Super Charge Your Immune System
Valerie Martinez
With the Cold and Flu season right around the corner – now is the time to Super Charge Your Immune System.
As the temperatures drop, we will be spending more and more time indoors. Whether it’s the office, the gym, or a classroom, any enclosed, shared environment is like a giant petri dish full of potential to derail your health.
But there’s good news! It’s actually easier than you think to super charge your immune system with simple yet effective lifestyle techniques – in addition to washing your hands – that will actually cut your risk of colds in half! Let’s take a look.
Exercise – some people love to exercise. Others do it because they want to get fit and look good for the holidays or a special vacation. Still others loathe any excess movement and respectfully refrain from working out. Think about which category you fall into. Now think about this: People who don’t exercise regularly take twice as many sick days as those who do — and that’s not because they’re playing hooky! A yearlong study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center showed that 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day cut the risk of colds in half — and increased immunity over time. By the end of the study, exercisers were three times less likely to get sick.
Exercise can super charge your immune system and boost your resistance to viruses and infections by stimulating the release of immune cells into our bloodstream. These cells hunt down foreign invaders. You want to have a good amount of immune cells in circulation, so if there’s an attack they can mobilize to the area.
You don’t have to be an elite athlete, either. Research has found that walking briskly for 30 to 40 minutes five days a week lowered the number of colds people got by 40 percent!
Walking for 30 to 45 minutes most days of the week is just the right amount to boost health, improve fitness, reduce sick days and super charge your immune system. Of course, you can also maximize your resistance to colds, cancer and everything in between with a good Multi-Vitamin and Probiotic as well as targeted supplements like Vitamin D to keep your immune system strong and other kinds of moderate exercise. Moderate being the key word. Vigorous training exhausts more than your muscles; it can weaken your immune system as well. Marathon runners, for instance, are six times more likely to get sick after a race.
Another key element to super charge your immune system is to keep chronic stress under control. The effects of long-term stress on the immune system are many and may influence depression, infections, autoimmune diseases, heart disease and even some types of cancer. While it is not completely understood how, studies show that the more a person exercises, the more capable she is of handling psychological stress. Working out regularly also helps build self-esteem, which can make you feel more balanced and capable of handling life’s challenges.
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. The information on this site is for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from a physician or other health care professional or any information contained in product labeling. You should consult a healthcare professional before starting any diet, supplement or exercise program, before taking any medication, or if you have or suspect you might have a health problem.