How to increase immunity

The immune system is an incredibly complex system in your body that has to be strong and sophisticated enough to fight off illness and infections. But not so strong that it overreacts and causes the development of autoimmune disorders. Despite the complexity of your immune system, there are simple and everyday lifestyle habits that you can focus on to keep your immune system in balance and give it what it needs to fight off an infection or illness.

Habits to increase your immunity

You can do several simple things to increase your immunity, from adjustments in your diet to paying attention to getting enough exercise. Even with small changes in your habits, you ensure that your immune system has everything it needs to function optimally.

Maintain a healthy diet

One of the most important things to start with is your diet. A healthy diet is key to building up a strong immune system. With the right food, you provide your immune system with what it needs. Make sure your diet consists of plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, and legumes. Especially foods rich in vitamins, such as vitamin B, vitamin C, and vitamin E, boost your immune system. Studies have shown that your body absorbs vitamins more efficiently from dietary sources rather than supplements. So, that is why the best way to support your immune system is to eat a healthy diet.

Get enough exercise

Psychical exercise has a lot of benefits for your body. But, besides building muscles and stress relief, exercising is also crucial for being healthy and supporting a healthy immune system. When you are exercising, your overall circulation gets a boost. This makes it easier for immune cells and infection-fighting molecules to move through your body. As little as 30 minutes of regular exercise a day helps stimulate your immune system.

Get plenty of sleep

Even though sleep does not feel like an active process, there are a lot of important activities happening inside your body while you are sleeping. For example, important infection-fighting molecules are created when you sleep. People who do not get enough quality sleep are more likely to get sick after exposure to viruses and infections. To build up your immune system and fight off those illnesses, it is important to get enough quality sleep.

Minimize your stress level

Stress has a negative influence on our immune system. When we are stressed, our immune system’s ability to fight off viruses and infections is reduced. The stress hormone corticosteroid suppresses the efficacy of the immune system, and that is why we are more susceptible to infections or illnesses when we’re stressed out. It is important to relieve stress, for example with breathing exercises, exercising, yoga or meditation.

Drink enough water

Water keeps every part of your body working properly, especially the immune system. Water ensures that important infection-fighting immune cells are quickly transported around your body via the lymphatic system. When you are dehydrated this flow slows down, which sometimes leads to an impaired immune system. Even if you are not sweating, your body is losing water through your breath and your urine and stool. To support your immune system, be sure you drink enough water to replace the water that you lose.

Increase your immunity with the Wim Hof Method

Besides all the habits mentioned above that help you strengthen your immune system, the Wim Hof Method is also a powerful way to increase your immunity. Wim Hof built his method to enable people to achieve extraordinary things with their bodies. Scientists have found many benefits related to the Wim Hof Method, including a stronger immune response and a positive influence on hormone levels, which makes the Wim Hof Method a very good method to increase your immunity. For example, during one scientific study, a group that was trained in the WHM and a control group were injected with a pathogen and monitored for symptoms. Compared to the control group, the followers of the WHM showed a stronger immune response and fewer symptoms related to the pathogen. Do you want to increase your immunity? Sign up for our Fundamentals video course and start today within the comforts of your own home!