How to increase immunity to an adult

There are many ways and recommendations to strengthen the immune system. Some do not bring any result, while others, on the contrary, can significantly increase the protective functions of the adult's body. In order not to waste time searching for suitable methods, you should immediately familiarize yourself with those approaches that are truly proven and effective.

Every day, the body of every person is exposed to a huge number of pathogens, which the immune system is called to protect against. When it begins to malfunction, that is, to weaken, a negative external effect becomes the cause of the onset and development of diseases. And if immunity continues to function in this way, then health problems make themselves felt quite often.

In order not to worry about the upcoming season of an outbreak of colds, a person seeks to find a way to protect himself from pathogenic bacteria. However, not everyone knows how to do it right. Some suggest that you need to take vitamins. Others, on the contrary, consider it a prerequisite to change the usual way of life. Still others believe that the secret to protecting the body from disease is proper and balanced nutrition.

Content

  • 1 How to strengthen the immune system "> 2 Healthy lifestyle
  • 3 Do foods help boost immunity?
  • 4 The relationship between age and immunity
  • 5 Diet
  • 6 Healing herbs and other additives
  • 7 Stressful situations
  • 8 Cooling and colds
  • 9 Is sports useful?

How can immunity be strengthened?

Everyone asks this question. The prospect of having a good immune system for any person seems to be an excellent goal, for the sake of which you can take certain steps, but which ones with absolute probability is effective, unfortunately, remains not entirely clear. Even science cannot give an exact answer, which is due to the complexity of the system itself, which does not constitute a coherent single “structure”, but requires harmony and balance to function fully.

There are many unexplored aspects unknown to scientists. With one hundred percent certainty that lifestyle directly affects immunity, no. No study has confirmed or disproved that the maintenance of a particular lifestyle can dramatically strengthen protective functions. This is in no way a denial of the fact that eating habits, diet, lack / presence of physical activity and other factors do not affect health in any way.

The relationship between lifestyle and the state of the immune system exists. This aspect is one of the main objects of research on how nutrition, age, stress and other factors affect the strengthening of the immunity of living organisms, that is, both animals and people. It is, of course, necessary to take into account the results of existing research, but each person should develop his own strategy for enhancing protective functions.

Healthy lifestyle

High protective functions of the body suggest the presence of a strong and large phagocyte called a neutrophil. It absorbs and kills pathogenic microorganisms, which are significantly weaker than a healthy immune system. And in order to have a truly powerful immunity, it is necessary to get rid of bad habits in favor of those that strengthen the body.

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is the very first condition that every adult who wants to forget about common colds and other diseases must fulfill. The absence of negative factors has a beneficial effect on all organs and parts of the body, including the immune system. Good habits form a defense that can withstand malicious attacks from the outside world.

To achieve the desired goal, you must:

  • quit smoking;
  • exclude foods rich in saturated fats from the diet, replacing them with fruits, vegetables, whole grain crops;
  • exercise on a regular basis;
  • maintain normal weight;
  • do not abuse alcoholic beverages;
  • constantly monitor the level of blood pressure;
  • devote enough time to sleep;
  • Do not neglect screening tests that are designed according to age groups and available risk factors;
  • observe hygiene standards, properly cook food, especially meat.

Do foods help boost immunity?>

Many products are on sale that, according to information from the manufacturer, were developed to support and strengthen the immune system. The use of such products is not advisable. In most cases, on the contrary, excessive inclusion of such food in the diet can harm. An increase in any cells, including immunity, can adversely affect health. Athletes who use "blood doping, " that is, pumping blood into their bodies, put themselves at risk of a stroke.

Each cell of the immune system performs its specific functions, has a different response to certain microbes. Scientists have not fully studied which cells and to what level should be raised. The proven fact is that immune cells are constantly produced by the body, and lymphocytes are produced in excess. The excess is eliminated either during apoptosis - a natural process of death, or before the attack of harmful microorganisms, or after elimination of the threat.

