If you’re like most people, you probably didn’t think much about your immune system as long as it works smoothly. That changed in 2020, when Covid-19 highlighted the importance of keeping the immune system strong.
Over the past few months, the shadow of Covid-19 has ravished so much of our normal routine. Social distancing and fear have entered our everyday conversation. Wearing facial masks for protection has become the new normal. These drastic measures have caused society to bury their heads in the sand and pray for the “illness” to pass.
MaxLiving Chiropractors take a much more efficient approach to Covid-19. Our network of chiropractors focuses on removing subluxation from our bodies and allowing them to do what they do best, fight back.
Your immune system helps fight viruses and other disease-causing germs that you’re exposed to. As it recognizes these foreigner invaders, your immune system neutralizes or destroys them.
A healthy immune system can also detect changes in your body that can lead to disease, including cancer cells. The various organs, cells, and proteins that make up your immune system work as a team to fight harmful things that enter your body or harmful changes that happen within your body.1
Ideally, you won’t be exposed to Covid-19. If you are exposed to the virus, how sick you become depends on the strength of that virus along with how well your immune system can fight the virus.2
Because this is a new virus, we’re still learning about Covid-19. While older people are more susceptible, anyone can get this virus. 3
Our world has changed over the past few months. Covid-19 has stirred everyone’s lives. We’ve come to see how true the saying Health is wealth really is. During this pandemic and beyond, these five principles can keep you healthy and strengthen your immune system.
- Maintain a healthy weight. To protect your immune system, find your healthy weight and maintain that weight. After age, being obese is the most significant risk factor for being hospitalized with Covid-19.5 Obesity can hurt your immune system and make your body more inflamed.6 Our Core and Advanced Plans contain the anti-inflammatory, nutrient-rich, satisfying foods you need to maintain a healthy weight and keep your immune system strong.
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Focus on immune-supporting foods. Beyond eating a healthy diet, specific foods can support your immune health. One smart choice is whey protein, which can optimize your body’s production of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant for immune health.7, 8 Not all whey products are equal. Each serving of our great-tasting Grass-Fed Whey Protein provides 20 grams of the highest-quality protein with no added sugar. To start your day right and give your immune system extra support, try our Immune Boosting Smoothie. - Nutrient deficiencies can impair the immune system. When you don’t get enough nutrients that your immune system needs to work well, you’re more prone to illness. Vitamin C deficiencies can impair immunity and make you more susceptible to infections. Infections, in turn, can significantly impact vitamin C levels.9 Deficiencies in vitamin D can also impair your body’s ability to fight bacterial and viral infections.10 Our Daily Essentials covers those and many other nutrient bases to keep your immune system strong. You get all the vitamins, minerals, extra vitamin D3, anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, and more in one easy-to-take packet. You’ll find them here for men and women.
- Stress and poor sleep can also hurt your immune system. For many people, this pandemic amplified stress levels. Chronic stress can reduce the immune system’s ability to fight pathogens, making you more susceptible to infections.11 You can learn 16 ways to manage stress here. Not getting good sleep can also weaken your immune system. When you don’t get enough quality shut-eye, you’re more likely to get sick after being exposed to a virus. If you do get sick, poor sleep can impact how quickly you recover.12 If you have trouble falling or staying asleep, take our Sleep + Mood Formula.
- Learn to control what you can. This virus took everyone off guard. As news outlets report the latest grim statistics, we can feel helpless and afraid. Many things in life are outside of our control, but we can focus on those that we can control. How we eat, move, breathe, and think can dramatically impact health and wellbeing. That might mean carving out even 12 minutes for exercise, prioritizing sleep and stress management, taking extra immune support like Daily Defense, and making smart food choices.
While this pandemic will eventually end and we’ll resume living our lives, we can’t forget the importance of immune health. While being healthy doesn’t guarantee protection against illness, making healthy decisions can give you confidence that you’re supporting a strong, resilient immune system.
References
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279364/
- https://www.roswellpark.org/cancertalk/201809/if-your-immune-system-protects-you-why-do-you-still-get-sick
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/summary.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html
- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/16/health/coronavirus-obesity-higher-risk.html
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22429824
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11168457
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3048347/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29099763
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2821804/
- https://www.simplypsychology.org/stress-immune.html
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757
