Immunity boosting tips

Don’t make things up (don’t consume extra immune defense lines), give enough support (provide enough nutrients and rest space for the immune system), don’t add chaos (avoid repeatedly adding unnecessary attack burden to the immune system), the rest are detailed operations based on this basis.

Don't tell me, there are many people around me who have paid IQ tax on this. At the end of last year, my best friend stocked up more than 3,000 yuan of acerola powder, colostrum tablets, and immunoglobulin oral liquid. She set an alarm clock every day to eat according to the dosage. However, she still caught the spring flu and had a fever for three days. When I went to the hospital for consultation, the doctor directly said: If you stay up until 2 o'clock every day and play games, your immune defense line has been exhausted. No matter how many supplements you take, you can't make it up.

Regarding whether supplements are useful or not, both schools of thought now actually have basis: The general conclusion in the evidence-based nutrition community is that as long as your daily diet includes vegetables every meal, and a sufficient amount of meat, eggs, milk, and grains every week, there is no need to eat extra so-called "immune-boosting foods." "Supplements", excess nutrients will either be metabolized and put a burden on the liver and kidneys. If you really want to supplement, you must first do a trace element test to identify what is missing and then supplement. For example, if people who rarely get sunlight take supplements of vitamin D, and people who are vegetarians for a long time take supplements of B12, then they can really help immunity. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, it has never been said that "the more supplements you take, the stronger your immunity will be." Instead, it emphasizes "deficiency without supplements." People with weak spleen and stomach cannot digest a bunch of highly nutritious supplements at all, and will instead deplete their health. It is better to eat three meals comfortably first and drink iced drinks less.

Compared with the IQ tax paid on supplements, the pitfall that more people take advantage of is actually exercise. I used to know a fitness coach who worked out for 2 hours a day, ate protein by the gram, and kept his body fat rate below 15% all year round. As a result, he caught a cold as soon as the temperature dropped last year, and he got sick twice in a row before he realized what he was doing: He had to take an ice bath after every workout, and he also maintained a 500-calorie deficit every day for 3 months in order to play games. The field of exercise physiology has long concluded that after more than one hour of high-intensity exercise, the body will have an "immune window period" of 3 to 72 hours. During this period, the activity of immune cells decreases, making it easier to be targeted by pathogens. Ordinary people really do not need to worry about the duration and intensity of exercise. Just 30 minutes of brisk walking, aerobics, and a little sweat every day is enough.

To be honest, if you can’t even guarantee 6 hours of complete sleep every day, you don’t need to read any of the above. Last year, I rushed to the Double 11 project. I stayed up for 12 consecutive days and slept for more than 4 hours every day. First, I developed herpes on the corner of my mouth, and then I had a fever with a fever of 39 degrees. After the project ended, I slept for three days in a row, sleeping 10 hours a day, without taking any extra medicine, and I recovered immediately. Later, I checked relevant research and found that for people who don’t get enough sleep for a week, the killing activity of immune cells in the body will drop by more than 30%. This impact is much greater than if you lack nutrition for a week.

There is another topic that has been debated for a long time: Should we deliberately "freeze" and "touch dirty things" to strengthen our immunity? In fact, there is no standard answer. Young people with good health do not need to rush to put on thick down jackets in autumn. A slight freeze can indeed activate immune cell activity. There is no need to spray alcohol to disinfect the home every day. Let the body occasionally come into contact with common microorganisms, but it can train the immune recognition ability and reduce the probability of allergies. ； However, people with asthma, COPD, girls, the elderly and children who usually have cold hands and feet should not follow the "autumn freeze" trend or go to crowded places. Nowadays, various viruses are circulating alternately, and repeated infections will indeed deplete the immune reserve, which is not worth the gain.

I still have two little habits in my daily life. Many people think it is unnecessary when I mention them, but they have indeed helped me avoid a lot of diseases: One is to always apply hand cream after washing my hands. Don’t think this has nothing to do with immunity. Only when the skin barrier on the hands is complete can it block most germs transmitted by contact.； The other one is forcing himself to go downstairs and walk around after being angry for more than 10 minutes. I used to get angry and have a sore throat the next day after an argument. Later I learned that when you are anxious or emotionally agitated for a long time, cortisol in your body rises, which directly suppresses your immune function. Less emo is really better than anything else.

There are no "secrets", they are all trivial things that everyone talks about, but many people always want to take shortcuts and forget the most basic things. Eat well, sleep well, and don’t mess around with your body. Immune this “bodyguard” that has been following you for decades, and it will naturally do a good job for you. It is more reliable than any expensive supplement.