No studies have been able to establish how many cells and combinations are necessary for the full functioning of the immune system.

The relationship between age and immunity

During aging, the immune system weakens. The body of people in old age becomes more susceptible to inflammation, infections, and cancer. The increase in the number of fixed diseases in developed countries is primarily due to an increase in the average life expectancy of a person. And since the aging process has been fully studied, many methods, techniques, recommendations have been developed that allow not only to meet, but also live old age without any serious complications and health problems.

Not all people, aging, experience noticeable changes in their health. However, almost all studies conducted show that the body of an elderly person, compared to a young one, is more susceptible to various infections, which most often can be fatal. Flu with respiratory tract infections is one of the leading causes of death among the age group 65 and over. The exact reason for this remains unknown.

Some scholars have suggested that this is due to a decrease in T cells produced in the thymus gland and resisting infections. Thymus activity decreases from the moment the child is one year old. Does this process affect the fact that T cells begin to produce less with age, until it has been fully studied. Other scientists attribute the increase in the body's vulnerability to infections, which occurs with age, to the decrease in stem cells produced in the bone marrow, which give rise to immunity cells.

To demonstrate the fact that the immune response to the causative agent of the infection has decreased in the elderly, a study was conducted of the body's response to influenza vaccination. In people over 65 years of age, the effectiveness of the vaccine was much lower than in children over 2 years of age. This does not mean that the vaccine is powerless. Cases of morbidity and death in the elderly who have not received the vaccine are much higher than those who have been vaccinated.

A special role for the immunity of the elderly is nutrition. Lack of or malnutrition in people of advanced age is characteristic even for developed and rich countries. This is due to a sharp decrease in appetite, lack of variety in the menu, provoking the fact that the body lacks nutrients. It is not recommended to start using any supplements to maintain the immune system on your own. First, it is better to consult with a specialist who is versed in geriatric nutrition, which will take into account the effect on the body of a particular remedy.

Diet

The lack of proper and healthy nutrition negatively affects the state of the immune system. Without the necessary amount of micro and macro elements, vitamins, nutrients, the body becomes more vulnerable to infections. Specific studies proving how nutrition affects the protective functions of the body are few. However, given the fact that some foods are positive, while others, on the contrary, adversely affect health, you need to know what exactly you should pay attention to in your diet.

It has been proven that the lack of elements such as iron, selenium, zinc, folic acid, vitamins C, A, E, B6 change the immunity of animals. Data on the effect of these substances on the health of the animal, as well as deficiency on the human immune response, is still insufficient to draw any definite and completely accurate conclusions.

Regardless of this fact, you can not neglect the diet. If the menu does not allow you to get a daily daily intake of healthy elements, you should take mineral supplements and multivitamins. This, of course, has a positive effect on the state of immunity. Take the complexes only according to the dosage indicated in the instructions.

Healing herbs and other additives

On the shelves of modern stores you can find a lot of pills, herbal preparations, jars and homeopathic medicines designed to strengthen immunity. Some tools can truly positively affect the increase in the protective functions of the body against external negative factors. But, given that the aspects that affect the increase of the immune system are not yet fully understood, it is impossible to guarantee that these supplements will help protect a person from diseases and infections. There are no studies confirmed results that an increase in antibodies resulting from the use of any herbal collection will actually improve the state of immunity.

Stressful situations

Skepticism, with which science had previously considered the influence of an emotional state on a physical one, was dispelled. The connection between the mind of the body not only exists, but is also quite strong. A huge number of diseases, including urticaria, heart problems, upset stomach, are caused by stress. The effect of the emotional background on immunity is being studied to this day.

The study of this issue causes many difficulties. This is due to the difficulty in determining stress. For one category of people, some situation is stressful, while for others it is completely normal. It is impossible to “measure” stress based solely on the subjective opinion of one particular individual. In addition, breathing becomes confused, and a pulse with a heartbeat is not only quickened by stress.

