Immunity boosting tips

If you want to effectively improve immunity, the core method is not to stock up on various high-priced health products or follow the trend of taking supplements, but to do the four small daily things of eating, sleeping, moving, and emotions correctly. There is no standard answer that suits everyone, and it must be adjusted according to your own physical condition to be effective.

To be honest, many people around me have fallen into the trap of "supplements are all-purpose". In the past two weeks, I helped my mother organize her locker and found half a box of unopened lactoferrin, vitamin C effervescent tablets, and various edible fungus powders that were claimed to "activate immunity." The total amount was less than three thousand, but she still caught two colds in succession last month when the temperature dropped. When I went to a community hospital, the doctor laughed after asking a few questions: You stay up until one or two o'clock every day to watch square dance instruction videos, you eat leftovers every time, and you like to add a lot of salt. No matter how many supplements you take, it's useless.

Let’s not talk about the IQ tax of those health products that cost hundreds of dollars. Let’s first understand the most basic thing about eating. At present, there is no conclusion in the academic field on whether ordinary healthy people need to take additional immune-related supplements: the mainstream view in the nutrition field is that as long as the daily diet is balanced, sufficient immune-related nutrients can be obtained from food, and there is no need to spend extra money. ； Some studies have also pointed out that for the elderly, people recovering from surgery, and special groups who usually eat takeout and have no access to fresh fruits and vegetables, appropriate supplementation of vitamin D, zinc, etc. can indeed reduce the risk of infection. I had a friend who drank vitamin C effervescent tablets every day to prevent colds. After drinking it for three months, he suddenly stopped taking it and developed mild scurvy. The doctor said that he had just taken supplements - you see, the more supplements, the better. Usually, one egg, one cup of milk, and two more bites of dark green vegetables every day are more stable than anything else.

Oh, by the way, eating right is the foundation. If you can't pass the sleep test, no matter how much nutrition you have, it will be in vain. Previous studies have shown that if you sleep less than 5 hours a day for a week, the activity of immune cells in the body will drop by about 30%, which is similar to the immune level after being drunk. However, there is no need to force yourself to "go to bed before 10 o'clock to be healthy." Many sleep studies have now confirmed that as long as you can maintain a fixed sleep rhythm and sleep 7-8 hours a day, even if you go to bed at 2 a.m. and start at 10 a.m., your immune level will not be significantly different from that of people who go to bed early. On the contrary, if you force yourself to lie in bed at 10 o'clock and toss and turn, unable to fall asleep, and the more you lie down, the more anxious you will become. Soaring cortisol will really suppress your immunity.

When many people think of improving their immunity, they think of vigorous exercise. Don’t exercise blindly. Last year, a colleague of mine wanted to quickly replenish his immunity after getting sick. He ran 5 kilometers around the park every day after get off work. After running for a week, he was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia. The doctor said that he was already weak, and the sudden high-intensity exercise increased the burden on the immune system. Regarding the choice of exercise, different groups of people have much different opinions: fitness enthusiasts say that high-intensity interval training can quickly increase metabolism, reduce chronic inflammation, and is good for immunity. ； Traditional Chinese medicine enthusiasts say that gentle exercises such as Baduanjin and slow walking will not consume energy and are suitable for most people. In fact, the core criterion is very simple: after exercising, do you feel relaxed all over or are you so tired that you can't recover for two days? The latter means that the exercise you choose is not suitable for you. Even if you climb two extra flights of stairs to get off work and walk two more stops after work every day, as long as you get 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity every week, it will be enough. By the way, it’s good to spend 15 minutes in the sun when you have time. Don’t get too tanned. Naturally supplemented vitamin D is better absorbed than ten supplements you can take. Just remember to cover your face if you have sensitive skin.

There is another invisible immunity killer that many people don’t take seriously, which is long-term anxiety and stress. My best friend was working on a project at the end of last year and worked overtime until early morning every day for more than a month. The herpes on the corner of her mouth disappeared and then grew again, and she also caught two colds. She went to the doctor and said there was nothing wrong with her. It was just that she was under too much stress and her cortisol remained high for a long time, which suppressed her immune function. In the past, some people thought that the impact of emotions on health was a metaphysics, but now psychosomatic medicine has long confirmed the correlation between chronic stress and low immunity. You don’t have to learn any complicated stress-reducing methods. Just stay idle for 5 minutes while fishing at work, watch the sunset on the way home from work, and don’t always stress about "improving yourself" on weekends. Sitting at home watching brainless variety shows for half a day is not a waste of time. Things that can relax you are helping you improve your immunity.

To put it bluntly, immunity can never be boosted by sudden supplementation. It is the sum of all your daily living habits. There is no need to pursue "perfect immunity". An occasional cold during the season is not a bad thing. On the contrary, it can help your immune cells "upgrade and fight off monsters". Instead of swiping through the shopping cart every day to find some "magic immune drug", it's better to go to bed early today and eat two more bites of green vegetables at lunch, which is more practical than anything else.