Tips for boosting immunity

There is no "magic recipe" for immunity that can be improved by just eating. What can really improve immunity stably in the long term is the small adjustments in the four dimensions of eating, sleeping, moving, and emotion. There is no unified standard that suits everyone. All methods must be adjusted according to your own physical condition to be effective.

In the past two years, I have helped several friends around me who are prone to colds due to seasonal changes. They can see obvious changes in up to 3 months, and they have not spent more than 100 yuan. What impressed me the most was a girl who worked in operations. She used to catch colds when the seasons changed, and in severe cases, it would lead to bronchitis. She stocked up on vitamin C effervescent tablets and took transfer factor every day for more than half a year, but it didn't work. I told her not to buy things randomly, but to lie down before 11:30 at least 4 days a week, and not to stay up after 12 o'clock even if she was lying down and playing with her mobile phone. She said she couldn't do it at first, but then she set an alarm for 11 o'clock and turned off the computer at that time. She persisted for more than two months. The last time she cooled down, everyone around her was coughing, but nothing happened to her. In fact, there has been controversy in academic circles about sleep duration. Some people say that you must sleep for 8 hours to reach the standard. Some people say that as long as you are energetic, sleeping for 6 hours is fine. The key is not to stay up until the golden period of deep sleep after 1 o'clock, and do not suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. If you sleep for 6 hours a day and are not sleepy at all during the day, there is no need to force yourself to lie down for 8 hours. On the contrary, lying anxiously will also weaken your immunity.

After talking about sleeping, someone will definitely ask, what should I eat to replenish my body? Don’t believe in the myth that eating sea cucumbers and matsutake mushrooms can boost your immunity. There is an aunt downstairs in my house who stewed sea cucumbers every day last winter, which made her suffer from blisters at the corners of her mouth. She caught a cold when she went out to catch the wind, and she got sick more frequently than before. Nowadays, there are two mainstream views on dietary supplementation for immunity. One group believes that as long as the daily diet is balanced, there is no need to take additional supplements. The other group believes that most modern people eat takeout and get less sun exposure. It is safer to supplement basic nutrients appropriately. In fact, there is no need to take sides. If you can eat fresh vegetables, meat, eggs, and milk every meal, you can still get half an hour of sunshine every day. Yang, then you really don’t need to take any supplements. If you eat takeaways that are heavy in oil and salt every day, and you don’t see the sun twice a week in winter, go for a trace element test. Just make up for whatever is missing. Basic OTCs like vitamin D and zinc are enough. Don’t buy those “immunity complex tablets” that cost hundreds of dollars. The ingredients are similar to those of medicines that cost a few dollars, and they are all IQ taxes. Oh, by the way, some people also asked whether it is useful to take injections to improve immunity? I specifically asked a friend in the immunology department of a tertiary hospital. Immunoglobulin injections and the like are mostly used for people with immune deficiencies and severe infections. Not only are they useless for ordinary people, they may also disrupt their own immune balance. It is a waste of money. If you are a pure vegetarian, don’t panic. As long as you pay attention to supplementing B12 and iron, you can still have a good immunity. You don’t have to listen to others saying that if you don’t eat meat, you will have poor health. It’s no problem if you mix it properly.

When it comes to exercise, many people's first reaction is to get a fitness card and do some ironing, and run 5 kilometers every day. It's really unnecessary. I used to have a programmer colleague. In order to improve his immunity, he who never moved suddenly signed up for a marathon training camp. He ran 10 kilometers continuously on the weekend. The next day, his fever reached 38 degrees, which destroyed his immunity. Regarding the relationship between exercise and immunity, the sports medicine community has always had different opinions. One group believes that moderate-intensity aerobics is best for improving immunity, while the other group believes that strength training to increase muscle mass is the basis of immunity. In fact, for ordinary people, there is no need to worry about which one is best. If you don't move at all, walking 2,000 more steps a day or standing for half an hour at home will be useful. Don't go to too strenuous intensity all at once, which will lead to a short-term decline in immunity, which is not worth the gain.

Finally, let me talk about a point that many people ignore: Emotions actually have a greater impact on immunity than eating and exercise. I was working on a project at the end of last year and stayed up for two weeks in a row. I was so stressed that I cried when I got home. I hadn't caught a cold in two or three years, but I ended up having a fever for three days. When I went to the doctor, the doctor said directly, "You are too stressed and your immunity has been destroyed." Later, I checked the information and found out that under long-term high pressure, cortisol in the body continues to rise, which will directly inhibit the activity of immune cells. Even if you eat delicacies every day, it will be useless. There are also different opinions on emotional regulation. Some say that you should be positive and optimistic and maintain a good mood every day. Some say that it is healthier to not force yourself to be positive and to allow negative emotions to flow. I have tried it myself and found the latter to be more useful. I don’t need to worry about "Will my immunity weaken" when I emo? Occasionally crying, complaining to friends, or even finding a place where no one is around is better than holding it in. As long as you don't stay in a state of anxiety and depression for a long time.

Harm, in fact, immunity is really not that complicated, and you don’t need to spend a lot of money on high-end maintenance. Just treat your body like a child. Don’t starve it, don’t overwork it, don’t torment it, and don’t always make it miserable. It will naturally do its job for you, which is more effective than any panacea.