Scientists, as a rule, study non-short-term and sudden factors that provoke stress, that is, a surge of emotions. The object of research is most often chronic and frequent stressful situations that occur as a result of persistent problems associated with misunderstanding, discord, problems in the family, work team or caused by constant discontent from friends or, conversely, towards them.

A controlled experiment involves the ability to measure a specific chemical, as well as how its level affects the test object. This may be the concentration of antibodies produced by certain cells of the immune system in response to exposure to a particular chemical.

It is impossible to set up experiments of this kind on living organisms. The occurrence of an uncontrolled or undesirable reaction in the process can affect the purity of measurements. This is due to the individual characteristics of each organism.

Even when faced with certain difficulties, scientists continue to conduct experiments, hoping to obtain irrefutable evidence and conclusions.

Cooling and colds

Each person in childhood was told by her mother to dress warmly so as not to catch a cold or get sick. According to scientists, the moderate effect of low temperature on the body does not increase susceptibility to pathogens. As experiments have shown, the cause of colds is not the effect of the cold, but people being in a closed room for a longer time, which leads to closer contact, and, consequently, an increased chance of transmission of microbes.

There are studies conducted on mice that clearly demonstrate that low temperatures can significantly reduce the protective functions of the body in the fight against various pathogens of infection. People were also studied. They were dipped in cold water, and then were naked at sub-zero temperatures. Scientists have studied the indicators of the immune response of those who live in Antarctica, as well as participants in expeditions traveling to the Canadian Rockies.

The obtained results had differences. Skiers showed an increase in upper respiratory tract infections. This group of people constantly and actively trains directly in the cold. However, it is impossible to establish with accuracy whether it is caused by a cold or dry air, the intensity of the exercises.

Canadian scientists, conducting their own experiments and studying the results of existing ones, came to the conclusion that moderate exposure to the body of the cold should not cause serious health concerns. This does not mean that you need to neglect warm clothing when the temperature is below zero, and you have to be in open space for a long time. Hypothermia with frostbite is certainly dangerous for both the body and immunity.

Is Sport Helpful?>

Exercise is an integral part of a healthy and healthy lifestyle. Workouts help strengthen the cardiovascular system, lower blood pressure, allow you to control weight, increase the body's resistance to various ailments. They, like nutrition, make their positive contribution to improving the state of immunity. Exercise activates the circulation, which positively affects the process of moving cells and substances of the immune system throughout the body.

Scientists are quite interested in how training changes the susceptibility of the human body to various infectious pathogens. Some researchers conduct experiments during which athletes perform many intensive trainings, and then scientists observe how this affects the immune response, cases of morbidity. Blood and urine tests taken after intensive training are different from those taken before the session. However, from the point of view of immunology, it is impossible to say with accuracy how these changes affect immunity.

It is necessary to take into account the fact that the study was conducted with the participation of professional athletes who performed not just physical exercises, but were engaged in intensive intensive training. This is very different from the moderate workouts that ordinary people do. It is impossible to say with accuracy that this will strengthen immunity, since there is no sound scientific evidence for this. However, moderate physical activity, of course, is an integral part of a healthy lifestyle, beneficial for both the body and the immune system.

The question of exactly which factors can enhance the immune system remains open today. Researchers are trying to find evidence of the dependence of immunity on a variety of factors, including environmental effects, emotional and physical conditions, and the sequence of amino acid residues in the genome proteins. Thanks to the latest biomedical technologies, scientists are likely to be able to get answers to all questions about the immune system. Implantable micro- and gene chips will allow you to monitor the human condition, thousands of sequences of genomes, which, depending on the conditions, are turned on or off.

Scientists place great trust in innovative technology. They, researchers believe, will finally allow you to learn how the individual components of the immune system work, getting into work after certain external conditions occur, as well as how all the elements of the system function together. It remains only to wait and hope that the results and discoveries on this topic will appear in the foreseeable future.