How to strengthen and increase immunity for an adult: vitamins, supplements, other means

Causes and signs of reduced immunity

Immunity is the ability of the body to fight diseases and pathogens. Its rise is provided by various components of the blood, as well as the skin and mucous membranes, which produce substances that kill microbes.

Causes of reduced adult immune strength include stress, nutrient depletion, aging, disease, surgery, and social isolation. Symptoms of a weakened immune response include constant fatigue, drowsiness, long-term and severe SARS, persistent pustular skin lesions, swollen lymph nodes, fungal infections of the nails, skin and mucous membranes, and recurrent respiratory diseases. This is also indicated by general weakness, pallor of the skin and a decrease in resistance to any external influences.

All these conditions are the result of a decrease in the immune response. Therefore, increasing it is useful not only to prevent diseases, but also to improve well-being in general.

Ways to strengthen immunity

The best way to quickly improve and strengthen your immune defenses is to eat right, reduce stress, get enough sleep and exercise. Although you cannot completely control your immune system, doing everything you can to boost it will make you healthier.

Use positive stress to be an energetic adult. Light stress is energizing and can be helpful in boosting the resilience of your immune system. Therefore, if you are offered new responsibilities at work, feel free to accept.

Meditate for a few minutes every day. You can use meditation to slow down your heart rate and lower your blood pressure. After sitting for a few minutes with your eyes closed, letting any distracting thoughts leave your head, you will toss a coin into the piggy bank of raising immune defenses and begin to strengthen it.

Communicate positively with your friends and family. Communication can help you feel better about your daily life. Having a trusted person with whom you can have a heart-to-heart talk will make you feel less alone.

Try to listen to music, at least in the background, even if you are far from a music lover. Music lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, makes you feel less anxious, which will definitely boost your immune system.

Feel free to have fun and laugh. Laughter and smiles reduce stress levels, relieve tension, stimulate internal organs and strengthen the overall tone.

Think of good prospects. These can be the prospects of anything – a long-desired purchase and the child’s admission to a university. The main thing is that problems are perceived as solvable. Reframe any of them in a positive way to reduce their effect on your well-being and build confidence.

Sleep compliance

Get enough sleep every night. Sleep helps to recover and strengthen immune self-defense. A well-rested person can stay healthy longer. The amount of sleep you need depends on your age. Young children and teens need more than 7-9 hours of sleep, while adults get an average of 8 hours of sleep per night.

Try to avoid situations of refusal of full-fledged sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep, the cellular immune response decreases and this “opens the door” to viruses and bacteria.

Frequent lack of sleep increases the likelihood that you will have night sweats and restless leg syndrome. And one more important point in our days: the lack of proper sleep makes the susceptibility to vaccines incomplete, which means that your vaccinations will be less effective in preventing diseases.

Regular physical activity

Exercise regularly. Exercise quickly reduces the risk of heart disease, flushes out harmful toxins, and helps infection-fighting white blood cells circulate faster in the blood. It can also help reduce stress-related hormones.

If you are an average person, try to get at least 15-30 minutes of moderate exercise a day. Overweight people may benefit from exercising longer, as being overweight can suppress your immune system.

However, do not overdo it with training! Too much exercise can backfire and damage the immune system. After all, the body needs to recover well after intense exercise, and this is not always possible.

And of course, you should not be stubborn – if you feel unwell, refrain from physical activity. Being overzealous will make you more likely to get sick if you ignore your body’s warning and exercise anyway.

Rejection of bad habits

Giving up bad habits is a sure way to strengthen your immune defenses. First of all, stay away from alcohol. Alcohol can actually suppress your immune system, especially if you have chronic conditions. Although many have probably heard: a daily glass of red wine is useful and helps restore health. What few people know, however, is that this is achieved through other chemicals in the wine and not through the alcohol content.

Excess alcohol, instead of improving mood, robs us of valuable immune-boosting nutrients like vitamin A and can impair white blood cell function. By limiting your alcohol intake, you will help your immune system fight against negative external influences. And save cocktails and wine for a special occasion.

As for smoking, there is not only a weakened immune response, but also an earthy complexion, poor liver condition, often leading to atherosclerosis, and a whole group of respiratory diseases.

