What Is Our Immune System?
Every day, our bodies encounter countless harmful microbes. Thankfully, our immune system works around the clock to protect us from these threats. This complex network detects foreign invaders like bacteria, viruses, and parasites and quickly responds to keep us healthy. Our immunity comes in two forms: innate, which provides immediate defense, and adaptive, which learns and strengthens over time.
Innate immunity is a first-line defense from pathogens that try to enter our bodies, achieved through protective barriers. These barriers include:
- Skin that keeps out the majority of pathogens
- Mucus that traps pathogens
- Stomach acid that destroys pathogens
- Enzymes in our sweat and tears that help create anti-bacterial compounds
- Immune system cells that attack all foreign cells entering the body
Adaptive or acquired immunity is the part of our immune system that learns to recognize and fight off harmful invaders. It relies on organs like the spleen, thymus, bone marrow, and lymph nodes to create antibodies and immune cells, including white blood cells. When a foreign substance enters the body, these cells multiply and attack it. The immune system then “remembers” the invader, so if it comes back, it can respond faster and more effectively.
Here are 8 steps to stay strong and healthy in this cold, winter season:
- Eat a balanced diet with whole fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and plenty of water. A Mediterranean Diet is one option that includes these types of foods.
- If a balanced diet is not readily accessible, taking a multivitamin containing the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for several nutrients may be used.
- Don’t smoke (or stop smoking if you do).
- Drink alcohol in moderation.
- Perform moderate regular exercise.
- Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep nightly. Try to keep a sleep schedule, waking up and going to bed around the same time each day. Our body clock, or circadian rhythm, regulates feelings of sleepiness and wakefulness, so having a consistent sleep schedule maintains a balanced circadian rhythm so that we can enter deeper, more restful sleep.
- Aim to manage stress. This is easier said than done, but try to find some healthy strategies that work well for you and your lifestyle—whether that be exercise, meditation, a particular hobby, or talking to a trusted friend. Another tip is to practice regular, conscious breathing throughout the day and when feelings of stress arise. It doesn’t have to be long—even a few breaths can help.
- Wash hands throughout the day: when coming in from outdoors, before and after preparing and eating food, after using the toilet, after coughing or blowing your nose. You get the idea!
Bonus Tip: Drink herbal tea
Herbal tea is great all year round. It is even more beneficial for you in the winter. If you do not consider yourself a “tea drinker,” first try one of your favorite summer flavored drinks, be it mango, peach, raspberry, etc. Tea comes in all varieties. Eventually, you want to consume the best for your immune system.
- Echinacea: Cell studies have shown that echinacea can destroy influenza viruses, but limited research in humans has been inconclusive in determining echinacea’s active components. Taking echinacea after catching a cold has not been shown to shorten its duration, but taking it while healthy may offer a small chance of protection from catching a cold.
- Garlic: The active ingredient in garlic, allicin sativum, is proposed to have antiviral and antimicrobial effects on the common cold, but high-quality clinical trials comparing garlic supplements to placebo are lacking.
- Tea catechins: Cell studies have shown that tea catechins such as those found in green tea can prevent flu and some cold viruses from replicating and can increase immune activity. Human trials are still limited.
I recommend you drink 3-4 cups of organic herbal tea per day, without sugar.
Adapted from The Nutrition Source