Tips to boost immunity

The core trick that can truly and stably improve immunity in the long term is never to take hundreds of Internet celebrity supplements, surprise exercises or folk dietary treatments, but to do the four small daily things of eating, sleeping, moving and emotions correctly. There is no universal formula that suits everyone. It only works if it is adjusted according to your own physique and living habits.

Let me give you a real example around me. In order to prevent the flu last winter, my colleague Xiao Wu bought half a drawer of three to four hundred bottles of vitamin C, lactoferrin, and spore powder. She set the alarm clock to eat it every day. However, she still burned twice in a row. After going to the nutrition department for consultation, she found out that she has a hot and dry constitution that is prone to getting angry. The dosage of supplements was far more than the daily needs. It increased the metabolic burden on the liver and kidneys, and the activity of immune cells was reduced. Regarding supplements, different fields have different opinions: Evidence-based research in Western medicine clearly states that as long as the daily diet can ensure that you eat enough 25 kinds of ingredients every week, and have high-quality protein + fresh fruits and vegetables every meal, the nutrients needed for immune cell synthesis are completely sufficient. Additional supplements are only suitable for special people such as those who are dieting, postoperative, and vegetarian to take them as directed by the doctor. ； However, Chinese medicine also emphasizes that "good qi should not be affected by internal evils." Many people obviously eat enough, but they have diarrhea when eating cold food, and their hands and feet are always cold. In this case, no matter how much vitamin C is added, it is useless. The foundation is to smoothen the spleen and stomach and unblock qi and blood. Both statements are supported by clinical data. There is no need to argue about right or wrong. Just use what suits you.

Speaking of this, some people may want to argue, who around me stays up late every day eating takeout and rarely gets sick? Don't worry, if you observe carefully, there is a high probability that the person has either a particularly high quality of sleep or a particularly stable mentality. The operation girl I met at an Internet company said she slept 8 hours a day, but she always slept from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. She always caught colds when the seasons changed, and she got oral ulcers every month. Later, she forced herself to go to bed before 11 a.m. for half a month. Even if she only slept 7 hours a day, she didn't catch this wave of influenza A this year. Of course, this does not mean that everyone must go to bed early. Previous foreign sleep studies have shown that as long as the sleep rhythm is stable for a long time, there is no significant difference in the impact on immunity between going to bed late and getting up early and going to bed early and waking up early. I tried to go to bed at 1 a.m. and wake up at 9 a.m. for three months, and I did not feel uncomfortable at all.

The biggest pitfall I have ever encountered was the sudden exercise to improve immunity. Last spring, I signed up for a private training class. I practiced hard for an hour and a half every day and went on a diet to control my weight. However, I caught a cold within a week. My friends who were recovering from exercise laughed at my nonsense: 1-2 hours after high-intensity exercise is the "immune window period". At this stage, the activity of immune cells temporarily decreases. If you don't keep warm and don't replenish protein in time, it will be a susceptible period. People who don't usually have exercise habits don't have to force themselves to run 5 kilometers every day or pump iron for an hour. You can go downstairs for a 20-minute walk after meals every day, or play Ba Duan Jin for 10 minutes at home and stand for a while. The effect of long-term persistence is much more effective than a week of sudden training. Of course, this does not mean that high-intensity exercise is not good. As long as people who exercise all year round do good window protection, their immune levels will be higher than those of ordinary people. Again, just don’t mess with your body.

You may not believe it, but I know Aunt Zhang, who has the best immune system. She doesn’t take supplements every day, nor does she exercise regularly. She is cheerful every day, either going to square dances or playing with her grandson. She even recovered from the COVID-19 fever after only one day. Nowadays, both Chinese and Western medicine agree that people who are chronically anxious and stressed have consistently high cortisol levels, which directly inhibits the activity of immune cells. This is why many people develop oral ulcers and colds after working overtime for a week. As for how to regulate emotions, there is no standard answer. Some people think that mindfulness meditation is effective, while others think it is better to complain to friends for two hours or go shopping for half a day. As long as you can get rid of the suffocation in your heart, it doesn't matter.

In fact, immunity is like a security team in your body. If you provide enough food and grass, let the team members have a good rest, train appropriately every day but don't push them to death, and don't put pressure on the team members every day, the team will naturally be able to fight. If there is any "trick" that applies to everyone, oh, by the way, don't forget to get the vaccines you need on time. Influenza vaccines, pneumonia vaccines, shingles vaccines, etc. are the most effective ways to directly increase resistance to specific diseases. Don't be too troublesome. There is no magic formula that can be fixed once and for all. The immunologist I have contacted said that the best way to improve immunity is to "don't bother". Don't stay up late today, eat two more bites of fresh vegetables tomorrow, and don't hold it in when you are in a bad mood. It is better than anything else.