The fastest way to improve immunity

The change of season will no longer make your throat feel itchy, a cold breeze will stop you from getting an immediate headache, and you will feel better after staying up late for half a day.

I am really not making this up. I actually tried it before the peak of the infection at the end of last year. At that time, I was working on projects for half a month, sleeping an average of 4 hours a day, and all the takeout meals were braised chicken and spicy hotpot with heavy oil and salt. Then suddenly for three days in a row, I woke up with a tight throat and even swallowing saliva hurt. I was so scared that I thought I was about to be infected, so I immediately put off all non-essential work. For the first three days, I put my phone in the living room and lay down at 10:30. Even if I couldn’t fall asleep, I closed my eyes and rested my mind. I could read at most two pages of a paper book and slept for 8 hours a day. ； I stopped taking out all the food, and added 2 eggs and a carton of hot milk in the morning, and a palm-sized piece of steamed fish or fried chicken breast at noon, with a small bowl of brown rice and stir-fried vegetables. Oh, and by the way, I replaced the two cups of iced Americano I had a day with warm lemon water. I even deliberately avoided touching the pimples on my face that I couldn't help but pick at. I also stopped the high-intensity HIIT I did twice a week - I was already weak at that time, and moving anymore would just put a burden on my body. I adjusted like this for 5 days, and the feeling of tightness in my throat disappeared. Later, most of my colleagues and friends around me had erections, and I was stunned that nothing was wrong.

Someone will definitely refute this. My friends take vitamin C and lactoferrin every day and haven’t caught a cold all year round. Some people say that I insist on running 3 kilometers every day and I have rarely had a fever in the past two years. Some elders say that moxibustion and foot soaking are more effective than anything else in replenishing qi. These statements are indeed correct, but the applicable scenarios are different. Take supplements as an example. I followed the trend and bought more than 300 yuan of imported lactoferrin. After taking it for half a month, I didn’t feel anything. When I went for a physical examination, I found out that I had eaten enough meat and eggs, and there was no shortage of protein. What I added was superfluous and was metabolized. It was a waste of money. But if you usually eat a vegetarian diet and rarely touch meat, eggs, and milk, then supplementing with some extra vitamin C and lactoferrin can really make up for the gap quickly, and the effect is obvious.

The same principle applies to exercise. I have a running friend who used to run in the morning at temperatures below zero every day, claiming that it can enhance immunity. As a result, he was hospitalized for a week with pneumonia last winter. The doctor said that he worked overtime until 12 o'clock every day during that period. He was already sleep deprived and his immune cells were already spinning. He insisted on increasing the amount of exercise, which was equivalent to asking a security guard who had already stayed up for three days and nights to run another five kilometers. How could he still have the strength to ward off the virus? But if you have a regular schedule and sleep for 7 hours a day, then insisting on moderate-intensity exercise can indeed make your immune cells more active, which will benefit you greatly in the long run.

There are also methods that elders often talk about, such as moxibustion, foot soaking, and drinking brown sugar ginger tea. Last month, my mother had a headache due to the cold wind. She soaked her feet for three days in a row. Every time she soaked her feet, she sweated slightly, and her headache was relieved the same day. It is more effective than taking cold medicine. But if you have a body type that is prone to getting angry, and you often get mouth ulcers and big red and swollen acne on your face, then moxibustion and drinking ginger tea every day will actually aggravate the inflammatory response in the body and consume immune reserves in vain, which is simply a disservice.

I have previously checked relevant research in the "Journal of Clinical Immunology", which said that the synthesis of human immune cells originally relies on 70% of high-quality proteins. The repair of damaged immune cells depends entirely on body metabolism during sleep, and the sustained inflammatory response will consume more than 60% of the body's immune reserves. To put it bluntly, these three are the basic foundation of immunity. If the basic foundation is not stable, other methods will achieve half the result with twice the result, and may even be counterproductive.

Oh, by the way, don’t believe those paid courses on the Internet that “quickly improve your immunity in 7 days”. There is no need to stock up on supplements worth thousands of dollars. First, take 10 minutes to review your recent status: Have you slept less than 6 hours a day in the past week? Have you not eaten meat, eggs, and milk in a serious way for a long time? Every meal is either vegetarian or takes out a heavy meal? Have you been smoking, drinking, eating ice cream, picking at wounds, and wearing heavy makeup every day lately, causing your skin to become red and acne prone?

Filling in these most obvious pitfalls first will be faster than how much money you spend on supplements or how many fitness classes you sign up for. After all, immunity is your body's "self-preservation ability". If you don't mess it up and give it enough raw materials and rest time, it will naturally be able to stand up quickly. There is no need for so many fancy tricks.