9 Ways to Boost Your Body’s Immune Health & Reduce Inflammation

Here are nine ways to boost immune health.

1. Catch Some ZZZs:

Sleep and immunity go hand-in-hand. You could say they are in bed together. Inadequate or poor sleep quality has been linked to higher susceptibility to illness. Getting enough rest may boost your body’s natural immunity. Adults should shoot for at least seven hours of sleep each night. While teens need eight to ten hours and younger kids and infants do best when they get up to 14 hours of sleep nightly.

2. Eat More Whole Foods:

Fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds and legumes are all high in nutrients and antioxidants. They are known to strengthen immunity due to their antioxidant properties. Antioxidants help decrease inflammation by combating free radicals which lead to inflammation when they are in the body in high quantities. Chronic inflammation is linked to heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s.

3. Healthy Fats:

Healthy fats found in avocados, olive oil and salmon may boost the body’s immune response to pathogens by lowering inflammation. Inflammation has been known to suppress the immune system. Olive oil, a highly anti-inflammatory substance, is linked to decreased risk of chronic disease, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes. The anti-inflammatory properties help the body fight off disease-causing bacteria and viruses.

Boost your immune system by eating more healthy fats. — **Healthy fats may boost the body’s immune response to pathogens by lowering inflammation.**

4. Probiotic Supplement/Fermented Foods:

Fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut and kefir are rich in probiotics that can help populate your digestive tract. Studies show that a thriving system of good gut bacteria can help immune cells tell the difference between normal, healthy cells and the bad guys that invade and do harm. Make sure to match those probiotics with prebiotic fiber. Probiotics don’t work well without prebiotics.

5. Limit Added Sugars:

The research continues to stack up against added sugar. And when it comes to immunity, it’s a culprit too. Eating too much added sugar leads to obesity and obesity can increase your likelihood of getting sick, according to research. Cutting back on sugar can decrease inflammation and help you lose weight. Therefore, reducing your risk of chronic health problems including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

6. Get Some Exercise:

Moderate exercise has been shown to boost immune health. Just don’t overdo it because studies actually show that too much intense exercise will have the opposite effect and suppress your immune system. So, try some brisk walking, bicycling, jogging or swimming for at least 150 minutes per week for your best chance at strong immunity.

Boost Immune Health with moderate exercise. — **Moderate exercise like jogging, walking and swimming has been shown to boost immune health.**

7. Hydration:

Hydration doesn’t exactly kill germs or protect us from viruses, but it is a vital part of staying healthy. The healthier we are overall, the stronger our immune system will be. Water is ideal for hydration because it has no calories or sugar.

8. Manage Stress:

Finding healthy ways to unwind is key to boosting immunity. Long-term stress can lead to inflammation and an unbalanced immune system. Healthy ways to manage stress include yoga, exercise, journaling and any other practices that incorporate mindfulness.

One of the keys to boosting immune health is to reduce stress — **Finding healthy ways to manage stress is key to boosting immunity.**

9. Supplements:

Supplements are a great way to boost immunity when used correctly in conjunction with other health-boosting exercises and practices. A strong immunity boosting supplement can improve your immunity by keeping harmful pathogens from entering your body. Another supplement that can boost immunity is the KaraMD Turmeric CCM. Turmeric is one of the most powerful antioxidants and naturally occurring anti-inflammatory spices on the planet.

Turmeric CCM is one of the purest and concentrated formulas on the market. In short, it’s 4x’s more concentrated than regular Turmeric alone. KaraMD’s daily turmeric is 4X the concentration.. so you only need to take it once a day. And you don’t need to take it with food, black pepper, or anything else to make sure your body can use every milligram. Just a big ol’ glass of water and you’re good to go!

Other supplements that can help boost immune health include:

Vitamin C: A study showed that people taking 1,000-2,000 mg of vitamin C daily reduced the duration of colds by 8% in adults and 14% in kids.
Vitamin D: A deficiency in vitamin D may increase your likelihood of getting sick.
Zinc: One study of people with the common cold found that those taking a zinc supplement reduced the duration of their cold by 33%.
Elderberry: One small study found that elderberry could reduce the symptoms of viral upper respiratory infections.
Garlic: A study found that supplementing with garlic reduced the incidence of the common cold by about 30%.

Thank you for stopping by and reading today! As always, I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave a comment below.

If you enjoyed this post and found it helpful, please subscribe to the 40andholding Aging Younger Newsletter for more beauty, skincare and health & wellness tips!

Are you following me on Instagram? If not, head over to @susie_truett_ and hit the Follow button for exclusive beauty, skincare, health and wellness tips for aging younger!

Thank you for reading! Please take a moment to give this article a like and share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest! Use the buttons below to share!