In the western world, we are programmed from a young age to think that the answer to all ailments is prescription drugs. But in many cases, there are other alternatives that take a far more Read More
Call me an optimist, I’m always looking for silver linings, even in the most testing of times. Perhaps I have my parents to thank for my glass half full attitude or perhaps its my mental Read More
My mother puts a lot of stock in vitamin C. She keeps a bottle of the chewable variety in her kitchen drawer not the junk drawer with its litter of take-out menus and thumbtacks, but Read More
We know: You have been told we need to boost our immune system. You ate your immune-boosting sweet potatoes, got plenty of sleep, and hit the echinacea at the first sign of a scratchy throat. Read More
The COVID-19 global pandemic that has been going on for almost two years and shows no sign of ending is killing millions of people and causing tremendous stress, ever-increasing burden and suffering for people at Read More
The so-called “Quarantine 15” is real, and for some, it may be closer to 30 – as in pounds gained during one year of the pandemic. During the recent pandemic weight gain was an issue Read More
Right in the middle of a summer that is looking and feeling much more like normal, news of a rapidly spreading delta variant of SARS-CoV-2―the virus that causes COVID-19―is unsettling and causing lots of questions. Read More
The stay-at-home orders during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to decreased physical activity in children and an increase in screen time, finds two new studies from the Brown School at Washington Read More
When stress, viruses, bacterial infections and autoimmune conditions attack the body, the immune system can get flooded in a “Cytokine Storm,” or hyper-activated cytokine release, which causes inter-cellular signaling confusion and can lead to life-threatening Read More
The western diet is increasingly seen as being at the root of many diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, autoimmune disorders, and cancer, and thus is suspected to limit life expectancy during the 21st century. It Read More
What can you do to boost your immune system?
The idea of boosting your immunity is enticing, but the ability to do so has proved elusive for several reasons. The immune system is precisely that — a system, not a single entity. To function well, it requires balance and harmony. There is still much that researchers don’t know about the intricacies and interconnectedness of the immune response. For now, there are no scientifically proven direct links between lifestyle and enhanced immune function.
But that doesn’t mean the effects of lifestyle on the immune system aren’t intriguing and shouldn’t be studied. Researchers are exploring the effects of diet, exercise, age, psychological stress, and other factors on the immune response, both in animals and in humans. In the meantime, general healthy-living strategies make sense since they likely help immune function and they come with other proven health benefits.
