Research on maintaining and strengthening immunity has been going on for a long time. However, in reality, there is nothing complicated in supporting your body. There are 4 aspects that help strengthen immunity.
The problem of maintaining and strengthening immunity is especially acute in the autumn-winter-spring period. How to maintain and prevent weakening of immunity? During the period when flu and other viral infections are raging, the simplest things will help to support our body.
1. Three days of fasting will completely reboot your immune system
If you still doubt that fasting is beneficial, we explain why it’s worth suffering for just three days.
Soon social networks will be flooded with posts with ten life hacks on how to lose weight by summer. In the spring, it is really useful to get rid of a couple of extra pounds gained over the winter (after all, you had to keep warm). Some people prefer to fast, others stay on a diet for a long time, and some exhaust themselves with starvation. Many doctors consider “fasting” a fashionable trend that not only does not help you lose weight, but also entails health risks. Firstly, after fasting, the body will begin to accumulate fat with double force, because it is stressed and afraid of being left without food again. Secondly, during this day or two, a person will lose a lot of nutrients - proteins, iron, vitamins - and this will definitely not do him any good.
The University of Southern California conducted a study in which participants were asked to fast regularly for two to four days for six months. As a result, their immune systems improved significantly, having undergone a major reboot. In addition, each participant’s body began to produce much more protein kinase A, a deficiency of which is directly associated with the development of cancerous tumors. Regeneration of cells and the immune system is also associated with slower aging and an overall improvement in well-being.
It works like this: the body experiences stress and begins to use up its reserves of glucose, fats and proteins and activate the work of leukocytes. There is a shortage of white blood cells, and the body begins to urgently reproduce new immune cells, performing a complete reboot.
Two or three days a month is a completely feasible sacrifice in favor of improving immunity and getting rid of a few extra pounds. But you also need to understand that on the first day after fasting, you should not eat pizza or burgers. Come out of the state of hunger smoothly and return the lost nutrients to your body. Eat fruits, vegetables, fish and meat. And we do not recommend doing sports during the "hunger strike": physical activity greatly reduces blood sugar, which leads to dizziness and weakness.
2. Healthy porridge can be tasty
A significant mistake that many parents make is the firm belief that children will eat something just because they are told to. And it doesn’t matter that it’s not tasty – the main thing is that it’s healthy.
And then, almost for the rest of his life, the person will have an acute aversion to any porridge and other violations of healthy eating behavior. And the fact that porridge can be really tasty is perceived as a real revelation from above.
Millet
Not a very common porridge, which is a pity. The fact is that it contains a huge amount of manganese, zinc and vitamin PP. Moreover, the millet used for cooking can be added to almost any soup for greater benefit and thickness. Just do not forget to rinse it, since millet can go rancid with long-term storage due to the large amount of fat it contains.
The porridge is easy to prepare - pour the washed cereal into boiling salted water, cook for 5 minutes on low heat with constant stirring, then drain about half the water and bring to readiness. The taste, however, is better improved with dried fruits, dried apricots, honey or even sugar.
Wheat and rye bran
Bran is an incredibly useful thing. It is the remains obtained during the process of threshing grain, that is, grain shells. And it is in them that the most fiber is contained - a product necessary for normal bowel function. Due to its unique structure, bran not only swells in the stomach and causes a feeling of satiety, but also cleanses the intestines of all sorts of nasty things. In addition, it contains quite a lot of potassium, iron and magnesium, as well as some B vitamins. Experts generally recommend including bran in your diet - for a healthy diet, it is really useful.
An important point is that bran should not be given to small children and people with intestinal diseases and ulcers - after all, they are quite difficult to digest.
Corn
Many respected nutritionists believe that corn porridge is extremely healthy. It lowers cholesterol, contains corn oil, which reduces appetite, and contains a bunch of vitamins. Among the latter, by the way, you can find vitamin K, which is important for hematopoiesis, vitamin E, which is good for skin and hair, vitamin D, which is necessary for normal calcium metabolism in the body. It is also believed that corn porridge can also stimulate immunity, improve metabolism and normalize bile secretion processes.
As for the preparation, there is nothing complicated here – everything is like in any other porridge. Pour into boiling water or milk, cook for a while, then steam. You can then add honey or dried fruits, but it tastes pretty good anyway.
3. Physical activity
Physical exercise helps to keep all systems of our body in good shape. Of course, this is not professional sports, regular morning exercises, which will become a habitual procedure, will be quite enough. During physical exercise, special cells, immunoglobulins, are produced in the body, which protect us not only from viruses, bacteria, fungi, but also from all kinds of allergies.
4. Good sleep
There is a saying among athletes: "It is better to undereat than to undersleep." And this is absolutely true. During sleep, the hormone melatonin is produced, which is also a protector of our body, increasing the formation of antibodies and enhancing the effectiveness of the immune system. But for sleep to be considered complete, there are certain requirements. You need to sleep at least 8 hours in an absolutely calm environment. An hour before bed, you should turn off all equipment (TV, computer, etc.)
5. Good nutrition
It has long been known that proper nutrition is not only a guarantee of health, but also beauty. Eating a lot of vegetables, especially raw ones, brings certain benefits to our body. However, nutritionists highlight some of them specifically in the context of strengthening the immune system. These are garlic, red onions, ginger - natural antiseptics; spinach - a storehouse of vitamins; beets - contain iron and fiber; asparagus, artichokes - vegetables with a high content of B vitamins; sweet red peppers - rich in vitamin C; tomatoes - contain beta-carotene, and sweet potatoes - a source of vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant.
6. Good mood
Another piece of advice from experts says: a positive attitude is always the key to success. And it is true. It is in your power to spend your free time with people you like or to visit places and events that bring you joy. Listen to the advice of experts and be healthy.