Alcoholism, smoking and drug addiction are far from a complete list of bad habits that affect immune defense not in the direction of increasing it. Take an objective look at your lifestyle. And know that: non-observance of the daily routine, constant procrastination and laziness, emotional breakdowns in loved ones are also bad habits that need to be corrected.

Proper nutrition

Eat more fruits and vegetables. They contain many vitamins A and C and nutrients that boost immune strength. They are also rich in antioxidants that increase oxygen levels. Fruits, berries and oranges are rich in vitamin C, which helps the immune system to function more efficiently. Carrots, garlic and spinach contain beta-carotene and vitamin E, which affect mood and improve the functioning of internal organs.

Drinking enough water is also extremely important for immune strength – water flushes out toxins from the blood and helps digestion. It also promotes the production of lymph, which spreads leukocytes – blood cells that help to avoid disease and inflammation.

Dairy products, if not consumed in excess, are also good for strengthening the immune system and contain probiotics that help fight colds.

It is important to include enough complete protein in your diet. It is found in foods such as eggs, fish and seafood. But you should not lean on red meat, as it can have a negative effect on the immune system.

Not all of us like whole grains based on oats and barley, and they can increase immune defenses and increase the effectiveness of antibiotics. Therefore, the so-called “bread” should not be overlooked in supermarkets. But sugary drinks should be avoided. A variety of juices, which are presented in abundance on the shelves, can be very dehydrating instead of a refreshing effect. Unlike water, these drinks act like a complete food and need to be supplemented with water themselves. They also lower white blood cell levels once excess sugar reaches the bloodstream.

Taking vitamins and vitamin-mineral complexes

There are many supplements and vitamin-mineral complexes that help boost immune strength. But maintaining and strengthening a healthy immune system is more difficult than simply taking a mixture of vitamins, herbs, and minerals. After all, it must work in a delicate balance. In other words, be strong and complex enough to fight various diseases and infections, but not so powerful that it overreacts unnecessarily, causing the development of autoimmune disorders. Therefore, getting a sufficient amount of trace elements that play a role in maintaining the immune system is necessary in conjunction with proper nutrition.

As for vitamins, the main ones here are vitamin B6 found in chicken, salmon, tuna, bananas, green vegetables and potatoes with skins, vitamin C found in citrus fruits, strawberries, tomatoes, broccoli and spinach and vitamin E, which comes from in almonds, sunflower and peanut butter, seeds and spinach.

But even if you regularly eat many of these foods, it can be difficult to get other types of vitamins from food, especially calcium and vitamin D. Therefore, you should add calcium-rich foods to your regular diet. These are cheese, yogurt, salmon, nuts and dried fruits, beans, green vegetables and cereals. And do not forget about supplements with vitamin D, which is responsible for activating the immune system, since it is almost not found in food. Its sources are only oily sea fish and fish oil.

But in any case, it is impossible to get the whole complex of vitamins from food, even adhering to a carefully balanced and proper diet. Therefore, it is recommended to use pharmacy vitamin and mineral complexes. They are divided into several categories: universal for adults, for children, for pregnant and lactating women and for sports. Vitamin complexes are dietary supplements, they can be bought at a pharmacy without a prescription. They are very different in composition and price, and it is not always possible to understand their features and advantages. Therefore, it is impossible to give universal advice on which vitamins are best for adults to take to increase immune protection. Nevertheless, it is worth buying products from well-known manufacturers so as not to run into a “dummy” (or even worse).

For the selection of vitamins, it is better to consult a doctor. Only a specialist will be able to determine the violation of immune defense and help to choose a complex that is suitable for a particular person, taking into account his characteristics.

Expert opinion

Vera Molvitsyna, doctor:

– Following a moderate exercise regimen can help boost natural immunity and deal with disease faster, if any. Just try to walk at a brisk pace for at least 30 minutes every day. Find a partner who will support this activity of yours. Even a beloved dog can be a great walking companion. And yet, for example, you can do Nordic walking in a circle of like-minded people.

If you don’t enjoy exercise, try a recreational sport or find an active hobby that will trick you into exercising while you seem to be having fun. This could be a ball game or a hike in nature, bird watching or a visit to a local animal shelter.