I hate being sick and I’m sure you do too. Growing up, I used to get sick every single year. The stomach flu played a huge role in my childhood and I dreaded getting it every winter. After being sick and tired of being sick and tired, I decided to take measures into my own hands. I throughly researched and experimented with different ways of boosting immunity. After applying what I outlined in this article, I am pleased to say that I have successfully prevented getting sick every year. In fact, I rarely get sick now and even if I do, it only lasts for about a day or two max.
Hydration
Probably the most important thing but also very overlooked. If you’re constantly flushing out your system, it’s difficult for any virus to latch on. Every time I feel like I’m about to get sick, I proceed to drink a substantial amount of water. This isn’t just a preventative measure but something that you should be doing regularly, especially if you’re sick. Drinking lots of water decreases the duration of any illness as well as boosts your immunity.
For example, I had a sore throat recently, and immediately upon realizing this, I drank about 7L of water. The sore throat could have progressed into something worse had I not done that, but because I did, I was back to normal within a day.
Nutrition & Diet
There’s a famous quote by Hippocrates that says, “Let food be thy medicine”.
Diet plays a huge role in every aspect of our physical and mental wellbeing. If you want a strong immune system then you should prioritize a healthy diet. This includes a focus on Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Zinc, Iron and Protein which contribute the most to your immune system.
Most fruits, like citrus and berries contain Vitamin C. Alternatively you can get it from pills like Elderberry.
Protein and Iron are found in a lot of different foods. Meat is a great source of protein and iron, but you could even get it from nuts or soy.
Exercise
There’s tons of benefits to working out, one of the best is that it boosts your immune system. Studies show that exercising regularly increases the body’s white blood cell count and their potential to fight diseases. Healthier bodies are harder to infect.
Additionally exercise decreases stress levels which plays a huge role in your immune system. I’ll talk about this later in the article.
Theres an entire field dedicated to this research called Exercise Immunology if you want to explore this further.
Cold Showers
Cold showers increase the number of white blood cells in your body. White blood cells are crucial to your immune system. Thus, a boost in white blood cells means a boost in immunity.
I found this to be the most effective way to avoid getting sick. After I started taking cold showers, I almost never fell ill. It’s the nail in the coffin for all future viruses that I may possibly encounter.
There’s also tons of other benefits to cold showers, like increased alertness, clear skin, happier mood and the list goes on. I elaborate on my experience and the benefits of cold showers in my previous article, which I highly recommend checking out.
Low Stress Levels
It is scientifically proven that there is a direct correlation between stress levels and people getting sick. Specifically, the lower the stress you carry in your life the healthier you will be.
Stress decreases the body’s lymphocytes — the white blood cells that help fight off infection. The lower your lymphocyte level, the more at risk you are for viruses.
There’s tons of ways to decrease stress, my personal favorite is meditation. Exercising, reading, and laughing with friends are great alternatives as well. The goal is to relax and stay in a peaceful state as much as possible, so you are happy and present.
Eckhart Tolle said it well, “If you are present to defend your body, it will be difficult for any virus to infect you”.
Conclusion
All in all there are multiple ways to boost your immune system and prevent getting sick. The main goal is to build a healthy lifestyle, so you stay in great physical condition throughout. Personally these habits are what worked for me and I couldn’t recommend them enough. Hopefully this article helps you stay safe and healthy!
Good luck guys, I wish you the best! :)
