If you keep getting sick and you’re tired of asking your doctor for help, especially because you want something much more natural when it comes to your healthcare, it might be time to change your lifestyle and look into some alternative remedies that can boost your immune system and give you the robust health you are looking for. If that sounds like something that would appeal, read on; here are some useful tips when it comes to doing just that.
Hydrate
The answer to a lot of your sickness problems may lie in the fact that you’re chronically dehydrated. This means that you have been lacking the right amount of water for so long that it has become your body’s normal state, and it just doesn’t work as well as it could and should do because of this.
To put things right and help you to boost your immune system once more, you need to hydrate better. In other words, you need to drink more water. Drinking between 2 and 3 litres per day is ideal (how much exactly will depend if you’re male or female, what your overall body type is like and how much you exercise), and although this might seem impossible, you can do it.
Ensure you always have a bottle of water with you and can sip from it all day long to begin with. If you want to be more environmentally friendly, buy a reusable bottle and install water filters in your home so you can fill your bottle with pure water.
I recommend this water distiller for delicious, clean water.
You can also hydrate by drinking certain herbal or fruit teas, making a nice change from water, and help you get to the correct hydration levels. Stay away from alcohol and caffeine as much as possible as these are dehydrating.
Use a dry skin brush
When you use a dry skin brush all over your body, you are not only removing the dead skin cells and allowing your skin to breathe more easily, but you are also stimulating blood flow. This means more white blood cells are being created, which help fight against viruses and bacteria, keeping your immune system healthy.
As a bonus benefit, a dry skin brush will also help to reduce the appearance of cellulite and even enhance muscle tone.
Take a walk in the forest
In Japan, research has taken place about how best to improve your immune system, and one of the top results is taking a walk in the forest or woods. This even has a special name; ‘forest bathing’.
Walking in nature is a wonderful way to improve your immune system and feel great at the same time. It lowers your stress levels and blood pressure, it increases the number of white blood cells in your body, and it helps you reconnect with nature. This latter point may not specifically help your immune system, but it certainly helps your mental health, which is linked to your physical health and therefore your immune system too.
Take a mustard bath
The idea of taking a mustard bath might seem a strange one, but when it comes to boosting your immune system, this natural remedy really can work. The best time to have a mustard bath is when you’re just starting to feel unwell since it will kick-start your immune system and help to fight against any illness you might have much more quickly before it can really take hold.
The mustard bath idea is a good one since mustard’s warming properties raise your body temperature and cause you to sweat. This kills bacteria and other germs, and again it will help to increase your white blood cell count. When you sweat, you eliminate toxins through your skin which is also helpful.
To make a mustard bath, you will need ¼ cup of mustard seed powder, ¼ cup of Dead Sea salt, ¼ cup of Epsom salt, and ¼ cup of baking soda. You can also add a few drops of your chosen essential oil if you prefer. Pour the whole mixture into a warm bath and soak for 30 minutes.
Eat immunity-boosting foods
They say you are what you eat, so it makes sense to eat foods that will boost your immunity if you want to be as healthy as possible. Eating organic food and trying to incorporate fruit and vegetables that make up the colours of the rainbow each day is a good tactic, as these are the best foods to eat to improve your immune system. Avoiding processed food and food that contains a lot of chemicals is also good since they can weaken your immune system.
If you cook your meals from scratch, you’ll know exactly what goes into them, and you can be in much more control of your health and specifically your immune system. You can also add plenty of herbs and spices to your food if you’re making it yourself, and some of these are perfect for boosting your health and protection. Every different herb or spice has its own benefits, so it depends on what you want to achieve as to which ones you use. Oregano, for example, will fight off bacteria and viruses because it contains the compounds thymol and carvacrol.
Get a good night’s sleep
We’re always told that getting a good night’s sleep can solve many problems, and this is actually true. When you sleep, your body has a chance to repair itself. This is because it uses very little energy to do anything else, such as thinking and moving. Everything can therefore be focused on boosting the immune system and repairing any health issues.
The more soundly you sleep, and for the right amount of time (somewhere between seven and nine hours), the healthier you will be. Your immune system will be in the best condition, and you’ll also feel much more alert and awake during the day, ensuring you are as productive as possible.
Great tips, thank you. A GP once told me that if you feel a cold coming on, you should drink loads and loads of water, far more than you think you’ll need, because your body needs a lot of it to fight infection. It might just be a placebo effect, but I’ve done that a few times and noticed a positive difference.