Immunity improved

Improving immunity is never something that can be achieved quickly by relying on a certain Internet celebrity supplement or a single habit. It is a state of simultaneous improvement in the three dimensions of the body's external defense against pathogens, internal repair of damage, and maintenance of immune balance. And for most ordinary people who have no major flaws in their diet and rest, there is no need to spend a lot of money on high-end maintenance. Adjusting a few daily details can touch the threshold.

In the past two years, I was simply a "walking target for pathogens." I would catch a cold every time the seasons changed, and it would last for half a month at a time. My mouth ulcers took turns to develop. At the worst time, I had three in my mouth at the same time, and even drinking hot porridge hurt. Last spring, the physical examination showed that the serum immunoglobulin IgG was nearly 15% lower than the normal value. The doctor said that it was caused by staying up late for a long time, being sedentary for a long time, and drinking iced milk tea. He just needed to make adjustments without prescribing medicine.

At first, I was eager to find shortcuts. I followed the trend and bought more than 300 bottles of oral immunoglobulin, as well as imported echinacea tablets, which are said to "increase defense by taking one pill a day." After taking it for three months, I still had a cold. Later, I went to the nutrition department to call a specialist. They directly said that oral immunoglobulin is broken down into amino acids by proteases when it enters the stomach and cannot enter the circulatory system. Echinacea is also useful in shortening the course of colds. Daily consumption cannot improve immunity at all, and it is purely an IQ tax.

Later, I read a lot of information and asked my friends who are fitness coaches and those who study traditional Chinese medicine. I found that different fields have different opinions on how to adjust immunity, but the core point is not to torment the body. Friends who work out say that the most important thing is to move. You don’t have to force yourself to run five kilometers every day. Even if you walk for 20 minutes every morning and two stops after work, or you stand up and jump for two minutes every hour and raise your legs high when you sit for a long time, it promotes lymphatic circulation. As metabolism increases, the activity of immune cells will naturally be higher. Fa Xiao, who studies traditional Chinese medicine, says not to be greedy for cold, drink less ice, and pay attention to protecting the back of the neck and lower back to prevent cold air from getting in. Once the spleen and stomach are well developed, the resistance will naturally rise. The Western medicine doctor I followed up with later put it more directly: First, get rid of the bad habits that destroy your immunity: staying up late at night, eating high-fat and high-sugar meals, and taking antibiotics when you get sick are more effective than taking any supplements.

Speaking of which, I used to think that the higher the immunity, the better, until my aunt was diagnosed with Hashimoto's thyroiditis last year. The doctor said that the disease was caused by an overactive immune system that attacked the own thyroid tissue as a foreign pathogen. It turns out that stronger immunity is never better, balance is the most critical. Those products that claim to "100% activate immunity" may disrupt the immune balance and cause greater trouble.

I have been adjusting slowly for more than half a year. My most intuitive feeling is that last winter, three colleagues around me got influenza A one after another. I ate with them every day and was not infected.； In the past, if I stayed up late at night to catch up on a plan, I would have migraines and breakouts the next day. Now, even if I occasionally rush to work until midnight, I can basically recover by catching up on 20 minutes of sleep at noon the next day. ； Even the allergic rhinitis that was a common occurrence every year in the past has been reduced by half this spring. The last time I went for a review, the IgG level had completely returned to the normal range.

Of course, this does not mean that supplements are completely useless. I have a friend who is a vegetarian all year round. He lacks vitamin B12 and iron, and his immunity has not improved. After taking supplements for three months according to the doctor's advice, the indicators improved.； For patients who have just undergone surgery, doctors will also recommend appropriate protein and vitamin supplements to help with recovery. But if you usually eat enough meat, eggs, milk, vegetables and fruits, and your schedule is not too big a problem, there is really no need to spend that wasted money.

In fact, immunity is really "sensible". If you don't mess with it less, it will work well for you. There is no need to think of improving immunity as a big project that needs to be strictly implemented. Remember to put on extra clothes when it gets cold when you go out. Don't drink two cups of iced milk tea. Don't stay up until two or three o'clock for three or four days in a row. If you have a slight cold, don't take antibiotics immediately. When you find that you don't go to the hospital very much when the season changes, you can recover after being tired and take a nap. That means it has quietly gotten better.