God has designed and built into each of us an amazing immune system built to block, trap, and destroy invading agents including the Coronavirus. But like the rest of our being, how we treat it and work with it’s design effects it’s strength and power to protect us. Here are 5 ways you can start to support and build your immune system today.
1- Eat Natural Food
You may have heard the phrase, you are which you eat. In some ways that is true because the raw materials that our bodies use to create new cells come from the food we eat. If we eat poor quality food our body gets built from poor quality materials. If we eat food that breaks down our cells or disrupts the natural processes of our body, our immune system, along with the rest of our body will become damaged and weak.
However anti oxidant foods have great protective and support characteristics for your body and your immune system. The anti oxidant component of these foods protects your cells by a transforming or neutralizing, free radicals.
Free radicals are a byproduct of our bodies processing of food and a response to toxins in our environment such as smoke, radiation and other unhealthy triggers. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules which damage your body at a cellular level and weaken your immune system.
The best source for a variety of antioxidants is fresh fruit, berries, fresh vegetables, whole grains and nuts. In general, the more colorful the fruits and vegetables the more rich they are in antioxidants.
Here are five anti oxidant super stars:
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Kale
- Garlic
- Blue Berries
Special Note: Most studies indicate that anti oxidant supplements aren’t helpful and do not provide the same effects as eating anti oxidant rich fresh whole food.
Such results are not surprising since God is the creator of the foods He designed to provide the proper fuel for our bodies. Taking apart, removing, and rearranging various elements of the foods he designed for us to thrive on often destroys the perfectly balanced components he designed to work together to enhance our health. Eating plant based food with the least amount of remanufacturing or processing ensures we are getting the best of what he created for us.
2- Exercise
Exercise has been repeatedly linked to better health and a strong immune system. The exact ways exercise may help boost our immune system are still a bit unclear but here are three reasonable theories.
Moderate to fairly vigorous exercise gets our heart rate up as well as our breathing rate and depth.
This extra in flow and out flow of air just might be the extra help your body needs to flush out bacteria and viruses such as COVID 19.
Another related effect of exercise, is faster blood circulation which moves the major fighting force of our immune system, anti bodies and white blood cells. These anti bodies and WBCs use our blood stream as their primary transportation system throughout our bodies. With the transportation system speeded up, it is a bit like a fire truck that can race to your house at 100 MPH VS 30 MPH. Both get there but the faster they get to the point of infection the quicker their virus killing power can be applied.
Finally, it has been well documented that regular exercise reduces stress hormone levels which in the wrong proportions can damage our body and weaken our immune system. More exercise (up to a moderately vigorous level) equals better stress hormone levels which in turn reduces the damaging effects of stress on our bodies and our immunity.
However it occurs, studies have demonstrated increase immune responses after exercise including a greater number of immune cells moving into our bodies tissues where they can more quickly find and neutralize invading viruses and bacteria.
3- Sleep
Rest – good quality sleep is needed to keep our immune system functioning properly. In fact studies have demonstrated that you are more likely to get sick if exposed to viruses when you are lacking sleep. One of the reasons for increased susceptibility to infection is that your body makes cytokines during your sleep. These cytokines target infections and inflammation and help create the immune response.
Without enough sleep our body simply doesn't have all the tools it needs to have a strong immune system. In fact poor sleep can even reduce the effectiveness of vaccines against the flu.
A common recommendation for adults is 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night, for teens 9 to 10 hours and younger children more than 10.
However for some people, getting enough sleep can be challenging. One way to still support our immune system is to take naps. Just two naps a day, has been demonstrated to reduce the negative effects of sleep deprivation on our immune system. Try to get one in the morning and one in the afternoon, each less than 30 minutes
Stop Smoking
Eliminating smoking will give your immune system a leg up in fighting infections such as Coronavirus. Smoking damages both your body’s ability to kill viral invaders and it’s ability to make you immune to a second infection from the same virus. Smoking attacks two of the most powerful weapons we have in our immune system, natural killer cells which destroy viruses with a special poison and macrophages which engulf or essentially eat viral invaders.
The impact of smoking on memory T/B lymphocytes reduces our body's ability to remember the exact structure of a virus you've already been infected with. This means while most people who become infected by COVID 19 will become immune, people who smoke may actually become infected multiple times because their body’s immune system doesn't readily recognize the Coronavirus as an invader.
5- Try NAC
Taking N-acetylcysteine or NAC just might protect you from getting severe symptoms if you do become infected with the Coronavirus. Taking the supplement has demonstrated significant effectiveness against flu symptoms. It doesn’t prevent you from getting a virus infection but in one study there was a 54% reduction in the number of people who developed flu symptoms.
At this point there is unlikely to be any study specifically on it’s effectiveness against COVID 19 but since COVID 19 is a type of flu virus there is a high probability it would be helpful.
Several factors make this supplement attractive. First, it is commonly available over the counter without a prescription. It is moderately priced with bottles costing between $16 and $34. It has over a 30 year history of use for reducing mucus buildup and treating respiratory diseases. In the same study participants took 600 mg twice daily for six months which was reported to be well tolerated. It was also reported to be highly effective with elderly high risk individuals.
Social distancing, washing your hands, staying home are all good methods to try to avoid exposure but not everyone will be successful in avoiding the Coronavirus. These five steps may help your body successfully defend itself if you do get exposed. Each of these steps is likely to be helpful because they cooperate with God’s basic design for our bodies.
May we grow into healthier, stronger, more purpose based people through this difficult time.
Learn how you were designed to survive and thrive despite COVID 19
References taken between 4/1/20 & 4/6/20
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/#food-sources
https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/antioxidants-in-depth
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/007165.htm
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5911985/
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/articles/how-sleep-affects-your-immunity
