In my previous blog post (here), I discussed foods and methods that boost your immune system. So in this blog, I would like to talk about things that can lower your immune system. So if any of these ring true for you, make the changes to ensure better health.
Highly Inflammatory Foods
When you eat food that creates an inflammatory effect in your body it puts your body in a stressed state that lowers your immune system. Foods that create an inflammatory affecting your body are:
Refined white flour such as white bread
Cheese and other processed dairy products
Fatty red meat like burger meat and processed luncheon meats
Spreads made with partially hydrogenated vegetable oils
Foods deep-fried in processed refined vegetable oils that are high in omega 6 fats
Sugary foods such as sodas and foods sweetened with high fructose corn syrup…
So I’m guessing you can deduce that a burger and fries and a soda is a horrible combination for health and keeping your immune system strong.
Basically the inflammation in your gut caused by these foods affects your internal flora, the good gut bugs, the ones that fight off infection. So to keep your gut bugs healthy and ready to fight off external things like viruses, make sure that your internal environment is on point. Avoid the inflammatory foods full of chemicals and trans fats and opt for whole fruits, veggies and healthy proteins.
Lack of Vitamin D
It is super important that we get a quota of all our vitamins, but if there is one vitamin that acts as a super vitamin (which actually is more like a hormone) that helps to create other components in the body such as minerals and hormones) is vitamin D. Studies have shown links between vitamin D deficiency and bone loss, disease, mental health issues and immune system function. In an article recently written by Natalie O’Neil for the New York Times, May 1 2020, Researchers at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Foundation Trust and the University of East Anglia in England compared the average vitamin D levels of 20 European countries with COVID-19 mortality rates — and found “significant relationships” between vitamin D levels and the number of deaths caused by this infection.
More and more evidence is coming up about the overall importance of vitamin D and health.
Vitamin D can be found in our food and through sunlight exposure. So even though we have all been told to stay indoors, for your own health you must be getting outside and getting some sunlight on a daily basis.
Lack of Sleep
Sleep is one of the most important things for our health. It is a time where our bodies and our minds are regenerating and repairing. If we don’t get enough sleep then our bodies aren’t healed from the day’s stresses so that when we are awake we are running on empty which compromises our immune systems.
Lack of Movement
I know that we have all been ordered to stay inside for the safety of ourselves and others but there are ways we can work around it so our own health doesn’t suffer in other ways, ie by working out at home or at the park.
Lack of movement affects our circulation and other systems such as our lymph system that uses movement from the body like a pump to move fluids and remove waste from the body. We also miss out on the amazing endorphins that are our body’s ‘feel good’ hormones that positively affect our mood and reduce pain. Many cells in the immune system have receptors for endorphins, and some studies show that increasing your endorphin levels is a great way to increase your body's immune function.
Negative Emotions
Now this might be a left-field for some but our emotions and our mind set do have an effect on our health and our immune system. Basically being unhappy makes you more susceptible to getting sick etc. Going back to Richard J Davidson PhD, Author on The Emotional Life of Your Brain, he shares results for a test he performed whereby groups received the flu shot and those who reported they were happy and who performed specific stress-reducing practices to keep their mindset’s positive such as focused meditation produced higher antibodies from the flu shot than those who did not practice stress-reducing activities.
Some of these things may be more obvious than others to keep your immune system strong. But the whole body works together as one unit. If there are imbalances or deficiencies in one area then the whole unit suffers which compromises the immune system. In order to stay truly healthy and to be able to fight off any infections, paying attention to all the factors such as healthy eating, moving your body, getting outdoors to get vitamin D, sleeping well and happy thoughts are essential.