How Can I Balance My Immune System?

One of the most common questions we’ve received during the COVID-19 pandemic has been, “How can I balance my immune system?” Our immune system is under threat during the pandemic, not just from possible viral infection, but from the increased stress we are all under.

“There’s no magic bullet to balance our immune system,” WellcomeMD’s Dr. Neal Carl said. “However, it’s important to focus on a healthy diet, stress reduction and proper sleep to help our body naturally fight off disease.”

Diet

WellcomeMD Health Coach Luis Perez says our body needs protein, Vitamin C and D, zinc and iron for a healthy immune system. Fortunately, we get the majority of what we need from what we eat.

“Whole foods and clean foods that are free of preservatives like fruit and vegetables are important,” Perez said. “We also get zinc and Omega 3 fatty acids from seafood, like oysters and scallops. All of these help body naturally build our immune system.”

Stress

Stress plays a huge role in our body’s ability to fight off illness, according to WellcomeMD’s Dr. Matthew Acampora.

 “Obviously we are all under more stress recently,” Dr. Acampora said. “Doing simple things, like meditation or getting outside to walk your dog helps tremendously.”

 Getting outside every day also helps our body get the Vitamin D it needs to naturally help our immunity. Our skin is a vital organ in our immune system. Not only does it help synthesize the Vitamin D we get from the sun, but it also helps us sweat out toxins.

Sleep

 Food and regular exercise can also have an impact on the third important factor in balancing our immune system – sleep. Too much caffeine or sugar can be an obstacle to good sleep, as can inactivity.

“We have found that 7.5-8 hours seem to be optimal for sleep,” Dr. Carl said. “However, our optimal amount of sleep and quality of sleep is often impacted by our genetics. Our patients get this information from their genetic sleep and stress report.”

Taking care of our diet, stress and sleep can go a long way to balancing our immune system. If you have any questions on how we can tailor your personal health plan to help your body’s natural immunity, please contact us.