Drink Water and Quit Smoking: 7 Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System

1. Drink Water

Fluids are crucial for both health and illness as water helps the body eliminate toxins. By drinking enough water, the body's systems function better, and the immune system is free to focus on its real job - fighting the bacteria that attack our bodies.

2. Balanced and Varied Diet

Fried and dough-based foods are not beneficial for the immune system. Preferred cooking methods are steaming, stir-frying, and baking. This way, maximum vitamins and minerals that strengthen the immune system are preserved. Also, try to avoid ingesting toxins that interfere with its proper function: all processed foods, food colorings, and artificial sweeteners.

Additionally, try to reduce or completely avoid foods that trigger allergies, like dairy products, oranges, peanuts, bananas, eggs, sugars, and especially chocolate. Instead, consume foods rich in vitamins and minerals, especially Vitamin C, such as red and green peppers, leafy greens, strawberries, clementines, kiwis, tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables.

3. Don't Smoke

Quitting smoking is extremely difficult, but it's essential because smoking significantly impairs the immune system. Cigarette smoking introduces toxins into the body that continuously occupy the immune system and harm the function of various organs, including the liver responsible for producing red and white blood cells. Smoking also leaves the respiratory system vulnerable and more exposed to viral winter diseases. Good luck with the difficult but necessary quitting process.

40 Seconds Worth Millions of Words: See the lung of a person who smoked a pack a day for 20 years next to a completely healthy lung on one table. This is what smoking does to your body. Watch:

4. Quality and Sufficient Sleep

With the daily stress and workload, most of us struggle to maintain the minimum required 7-8 hours of sleep per night. The result is a weakened immune system, and recent studies have shown that people who sleep less than seven hours a night are three times more exposed to illnesses.

A study that followed 11 pairs of identical twins who did not smoke and had no underlying health conditions showed increased genetic expression of inflammatory processes, activation of the coagulation system, and increased cell adhesion (similar to the process that can lead to a heart attack or stroke) in twins suffering from sleep deprivation. The difference was evident even with just one hour's difference in sleep between the identical twins. From this, researchers concluded that poor sleep can block specific genetic processes in immune system cells.

5. Don't Be Stressed

It's important to understand that stress weakens the immune system and makes it difficult to fight bacteria and viruses. Many diseases result from events that affected our mental balance. Chronic stress weakens the immune system and increases vulnerability to infections and viruses.

Although we may not always have control over external events, we do have control over our resilience. Make sure to stay happy, believe in the good, and surround yourself with people who have a positive outlook on life.

6. Get Some Sun

Vitamin D is essential for maintaining a healthy immune system, protecting against viral diseases, cancer prevention, and strong bones. The main source of Vitamin D is exposure to the sun. Take advantage of the hours when the sun shines, but isn't too hot, and occasionally get some sun and nature, with proper body protection. (It is not mandatory to be directly exposed to the rays, but to the light spread by the sun).

7. Exercise

Did you really think you could avoid this? Exercise has a decisive impact on the immune system. It is important to understand that the immune system has two prominent units: T cells and B cells. The production of these cells decreases with age, making our bodies more vulnerable to threats from both outside and inside. Studies show that moderate and vigorous physical activity reduces the risk of upper respiratory tract infections, including the common cold. Another study conducted on cyclists aged 55-79 found that their bodies produced these cells in quantities similar to those produced in young people.