Healthy Lifestyle and What to Avoid

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is an advantage when it comes to strengthening our immune system. While most people adopt healthy behaviors when they are sick, we recommend that you try to make those recommendations a lifestyle to be able to sustain.

It is imperative to maintain a healthy lifestyle for our physical and mental health. In the next chapters, we will dive into the subject of what you can do to improve your immune system. We will look at what foods you can eat, and the changes you can make in your day to help with mental health. You will receive a 21-day plan you can implement to help you be more successful with that healthy lifestyle. 

But first, let’s do a little survey to assess your lifestyle and how well you do on the immune system checklist.

Check all that applies to you.

• Ear infection yearly
• Use antibiotics at least once a year
• Reoccurring Skin issues like rash or inflammation
• Autoimmune disease......

3 Recipes to Supercharge Your Body

Food is essential to our body to work optimally. That said, you need to ensure that you have a diet that includes as many fruits and vegetables to get the nutrients and antioxidants that will help strengthen your immune system. Here are three recipes you can add to your meals to help supercharge your body.

Breakfast - Berry Parfait

Blueberries are at the top of all the fruits and vegetables for the number of antioxidants it contains. Not only does research show the power of blueberries on our immune system, but it is also linked to a lower risk of stomach fat, cholesterol, heart diseases, and cancer.

1 serving

Ingredients

• ½ cup of plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon of honey
• ½ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• ½ cup of blueberries
• ½ cup of blackberries
• 1 tablespoon of sunflower seeds

Instructions

In a bowl, start with the plain yogurt, add the honey and ground cinnamon on top. Add the berries and seeds. Enjoy!

Lunch - Sunflower Seed Salad

Sunflower seeds are very high in vitamin E, which is a potent antioxidant that helps fight infection since it enhances the immune system.

2 servings

Ingredients

Salad

• 1 cup of broccoli, cut
• ½ cup of sunflower seeds
• 2 carrots, julienne
• 1 red Bell pepper, diced
• 1 cucumber, diced
• 6 cups of spinach

Dressing

• 2/3 cup of olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon of honey

Instruction

Salad: Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl. And serve with dressing.

Dressing: Mix all the ingredients in a mason jar, close the jar, and shake for about 1 minute. Serve on the salad.

Dinner - Lemon Baked Chicken

Lemons and citrus fruits are full of vitamin C, which is critical to the immune system.

4 servings

Ingredients

• Juice of 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of pepper (or lemon pepper)
• ½ teaspoon of turmeric
• ½ teaspoon of salt
• 6–8 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless

Instructions

Preheat the oven at 350 F. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except chicken. Then dip the chicken in the marinade and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Pour the remainder of the liquid on the chicken. Bake for 30 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Serve with your favorite vegetable and rice.

3 Secrets to Avoid Catching a Virus

Studies have demonstrated that they are three key aspects that can help our immune system fight off viruses. The three secrets are the following:

Viruses Like a Body That Is Deficient in Selenium and Vitamin E

Research has shown that germs are less likely to harm our body if the body has sufficient selenium and vitamin E.

Selenium is a powerful antioxidant and is one of the essential minerals for our health and immunity. The daily intake recommendation is 55 micrograms of selenium for an adult. Brazil nuts are at the top of our list because one nut can provide up to 96 micrograms. Fish and lentils are also a great source of selenium.

As for vitamin E, the daily intake recommendation is 15 milligrams. One ounce of sunflower seeds can provide 76% of your daily intake. Spinach and carrots are also good sources of vitamin E.

Stress Can Activate a Virus

People with a healthy immune system have learned to tame the stress in their life. They have found ways to change their perspective to be less reactive about various situations that may arise. The more stress reduction activities you can bring in your life, the stronger your immune system will become.

Essential Nutrients Can Strengthen Our Body’s Ability to Fight Viruses

We cannot ignore the importance of a healthy diet to strengthen our immune system. We’ve already talked about the importance of selenium and vitamin E, but a diet that is also rich in vitamin C and zinc will help you boost your immunity. While it is great to eat as many healing foods, it is not always possible to provide all the nutrients and antioxidants that our body needs to stay healthy. That’s when supplements become a great option.

