5 Underrated Immunity Boosters

Meet Kim and Tim, our very own in-house fictional characters who have volunteered for us today. Kim and Tim are friends. Both of them are very keen on leading a healthy life. Kim manages to lead a sparklingly healthy life, whereas Tim seems to be susceptible to the flu whenever there are seasonal changes.  Tim has been responsible when it comes to researching immunity boosting healthy foods and has arrived at the following list of immune system super-boosters:

• Apples – contain Vitamin A, B1, B2, and C, and Pectin (good for the gut biome).
• Broccoli – contains Vitamins A, C, and E, anti-oxidants, and fibre – best when steamed.
• Citrus fruits – one of the best sources of Vitamin C.
• Red bell peppers – rich in vitamin C (more than citrus fruits gram-for-gram) and beta carotene.
• Green Tea – contains Epigallocatechin Gallate.
• Ginger – contains fibre, protein, trace vitamins and minerals.
• Garlic – contains calcium, potassium, and sulphuric compounds.
• Spinach – contains Vitamin C, anti-oxidants, magnesium and beta carotene – best when steamed.
• Papaya – rich in Vitamin C.

Tim and Kim go over the list together. Kim agrees with the list, and appreciates Tim’s diligent effort to gather all this useful information. “You better stick to the plan and stock up on the list.” she says. She then continues to say, “What’s more, I know five things that are seriously undervalued by people, and help boost the immune system. I’ll gladly share them as well with you.”

Kim then continues:

“Sunlight Exposure:

It is not just plants with their fancy photosynthesis who benefit from sunlight exposure. There is a surprisingly critical set of basic human functions that relies on sunlight exposure. Direct sunlight to skin exposure without sun-protection in the early morning hours, let’s say between 07:30 AM to 09:30 AM, is the easiest and most abundant source of vitamin D. Vitamin D is very important for the immune system’s T-cell function. This is why sunlight exposure is highly recommended for boosting immunity against the flu. Sunlight also helps the human body absorb calcium better. That means stronger bones and better bone health. Sunlight also helps boost metabolism, thereby helping you avoid carrying inefficient fat in your body. Sunlight exposure in the late evening just before sunset keeps the human circadian clock calibrated to have a natural sleep cycle. This helps human beings ensure a natural, and healthy sleep cycle. If you’re having sleep issues, you know what to do.

This essay is supported by Generatebg

Direct sunlight exposure between 07:30 AM and 09:30 AM in the morning and just before sunset is recommended to boost your immunity. Be wary about mid-day sunlight (11:00 AM to 04:00 PM) as the rays are more direct, and can be harmful to the skin.

A Regular Sleep Cycle

This directly ties into the previous point about sunlight helping regulate the circadian rhythm followed by the human body to regulate sleep-wake-up cycles. This cycle consequently happens to impact hormonal behaviour and appetite cravings in the human body (Do you constantly need sugar or coffee?). With the development of technology, there is a trend-wave going around the world where it is cool to proclaim oneself to be a night-owl. While night-owls do genuinely exist, I argue that many of the people who currently claim to be night-owls have messed up circadian rhythms, which in turn mess up their hormonal functions. A good test to see if you really are a night owl is to ensure morning and evening sunlight exposure continuously for 15 days or more. If you are not feeling sleepy much earlier in the evening than you were in the past after this test, you are indeed a night-owl.

That brings me to my next point. It is very important to have regular sleeping hours. This means that you go time to bed every day at the same time, and get up every day at the same time. Do this, and your immune system will thank you with optimal immunity. By failing to do this, you are weakening your own armour against the army of disease causing germs out there.

Regular Exercise and Movement

Another issue that affects the sleep cycle and hormonal behaviour is lack of regular exercise and movement. This consequently leads to poor immunity. Therefore, packing a regular physical training cycle into the calendar is a wise move when it comes to boosting immunity. A briskly run combined with some strength training should do the trick. Once you start, you can get creative and add variations to spice it up. But do note that immunity is boosted only up to a certain moderate level of movement and exercise. Prolonged and intense exercise is known to lower immunity levels. This has been observed in marathon runners and ultra-event athletes. But thankfully, normal human beings are well below this level of performance. So you can ease-up and get started.

Healthy Human Relationships

Human beings are social creatures. As counter-intuitive as this might sound, having regular contact with other human beings and maintaining healthy human relationships is also key to boosting and maintaining immunity. Especially during times of COVID-19, this seems to be a major challenge, and we need to find creative ways to overcome this challenge.

Stress Management

Increased level of cortisol (also known as the stress hormone) is known to inhibit optimal performance of the immune system. This is also the reason why marathon runners are likely to suffer from reduced immunity. It is therefore important that you don’t take on avoidable stress, be it your work environment, or unhealthy relationships, or bad habits such as smoking and drinking. It is easy to think that some part of the stress in your life is unavoidable, but it is prudent to get into the habit of thinking that there is always an option. When it gets overwhelming, talking to friends, family members, and / or well-wishers helps. That is also one way of maintaining healthy relationships as a social creature.

If you are on the brave side, you might also want to try cold showers and meditation.”

As a final note, Kim turns to Tim and says, “Be sure to check with your qualified doctor before you consume or do anything from what we discussed today, that you might be intolerant to or allergic to.”

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