The word “immunity” gained a major spotlight since the COVID Pandemic has started. Everybody began raving about how important immunity is and how it is the only thing that can shield you against CoronaVirus. Words spread about how protein is the key to a strong immune system.

The fact that nobody understands how our immunity system works made the situation so much worse than it had to be. In this article, we are going to break down what Immunity is and how you can boost it naturally.

What is Immunity?

Consider you are standing inside a bubble that protects you from germs, viruses, pollution, diseases, and literally everything. This is what immunity is for your body.

Immunity is the body’s innate defense against invasion by microorganisms. Without immune, we would have no chance to fight the harmful bacteria that try to enter our bodies.

The immunity system works at three different levels:

1. Scrutiny: It is the outermost layer that protects the entry of undesirable elements like your skin. The skin protects against the invading of microorganisms.

2. Maintenance: What if damage-causing microorganisms somehow cross the physical barrier? Maintenance takes care of such situations. Specific immune cells immediately respond to repair and work in removing damaged cells. For example - The clotting of blood around a cut or a wound that not only stops the loss of excess blood but also protects from infection

3. Protection: When scrutiny fails and maintenance is inefficient, the body’s innate intelligence guards itself by directly attacking the pathogens. For example: When you have a fever, that is your body’s natural way of fighting germs and purifying blood.

When our lifestyles are not in sync with nature, and our body’s natural clock, toxins start accumulating. Toxins are the sole reason for diseases in our bodies. Read more about toxins here.

What are the common factors that affect immunity?

The food you eat, the area you live, your thoughts and mindset, your routine, etc all affect your immune system. The symptoms always start with minor hints like constant headache, sneezes, indigestion, fatigue, etc but if they go unnoticed your body would go through major health shifts.

Let’s shed light upon the major factors that badly affect the immunity system.

1. Refined Food: All refined and packaged foods result in improved stress that weakens your immune. Active consumption of fast food is linked to the reduced ability of white blood cells to kill germs. 

2. Lifestyle: Lifestyle choices have a huge impact on your immune system. Wrong food habits, lesser sleep and rest, lack of physical activity, etc lead to increased overload on the immunity system which hinders its performance.

3. Environmental Toxins: Excessive exposure to electromagnetic radiation from mobile phones, microwaves, TVs, computers can affect the growing tissues of the body and damage the immune system.

4. Antibiotics: Antibiotics are go-to medicines whenever you suffer a minor health inconvenience. They usually work by destroying the harm-causing bacteria. But the downside is that they not only kill harmful bacteria but also the good ones. This suppresses the body’s natural ability to produce antibiotics.

5. Removal of Vital Organs: Today medical science has reached new heights where we have solutions for almost every health concern. One such solution is the removal of organs like tonsils, appendix, gallbladder, and spleen when they perform wrongly.

We ignore the fact that these organs are present in our bodies for a reason and no, they are no less important for our body’s function. When toxins start building inside us, the body tries to push them out. But if the environment is not supporting enough, it will push the toxins towards the organs that are not needed for our survival, for example - the gall bladder. This is the major reason gallbladder stones are quite common nowadays.

How to Boost Immunity Naturally?

All your immune asks you is to stay true to yourself. Now that you know what leads to a hindered immune system, let’s look at the ways you can boost immunity naturally.

1. Proper Sleep: Body repairs & builds new cells at night. As you sleep, the immune system produces and releases cytokines - a type of protein that targets infection and inflammation. Hence, sleep deprivation means decreased production of these protective cytokines. 

Solution: Ensure restful sleep of 7-8 hours every night. Sleep early, by 10 pm at the max. 

2. De-Stress: Stress hormones suppress the effectiveness of the immune system. Stress can also push you to choose unnatural ways of coping like drinking & smoking. Needless to say, they only harm your body with zero benefits.

Solution: Spend time with loved ones, engage in hobbies, sit quietly with gentle background music on, meditate, sunbathe, and explore nature.

3. Natural Foods: Raw and fresh fruits should be your answer to every snack cravings. Loading your diet with natural foods helps in repairing your body from within, and cleaning out the accumulated toxins.

Solution: Avoid fast food, refined food, dairy products, processed sugars, etc as they make your body the perfect fertile ground for internal germs. Add salads to your diet and start your day with a fresh glass of fruit juice.

4. Sunbathe: Sun is food. It is the purest form of energy and also acts as a disinfectant for your body. Sunlight triggers the production of Vitamin D which is crucial for your immune system.

Solution: Soak the sun for 15-20 minutes (with significant areas of skin ex- posed), within 2 hours post sunrise or 2 hours before sunset. Let your eyes be exposed occasionally to the indirect sun by taking off your glasses.

5. Physical Activities: Physical activities may help flush toxins out of the lungs and airways. They also promote better blood circulation, ensuring an adequate supply of nutrients all over the body.

Solution: Engage yourself in some kind of physical activity like exercise, jogging, cycling, swimming, etc. Move your body and let it be physically active.

Switch to healthy habits and make the lifestyle changes that are required to boost your immunity. 

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