Coronavirus period or not, it is essential to preserve your immunity to maintain good health and be in good shape every day.
Here are 5 tips to boost your immune defenses:
1 – Get enough sleep
2 – Focus on pre&probiotics
3 – Have a healthy and balanced diet
4 – Stock up on vitamins and micronutrients
5 – Practice regular physical activity
TIP #1 – SLEEP ENOUGH
We can never say it enough, sleep is essential for good regeneration and to calmly face the hassles of everyday life, including the fight against external aggressions. Indeed, when we sleep, our immune defenses are shaped, our skin and our cells are regenerated, all the biochemical repair processes are set up.
To boost your immune defenses on a daily basis, you should ideally sleep 7 to 8 hours a night , making sure to go to bed early enough to make the most of a deep restorative sleep. And during the day, let as much sunlight as possible inside your home or workplace. This will facilitate the day/night programming of your brain.
TIP N°2 – BET ON PREBIOTICS & PROBIOTICS
We are made up of 100,000 billion bacteria whose role is to protect us against external aggressions.
Preserving your good bacteria means further boosting your immune defences.
To do this, rely on the fibres, present in fruits and vegetables and which are also called prebiotics. These fibers will feed our good bacteria and make them stronger, better equipped to fight bad bacteria.
Probiotics are microorganisms; good bacteria that will increase the number of our good bacteria. Because it is well known, it is the number that makes the force! It is mainly found in fermented food or in food supplements.
At Demain® , we have integrated prebiotics and probiotics into our cosmetics and our food supplements to act in synergy on the intestinal and cutaneous microbiota and best preserve the health of our body and our skin.
TIP N°3 – HAVE A HEALTHY AND BALANCED DIET
As we have seen, fruits and vegetables contain fibers that will act on the good health of our immune system and allow us to be in good shape on a daily basis. They also contain a plethora of vitamins and nutrients that will help our body defend itself against external aggressions.
Do not deprive yourself of this precious source of benefits for your health!
Also boost the functioning of your cells by favoring slow-digesting carbohydrates, especially from bread, pasta, cereals, rice, rather than consuming fast-digesting carbohydrates from sweets, cookies, pastries.
TIP #4 – GET IN SHAPE WITH VITAMINS
Vitamin A : it stimulates the proliferation of white blood cells and the production of antibodies. It is also essential to the barrier function of the intestinal mucosa.
Where to find it? Carrots, pumpkin or spinach, lettuce or chicken or veal livers
Attention , for pregnant women, supplements containing vitamin A (retinol) and in particular fish liver oil, can be harmful and cause birth defects if the recommended dose is exceeded.
Vitamin C : it is a powerful antioxidant that protects white blood cells and increases their mobility. It stimulates the production of cytokines, the messengers that activate the immune response. It also stimulates the production of interferon, a molecule produced by cells of the immune system to destroy microbes.
Where to find it? Blackcurrant, red pepper, kiwi, strawberries, orange, broccoli, pineapple are those that contain the most. But also in acerola , a small berry that we introduced in our food supplement Go For Protection .
Vitamin E : studies have shown that vitamin E compensates for the loss of immune response due to aging by stimulating the production of white blood cells.
Where to find it? It is naturally present in food, such as in sunflower seeds or vegetable oils.
Vitamin D : it is known to activate the white blood cells (T lymphocytes) necessary to make antibodies and destroy germs.
Where to find it? It is mainly found in fatty fish (cod liver and its oil, smoked herring, mackerel, etc.) . You can also activate it by exposing part of your body to the sun every day for 10 minutes .
Selenium : it intervenes at the immune level by keeping the white blood cells alert.
Where to find it? In Emmental, cooked ham or button mushrooms
Zinc : it protects cell membranes from infections by microbial agents.
Where to find it? In seafood, poultry, cheese and Demain® food supplements .
TIP N°5 – PRACTICE A PHYSICAL ACTIVITY REGULARLY
To be in shape, you have to combine balanced diet and regular physical activity.
Walking, at a rate of 30 minutes a day, improves blood circulation, contributes to the increase of immune cells and reduces the risk of respiratory infection by 40%. A sport within everyone’s reach… soon ! And in the meantime, bet on the courses offered by many sports coaches during this period of confinement! #takecare
