Your body has a natural healing system within its intelligence and an army that stands to defend this health when necessary. The immune system is your body’s defense mechanism against illness and disease.

Keeping it operating at full capacity will help you to sail through the winter season without succumbing to the nasty bugs that lurk around every corner at that time of year. A strong immune system is the result of a mixture of lifestyle and dietary choices.

The immune system is a network of tissues, proteins, organs and cells that is spread throughout the body.

This system has the ability to tell if an object in the body is native or foreign to the body.

When it identifies a foreign body, it sets to work to get rid of it from the body.

A key part of the immune system is white blood cells.

They travel around the body through the blood and are constantly searching out pathogens to destroy.

When a pathogen is found, the white blood cells begin to multiply. They also send out messages to other white blood cells to come to the area.

The immune system becomes more powerful as we grow from child to adult.

When the immune system defeats a foreign body it remembers how it achieved that so it can more easily defeat that foreign body in the future if they battle again.

This gives the person immunity from that disease in the future.

Now as you know a little bit about how your immune system works, let’s see how you can keep its quality to as high of a level as you can.

Top 5 Ways to Supercharge Your Immune System:

1. Regular Exercise.

It is believed that moderate exercise is able to help reduce inflammation which, in turn, helps your immune cells to regenerate.

In one study, a moderate level of exercise was shown to enhance the effectiveness of vaccines that had been given to people with compromised immune systems.

It should be noted that intense exercise has actually been shown to have an adverse effect on the immune system.

In order to boost your immune system, choose such activities as walking, playing tennis, cycling or hiking for an average of 150 minutes per week.

2. Drink Water.

You don’t have to spend money on pricey supplements to boost your immune system.

Some of the best immunity boosters are completely free of charge. Take water, for example.

Drinking around half a gallon of water per day will keep you well hydrated to ensure that your body is able to function properly.

If your water intake is low, you are likely to be dehydrated. In that case you will be susceptible to headaches, digestive problems and kidney impairment. All of these things will compromise your body’s immunity.

The general recommendation is to drink when you feel thirsty.

However, as we age we begin to lose the thirst signal.

As a result, elderly people should drink water even when they do not feel thirsty.

3. A Plant Based Diet.

You don’t have to be a vegetarian to have an optimally performing immune system but you should prioritize plant based foods.

That’s because they contain phytochemicals and antioxidants that are able to neutralize free radicals and reduce inflammation in the body.

Inflammation is at the heart of many diseases including a range of cancers.

Plant foods contain a lot of fiber which feeds the gut microbiome.

The more healthy bacteria you have in your gut, the stronger your immune system will be.

Plant foods are also rich in micronutrients, such as Vitamin C, which help fight off bugs and other invaders.

4. Prioritize Quality Sleep.

Ensuring that you get between 7 to 9 hours of quality sleep every single night is crucial.

It’s perhaps the most important thing you can do to boost your body’s immunity. Numerous studies have linked a lack of sleep with impaired immunity.

It appears that your immune system is at its most potent when you are sleeping.

That is why you should get as much sleep as possible if you do become sick. Your body does the repair work while you sleep.

But it’s not just the quantity of your sleep that matters when it comes to improving your body’s immunity.

The quality of that sleep is just as important.

Maybe even more important than the quantity because what sleep experts measure is the effect of good night sleep, not the amount of sleep.

It is when you are in deep REM sleep that your immune system is operating optimally.

To ensure that you get as much of that quality sleep as possible, keep all technology out of your bedroom, maintain a dark, cool and quiet environment and keep to the same retiring and waking times.

5. Minimize Sugar Intake.

Sugar doesn’t just make you fat, it also makes you sick. Research clearly links obesity with poor health.

In one study, obese people who were given a flu shot were found to still be twice as likely to get the flu than people who were not overweight.

Obese people are more susceptible to heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes. These conditions, along with obesity itself, weaken immunity.

So, limiting sugar intake is one of the best things you can do to improve the functioning of your immune system.

Make it your aim to have no more than 2 tablespoons of sugar each day.