It helps your body to better defend itself against germs and infections and to keep diseases at bay.
How? Simple:
Follow a healthy lifestyle and eating habits.
We could define our immune system as a defensive army that our body has to fight efficiently against all aggression, from a cold, allergies to even cancer.
Billions of cells are related to each other, being distributed throughout our body and exercising their defensive work.
The mission they carry out is to detect and destroy any possible aggressor/invader in complex and varied ways depending on the external agent it faces:
Bacteria
Germs
Fungi
Parasites
Viruses
Toxins.
When we get sick, taking the common cold, for example, the intense combative activity of our body generates the typical symptoms of the disease.
The immune or immune system involves everything from organs and tissues,
Such as the skin, spleen, thymus, bone marrow, or lymph nodes, to a whole army of cellular elements,
Such as leukocytes or white blood cells, B lymphocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils, among others.
When it is in good shape, this system keeps the body healthy and helps protect it from threats, both internal and external.
But when it is weakened there are a series of symptoms that warn that the defenses are down.
Having one cold after another, poor wound healing, frequent gastroenteritis, or frequent respiratory problems are all signs that the immune "shield and swords" are weakening and not exercising well. its function.
The strength of our immune system is a genetic issue, we may have inherited a weak immune system, or on the contrary, have an effective and powerful defensive army, but in both cases, you can see highs and lows.
When our immune system is not in shape, it increases our vulnerability to disease, and the microorganisms to which we are constantly exposed have their opportunity.
Therefore, although we cannot do anything to change the immune system that we have inherited,
It is in our hands to maintain the resistance capacity that we have received in perfect condition and strengthen it.
And it is that the health of the defenses does not depend only on genetic factors beyond our control,
But can be reinforced by maintaining healthy habits of life, avoiding the factors that weaken them, and applying "reinforcements" to them.
An optimal diet complemented with certain rules of conduct is key.
Proper nutrition:
Food plays a very important role that will maintain and strengthen our immune system:
Varied diet:
The first and most important of the principles for optimal nutrition is a "mixed" diet.
Food works as a team, they complement each other and no food has miraculous effects on its own.
On the other hand, it is not advisable to ingest one nutrient in excess,
Since frequently the abuse of it causes the deficiency of another,
Therefore, a diversified diet is an option for which we have to opt to obtain the necessary nutrients from our own foods right on.
Get the most out of food:
To boost immune activity, meals must be prepared in such a way as to minimize the loss of their nutritional qualities and make the most of their vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids.
Take advantage of the cooking broth, which contains the nutrients released from the food when it is cooked, and cover the pots to recover the condensed steam, rich in nutrients.
However, steaming is preferable to boiling food, because few minerals, trace elements, and vitamins are lost.
Vegetables should be cooked long enough to be tender and should not be reheated once cooked.
When cooking food, the less water is used, the better, in this way the use of vitamins and minerals will be greater.
If the food we cook comes from the animal kingdom, cook it sufficiently, if on the contrary it is a vegetable, preferably, consume it raw.
Antioxidants:
Vitamin C, vitamin E, and beta-carotene are antioxidants that positively influence the strengthening of our immune system.
These antioxidants destroy reactive oxygen molecules that contribute to the development and prevention of many diseases.
Fruits such as:
Oranges,
Kiwis,
Strawberries,
Blueberries,
and cantaloupe is important to the source of vitamin C.
Most orange-colored foods are high in beta-carotene.
Nuts, seeds, wheat germ, and oils such as olive, sunflower, or corn are important sources of vitamin E with healthy fats,
Which, consumed harmoniously and moderately, are essential in a balanced diet and should not be excluded.
Other nutrients:
Folic acid, magnesium, riboflavin, and niacin have decisive factors in maintaining a strong immune system.
Folic acid:
It is found in almost all uncooked products and it is easily destroyed in cooking.
Limiting the diet to canned products may lead to a deficiency of this vitamin, ensuring consumption of fruits and vegetables, peas, lentils, and whole grains is essential to avoid its deficiency.
Magnesium:
Green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, shellfish, and whole grains are important sources of this mineral.
Riboflavin:
Dairy products, green leafy vegetables, meat, and whole grains provide significant amounts of Vitamin B-2 or Riboflavin.
Multivitamin complexes;
Vitamin supplements are advisable when our immune resistance is in crisis, without forgetting that it is a "supplement" and must be used within the framework of a balanced diet without replacing natural foods.
Life habits to strengthen defenses;
Get enough sleep:
Sometimes we do not give the importance that a good rest deserves, we all feel better and we are more resistant when we have enjoyed a good night's sleep.
The amount of time we need to spend on sleeping every day is determined by person and age, although generally, between 7 and 10 hours are necessary.
A sedentary lifestyle and tobacco say goodbye!
Yet another reason to quit smoking: there are signs that smoking is progressively weakening the immune system,
To the point where it is no longer able to stop or eliminate some pathological processes.
On the other hand, moderate exercise favors the "rejuvenation" of both the respiratory tract and the organic defenses,
Thus helping to avoid the recurrence of colds and catarrhal processes.
Besides, it prevents weight gain, another "enemy" of health.
Control of emotions:
Although much remains to be investigated as to how our thoughts and emotions can influence our immune system,
Numerous studies link a worsening of our defenses to emotional states such as depression or anger,
which is not strange anymore that the most important organs of the immune system are linked to the central nervous system and indirectly with the endocrine system.
Stress:
Feeling tired, not sleeping or resting well, and feeling continuous nervousness are not exactly symptoms of low defenses,
But they are alarm signals that should not be neglected because they indicate a situation of permanent stress, which is one of the main enemies of immune strength.
In addition to changing your lifestyle as much as possible to reduce the situations that promote continuous nervous tension,
It is convenient to reinforce the contribution of vitamin C, which is "one of the main foods" of the defenses.
Regenerating and revitalizing drink to strengthen defenses;
Try to drink this regenerating drink daily,
Balancing and with preventive action of multiple diseases,
You will notice its beneficial effects automatically.
We advise you to consume the drink on an empty stomach to enhance its revitalizing effects.
Ingredients:
1 medium onion
1 sprig (about 6 centimeters) ginger, peeled and cut into small pieces
½ head garlic, peeled
1 liter of organically grown soy milk
1 tablespoon of turmeric
Elaboration (very simple):
We peel the garlic, cut the onion into small pieces, and peel and cut the ginger.
We introduce these ingredients in a pressure cooker along with the soy milk for 5 minutes.
After the time has elapsed, we let the pot cool, strain the milk and pour it into a saucepan, simmering it for 15 minutes.
The last step will be to strain the preparation and it will be ready to serve.
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