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It’s important to take an active role in maintaining good health. There are things that you can do each day to support and maintain good immune function; these include getting enough physical activity, getting exposure to nature, and developing good eating habits.

Planned Physical activity: At the onset it’s important to distinguish between actual exercise and simply being on your feet all day. It’s easy to assume that being on the move all day is just like exercise because of how tired we feel at the end of the day. Structured exercise is still important, and can’t be replaced by being “busy”. In addition to better weight control and healthy blood sugar levels, exercise directly enhances immune function. According to a paper published in the journal Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science, moderate intensity exercise is “immuno-enhancing” and has been used to effectively increase vaccine responses in “at-risk” patients. [1] Improvements in immunity due to regular exercise is in part due to reductions in inflammation, maintenance of thymic mass, alterations in the composition of “older“ and “younger“ immune cells, and enhanced immunosurveillance. Try to get 30 minutes of moderate intensity (i.e. you can still talk while doing it) exercise at least 5 days per week.

Exposure to nature: Getting exposure to nature does more than please the eye and gladden the heart. Research has shown that exposure to nature has profound effects on human health, including immune function. Japanese researchers studying a practice they call “forest bathing” have shown that walking for 2 hours in a forested area significantly increased the number and activity of NK cells. [2] This effect lasted for 7 days. Later research by this same group indicates that this effect may be caused by immune boosting chemicals that trees release into the air. [3] And this is but one of around 21 different mechanisms by which exposure to nature improves our health. [4]

Healthy diet: Eating a healthy diet is crucial for proper immune function. There are many vitamins and minerals that are required for the immune system to function properly. Good nutrition is non-negotiable. Most, but not all, vitamins and minerals the immune system needs come from plant foods, including fruits, vegetables, and grains. There are also vital nutrients that are best obtained from meats and dairy. In a nut shell, the best diet to support the immune system is one with a diverse and varied intake of vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, grains and pulses along with some meats, eggs, dairy products and oily fish to provide the nutrients that are hard to get from plant-based foods. [5] If this doesn’t describe your diet, I would consider a supplement to fill in the gaps. Yes, getting all your nutrition from fresh unprocessed foods is ideal, but today’s busy pace makes it difficult for most people to eat right. You must make taking care of yourself a habit.

As with anything difficult, if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. The only difference between those that succeed and those that don’t, is that those that succeeded, didn’t quit.

Until next time, Dr. Bryan