition, relax and laugh more. It is still true that laughter is a good medicine. Laughing has a positive impact on the immune system, so you get lower stress hormone levels and more white blood cells that fight infection.

Take time to practice these steps for a stronger immune system which will protect you against illnesses.

Sources:
6 Immune System Busters & Boosters https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/10-immune-system-busters- boosters
9 Power Foods That Boost Immunity https://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/power-foods-that-boost-immunity/slide/2
1o Simple and Natural Ways to Boost the Immune System https://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/white-seeber-grogan-the-remedy-chicks/ten-simple-natural-ways-to-boost-immune-system/
How to Boost Your Immune System https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/how-to-boost-your-immune-system
Chronic stress puts your health at risk. https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art- 20046037?pg=1
Humor's healing potential https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10116744