Vitamin C is critical to the immune system. Not only does it support the production of antibodies, but it also supports the activity of natural killer cells, which is essential to the immune system. Vitamin C consummation recommendation is 75–90 mg a day. You will want to pick ascorbate-based vitamin C supplements since our body best absorbs it.

According to research, the most effective supplement form of zinc is zinc acetate, which releases 100% of zinc ions. Zinc ions are essential for both immune system categories, innate and adaptive. The daily intake recommendation of zinc is between 8 mg (women) to 11 mg (men).

4 Things You Need to Know About Your Immunity

It is our understanding that many illnesses are now related to the health of our immune system. We can link the immune system to so many aspects of our life, but do you understand how it works? Here are four things you need to know about it.

The Immune System Is the Army of the Body

The role of our immune system is to protect us from any foreign substance that could harm the body. These foreign substances are also known as antigens. Antigens include bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. When those organisms are found in the body, they trigger the immune system, which, in return, try to destroy the antigen with various mechanisms.

There Are Two Categories to the Immune System

Our immune system is divided into two categories; innate and adaptive. Our innate immune system is the first responder of our body, which includes our skin, immune system cells, and some chemicals in our blood. On the other hand, the adaptive immune system is the system that remembers past attacks from antigens and is triggered to combat the same antigen more effectively.

Your First Line of Defense Is Your Skin

Our skin is the first line of defense, which serves as a surface barrier to stop the virus or bacteria from getting into our body. That also explains why, when we are in flu season, you see signs of washing your hands everywhere. By washing your hands, you destroy the antigen before it harms the body.

The Lymphatic System Is Vital to Prevent You From Getting Sick

Another vital system in your body that prevents you from getting sick is the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is composed of tissues, vessels, and nodes that allows the body to get rid of toxins, and any waste that can be harmful to the body. His role is primarily to circulate a liquid called lymph, which contains white blood cells in the body.

Your immune systems and the lymphatic system are incapable of operating if you don’t take care of your body. That is why it is imperative to stay healthy while adopting a healthy lifestyle, daily exercises, reduce stress, and eat foods that are rich in nutrients and will help you avoid sickness. Not only do you stand more chances of staying healthy, but it also helps you recover faster if you do find yourself ill.

How Does Your Immune System Protect You?

Many people are aware of what your immune system does, because it’s essentially in the name. It provides the rest of your body with immunity to things like diseases and illnesses.

However, a crucial part of understanding things is not just knowing what they do, but also how they do it. Many people don’t have a clear idea of how exactly their immune systems are helping you stave off viruses, but it’s an important part of understanding your own reactions to illness and what your body needs to keep protecting itself.

One of the most common things that you’ll find your immune system doing to protect you is giving you a fever. While most people associate fevers with being a bad thing, minor fevers can actually help you.

Your body will raise its temperature in order to kill off the virus in your body, which can’t survive well under higher temperatures. Higher fevers can be quite dangerous still, so keep track of your temperature in case it gets too high.

Another response your body has to foreign bodies is the use of white blood cells. White blood cells are sort of the enforcers of your body, taking out any kinds of harmful microorganisms that it finds.

When you get sick, some white blood cells will attach themselves to the organisms to weaken them, while others will attack them directly to try to kill them off. These cells will then learn about the type of organisms they fought off, and that’s how you build up an immunity in the future.

You might find that one uncomfortable symptom of getting sick is that you might have certain parts of your body get inflamed. Inflammation is uncomfortable and annoying, and might be a sign of an infection, but it’s also a part of your body’s immune system.

When bacteria enters your body, it will travel through your blood vessels in order to spread. By inflaming portions of your body, you’re able to constrict the blood vessels in that area, making it more difficult for the infection to spread.

Additionally, the inflammation alerts your white blood cells that there is an infection, making the response much quicker to try to get rid of it. While many of your body’s reactions to illnesses might be annoying, uncomfortable, and gross, it can certainly benefit you in the long run. It’s important to keep your immune system well maintained so that it can continue to keep up these functions to prevent a serious illness.