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The winter season is here and many families are spending a huge amount of time dealing with medical issues. The common cold, flu and fever are just some of the issues associated with the peak chilly season.
Although these issues are common during the winter, people with poor immune health are more likely to get sick. That being said, immunity of a person keeps on changing with age and it is also affected by their dietary habits and common routines.
If you are worried about how to improve the functionality of your immune system this winter, you should not rely on expensive “immune boosting” supplements alone. There are quite a few simple home remedies that you will also want to utilize to boost your body’s immunity.
The idea here is to support balance and harmony for your immune system, and soon it will start protecting your whole body from harmful disease. And when the immune system is strong enough, it can even help us maintain a healthy weight.
Five Tips to Help You Boost Your Immune System
Here are some tips and tricks to boost the functionality of your immune system.
#1. Vitamins & Supplements
Vitamins or micronutrients play an essential role in improving immune health. Some people prefer taking rich multivitamin supplements to balance these components in their body, however, others look for natural sources to improve overall health. In general, you need to focus on vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin B6, vitamin B2, and vitamin A to improve the functionality of the immune system. These play a major role in helping you avoid virus and infections. Also, spend some time in the natural light to get essential vitamin D. Additionally, supplements such as FolaPro can even help women keep their immune systems strong during pregnancy or a supplement such as Science-Based Green Detox (You could check here for more information).
#2. Stress Avoidance
Several clinical studies have proven that the immune system is greatly affected by mental health. If a person stays in stress and depression, he/she naturally starts losing immunity and becomes more susceptible to many other health issues. It is important to improve your emotional well-being by focusing on meditation, yoga, exercise, and massage. Some people also try relaxing music to get rid of stress in their life.
#3. Turmeric
This essential herb can be found in every kitchen, however, most other countries have also realized its potential these days. This orange-yellow herb is known for its amazing antioxidant properties that help to prevent illness. Studies reveal that turmeric can prepare your immune system to initiate a fight against symptoms of arthritis pain, Alzheimer’s, and cancer as well.
#4. Vegetables
Diet plays an important role in the functionality of the immune system. Medical health experts advise using green leafy vegetables along with seeds, nuts, and fruits. Some of the best vegetables to improve immune health are cabbage, broccoli, and kale. These green leafy vegetables are capable enough to lead natural detoxification in the human body. Adequate eating habits can naturally improve the performance of the immune system while building your strength to fight most seasonal diseases.
#5. Exercise
How can we forget to talk about this essential health remedy? Exercise plays a considerable role in managing immune health by reducing stress, improving muscle health, and metabolism levels. Exercises also helps the human body to maintain balance and ensure higher flexibility.
Foods to Help You Lose Weight and Boost Your Immune System
It is well proven that food has a direct impact on our overall health and fitness. When we’re healthy, our immune system simply performs better.
So if you want to stay in great physical shape and keep your immune health in peak shape too, it is important to improve your diet.
If you are overweight or obese and want to lose some fat, it is important to eat nutrient-rich foods. Foods that are rich in fiber and protein are really useful for overall weight management.
Consider consuming yogurt, whole grains, nuts, vegetables, and fruits to balance your body weight. It is important to avoid red or processed meats, sugary beverages, potato chips, and processed foods in general as they can cause excessive weight gain even with smaller portion intake.
Below we have highlighted some of the best foods for weight loss management and immune health.
#1. Nuts
One recent study conducted on a number of women showed that the regular consumption of nuts can help to reduce body weight by a great extent. It has a direct impact on waist size, total cholesterol levels, body mass index, blood sugar levels, and triglycerides. Nuts are rich in fiber and protein content; they help to handle overall body weight while serving your body with beneficial nutrients and heart-healthy fats. Those who are in trouble due to increased body weight are advised to add nuts to their routine diet.
#2. Eggs
Eggs are considered as some of the best choices for breakfast to promote weight loss. Eggs help to manage your normal caloric intake by dealing with your peak hunger by providing complete satisfaction. Studies reveal that a person who consumes eggs in the morning is likely to eat less during lunch, so it is easier to balance caloric intake. Eggs for breakfast can also help you to balance blood sugar levels along with insulin and ghrelin management. You can also buy twitter votes to know what others feel about the benefits of eggs.
#3. Oatmeal
If you are not in favor of eggs, it is better to start your day with a healthy intake of oatmeal. This breakfast can help you ensure fullness by helping you feel more satisfied with your appetite. You will likely consume less food during the second meal of the day, and this can naturally reduce the stored fat in your body. Although both these breakfast options contain almost equal amounts of calories, many feel oatmeal is a healthier choice. Alternatively, consuming both protein and eggs go along way.
#4. Pulses
A group of pulses can also assist you in achieving your weight loss goals. The idea is to add chickpeas, beans, lentils as well as peas to your routine diet; they can serve you with rich protein and fiber content. Pulses are capable enough to slow down the digestion while improving absorption. Pulses can help you to manage body weight with ease.
#5. Fruits and Vegetables
A healthy diet is incomplete without the addition of fruits and leafy green vegetables. Professionals advise using berries for weight management as they have rich fiber content that can help to get rid of stored fat fast. You can add berries to create a flavor rich salad, yogurt and oatmeal. At the same time, it is also important to focus on healthy vegetables like cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, broccoli, and brussels sprouts as well.
The Bottom Line
Regular exercise, a well balanced diet, and quality vitamin supplements go along way towards improving immune health and helping us keep excess body weight off our frame. During the winter, keeping up on our immune health is even more important if we want to avoid sickness.
While it’s very easy to want to curl up on the couch with a blanket and eat comfort foods throughout the cold season, this almost always weakens our immune systems and welcomes many of the bugs going around. Don’t forget, it only takes one contagious person to sneeze on you at the grocery store to potentially catch something.
It’s therefore important during these colder months to make sure we keep up on our physical health by moving our bodies with exercise and fueling them with healthy food. Thankfully, the tips in this guide are an easy place to start!
About Shannon Clark
Shannon holds a degree in Exercise Science and is a certified personal trainer and fitness writer with over 10 years of industry experience.