What Is Good Immunity and How It Can Be Enhanced – Your 2021 Guide
Overview
The immune system consists of two systems that work to protect your body from all sorts of pathogens.
The two entities are:
- The innate (non-specific) immunity;
- The acquired (specific) immunity.
Optimizing the function of your immune system will ensure that your body remains clear of infections and harmful pathogens.
However, the online community is a misinformation hub, it creates false claims that force people to buy certain products with questionable efficacy. Questions such as “what good immunity is” and “how it can be enhanced” can suddenly become very challenging to answer in the midst of all the scams/ in this disinformation flow.
For this reason, we decided to write this article to cover some helpful ways to optimize the function of your immune system.
What is good immunity?
Good immunity is a general concept that describes the optimal function of your immune system. In other words, your cells can protect you from the vast majority of internal and external threats.
Examples of external threats include microbes, penetrating objects, and chemicals. Internal threats, on the other hand, depict entities such as cancer cells.
When your immune system detects a new cell that has the potential to become cancerous, the immune cells immediately destroy it. Your immune system performs such a task hundreds of times per day.
How to boost the function of your immune system:
1. Nutrition
Scientists repeatedly emphasized the role of nutrition in increasing the efficiency of the immune system.
In one study conducted by Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers identified numerous foods that modulate the immune system, including broccoli, garlic, and ginger.
Another large study published by Cambridge University inspected the effects of vitamins on immune cells and antibodies.
Vitamin D was one of the studied compounds.
Researchers found that vitamin D is essential for the intercellular signaling that occurs between different immune cells – regulatory and effector cells.
The findings of these studies highlight the importance of nutrition in the function of your immune system. The study also suggests how you can use this information in your favor.
Note that other substances can also optimize your immune system; however, you need to consult with your primary care physician to avoid adverse effects. This is especially important when you are taking other medications due to the risk of interactions.
2.Physical activity
Hundreds of studies confirmed the positive impact of regular physical activity on the functioning of the immune system.
In a 2018 study, researchers concluded that even moderate physical activity is enough to stimulate immune cells.
The underlying mechanisms that lead to this result are still unclear; however, several hypotheses have been proposed, including the optimization of the intercellular signaling of immune systems.
Additionally, exercise may improve the process of producing hormones and neurotransmitters, which is crucial for the optimal functioning of the immune system.
3. Sleep quality
Poor sleep quality (e.g., insomnia) deteriorates several physiological functions, including cognitive abilities, metabolism, and immunity.
For this reason, experts recommend sleeping around 7–8 hours a night to regulate certain pro-inflammatory metabolic pathways that false the wiring of your immune system.
4. Just relax!
Chronic stress is a classic trigger of relative immunosuppression.
When you become emotionally stressed, your body releases large amounts of stress hormones, such as epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol.
Cortisol possesses anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties that interfere with the normal function of the immune system.
The good news is that the regular practice of stress-relieving activities interrupts the production of cortisol.
Anxiolytic activities include yoga, meditation, and listening to music.
5. Cupping therapy
The immune system has many roles in our physiology, including protection against all foreign aggressors and internal threats.
Your immune system is the entity that constantly neutralizes threats and keeps your organs safe from microbes, cancer, and foreign invaders.
In an Australian study, researchers found that immune cells kill hundreds of suspicious cells which have the potential to turn into cancer every day.
For this reason, many experts attribute the vast majority of diseases that we see today to immune system dysfunction.
For instance, experiencing recurrent bacterial, viral, or fungal infections is a sign that your immune system might not be functioning properly.
What is the role of cupping therapy in all of this?
By increasing blood flow to areas below the skin, cupping therapy releases immune-modulating chemicals that signal different types of cells (e.g., T-cells, B-cells).
Additionally, cupping improves lymph and blood circulation, which allows the body to get rid of all toxins and germs.
Note that the lymphatic system is responsible for removing dead pathogens from areas of active infection/inflammation.
The cupping therapy, mentioned above, improves the function of respiratory cilia and immunoglobulin A (IgA) found in the mucosa of the lungs. As a result, your risk of developing respiratory tract infections (e.g., the common cold, the flu) will significantly drop.
The same process occurs in the digestive tract, where IgA provides protection from the stomach flu and gastrointestinal microbes.
When studying the specific characteristics of one organ system (e.g., immune system, heart, lungs), it might seem that each entity functions separately from the others.
However, research repeatedly proved that the positive or negative impact of one organ will propagate to other systems.
By optimizing blood circulation and reducing congestion in the lungs, cupping therapy will improve the function of your immune cells and immunoglobulins.
Disclaimer
If you have any underlying disease, you may want to speak with your primary care physician before trying home remedies to boost your immune system.
Boosting the function of your immune system has become more important than ever, especially with the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19.
We hope that this article managed to highlight some helpful tips to promote the function of your immunity.
If you have any questions, concerns, or some additional immune-boosting tips, feel free to know more about Glutrasol natural supplements that can help you to support your Immune system.
