Boost Your Immune System With These 5 Proven Hacks

Recently turning 50, I find myself thinking a lot about how long I am going to live. 100 years old sounds pretty good to me. Now if I can make it through the next couple of years unscathed by the current coronavirus pandemic, that would be fantastic. What I’m going to be talking about in this post is what “mature adults” can do to strengthen their immune system.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical practitioner. These are my opinions and what I am doing for my own life. You should seek medical counsel before taking any medical advice, exercise suggestions, dietary advice, or before implementing any of my tips outlined in this post.

Mature adults already have a weaker immune system due to our age – a concept known as Immune Senescence. We need to be more diligent when it comes to having a strong immune system. There are a lot of things we did in our youth that won’t cut it today.

I read an article recently that the Covid-19 may be here to stay (BBC News). Also, they say a vaccine may not be available until sometime in 2021. Then how long will the waiting list be before I can get vaccinated. I know, that’s a grim thought, right? So rather than have this virus control my life, why not assume there’s a good chance I’m going to get it. Then live my life normally (the new new normal that is) and do everything I can to strengthen my immune system.

I would look at it like any other seasonal flu and do the best I could to strengthen my immune system. That way if I do get it, my immune system will give me the best chance of minimizing the complications from the virus.

So, here are 5 proven hacks to strengthen your immune system.

Get Adequate Sleep

I always heard that you need to get enough sleep, but never thought much about it. Now, that I’m more focused on how to be healthy and live longer, I understand why sleep is so important.

Boost your immune system with adequate sleep. — Get Adequate Sleep

When you get adequate sleep (7-8 hours), your body heals and regenerates. That’s not “fluff”, it’s scientifically proven to strengthen your immune system. Researchers took blood samples from 11 identical twins to see how shorter sleep patterns affected their immune system. They found the twins with the shorter sleep pattern had a weakened immune system. This was documented in the journal Sleep in 2017.

Another study conducted on young college students showed the effect of insomnia and lack of sleep. The group with poor sleep habits had a lowered immune response and were more susceptible to the flu virus – NCBI.

Take Away: Research shows that getting less than 7 hours of sleep may weaken your immune system making you more susceptible to colds and flu, and combating other infections.

The important thing to note is it’s not just being in bed for 7+ hours, but also the quality of your sleep. There are some hacks you can use to make sure you get the most out of your sleep, but that’s the discussion for another blog post.

Reduce Sugar

Studies show that consuming simple sugars can numb your immune system for up to 5 hours. This was a tough one for me to swallow, because I have a sugar addiction. Yes, addiction. Did you know sugar qualifies as an addictive substance? – NCBI.

What does refined sugar do to your immune system? A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, tested participants blood before and up to 5 hours after ingesting a sugary beverage. They found that white blood cells ability to destroy bacteria was impaired. Also, they found that as little as 100 grams of sugar was able to do that. So, a couple of cans of cola, or a couple of chai lattes a day may numb your immune system for up to 5 hours.

What if you’re consuming more than that in hidden sugars throughout the day. Your body’s immune system will be constantly weaker to combat bacteria. You may be like me and have a difficult time living without sugary snacks. If that’s the case, try eating healthy sugars from whole fruit. You can also make your own nakd bars and have it as a reward after your workout.

satisfy your sweet tooth with whole food alternatives. — My Nakd Bar Version – Hearts

Your body will have a much easier time processing the sugar. The interesting thing to note is that they also found that fasting for 36 – 60 hours actually improved the phagocytes index.

Take Away: To boost your immune system, limit the amount of simple sugars consumed. If you have a sweet tooth, try to satisfy it with natural whole foods. Also, consider the benefits of fasting.

Fasting

I used to think fasting was done for religious purposes. I’ve since come to find out there are tremendous health benefits to fasting, whether Intermittent Fasting or Periodic Fasting.

Studies show that fasting can help strengthen the immune system. It can reverse metabolic disease like Type 2 diabetes, reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and may reset the immune system.

Resetting the immune system really got my attention so I looked into it further and found a study done at USC by Dr. Walter Longo. The study showed that fasting helps to regenerate the immune system. As older adults fighting immune senescence, the study sounds very promising. It may make your immune system stronger and protect you from age related disease.

In the study, Longo found that fasting lowers white blood cell count. Then, when you ate again, it activated the immune system to start making new white blood cells which are a key part of the immune response. How long do you need to fast to achieve these results? Longos research suggests around 72 hours. I feel it’s worth some consideration.

Take Away: If you’ve never tried fasting before, start with intermittent fasting, then start exploring periodic fasting. Make sure to check with your medical care provider before starting on any fasting regimen.

Manage Stress

Stress, both short term (like traffic or having an unscheduled meeting with your boss), or long term chronic stress, (like worrying about retirement, health, looking after an aging parent) may be detrimental to your immune system. Aging coupled with chronic stress actually accelerates the aging of your immune system – NCBI.

People under chronic stress are more susceptible to catching the common cold or the latest flu virus. They may also take a longer time to recover and have more complications from being sick.

Negative emotions, depression, stress, worry can all lead to a dysregulated immune system and may influence a range of age related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, frailty, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, and functional decline – NCBI.

To boost your immune system, minimize the amount of stress in your life. If you can’t change or minimize the stress, change how you look at it. It may not be a simple fix and maybe you need to seek professional help, but the bottom line is reducing stress in your life will be beneficial for your immune system. I’ve created an environment that allows me to unplug. For me, I find spending time in my yard, working out, and meditating does the trick. Also reading good books to gain perspective helps. A couple of my favorites are “The Power of Now” or “Man’s Search for Meaning”.

Take Away: Learn meditation, exercise, garden, or whatever you enjoy to reduce stress or depression. Seek professional help. Live in the moment. It may help you live longer and healthier.

Wim Hof Breathing

What is Wim Hof? Wim Hof is actually a dutchman who has set many guinness world records. When I first heard of him, I thought this guy is crazy (only because I don’t like cold water), but the things he has been able to do with his body are amazing. While I haven’t tried the cold water therapy YET, I have been practicing the breathing technique for the past few months.

In the beginning, I didn’t think I could hold my breath for longer than 1 ½ minutes. I was shocked when I tried his breathing technique and realized I had held my breath for over 4 minutes. Wow! So, why do it? Through his technique, you are able to influence the immune response and it’s scientifically proven to strengthen your immune system.

That was enough for me. Now i’m hooked and do it daily. If the research paper from the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is too difficult to read, you might want to check out the interview with Wim from impact theory host Tom Bilyeu.

Take Away: If you’d like to try the Wim Hof breathing technique, he has an app that can help you with guided breathing (available on google play or Itunes). *** Make sure to read his disclaimers before attempting this technique***

In summary, you can boost your immune system with these 5 proven hacks. Consider the benefits of trying some or all of them. Try to get 7-8 hours of solid sleep, limit your intake of processed sugars, try fasting, manage your stress, and lastly, implement some of the methods proven by Wim.

Did you get value out of this post? Are you going to implement any of these immune strengthening tips into your life? If so, I would greatly appreciate it if you commented below and shared on your favorite social media platform.