By David Saunders | UPDATED: 11:28, 27 April 2020
A healthy immune system, able to fight off illness, is something we all strive for but doing all we can to keep ourselves and our families as healthy as possible has never been more important.
With so many unknowns, it’s sometimes difficult to know how to adjust to make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance of staying fighting fit.
So how can you give your motivation a lift, support your immunity and keep yourself as healthy and energised as possible throughout the rest of the year?
Fuelling your body with all essential vitamins and minerals is crucial in helping to maintain a healthy immune system and keeping energy levels up, as well as ensuring your lifestyle habits are helping, not hindering your health and wellbeing. Spatone® has pulled together some tips to keep well and support your body’s natural defences throughout the year.
Embrace high fibre foods: Make sure you’re adding a variety of healthy, high fibre foods to your diet as these are packed with immune supporting vitamins and minerals.
Fruit and vegetables, as well as plant-based foods like legumes contain a variety of natural vitamins which will help keep your immune system strong. Also try to include foods rich in nutrients like iron and vitamin B12 to give your body the best chance at staying healthy and energised.
Lemon water: Lemons are packed with Vitamin C, which helps support your immune system, so try including a drink of lemon water into your daily routine. Simply squeeze some fresh lemon juice into a glass, fill with warm water and sip away.
Don’t let the healthy lifestyle habits slip: Stress and a lack of rest, exercise and sleep all tend to affect our energy and our strength, which can leave us more vulnerable to outside influences.
To keep your immune system working at its best, make sure you are getting some regular exercise and try to get both good quality and quantity of sleep. If you can, try to go outside and get some fresh air, even for 15 minutes a day.
If at-home workouts are more suited to your routine, there are lots of YouTube accounts that offer free workouts for all fitness levels.
Stay positive and balanced: Many who feel stressed or worried might experience a dip in energy as your body triggers ‘flight or fight’ mode and tries to bypass daily pressures.
Caring for your emotional wellbeing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle will support not only your immune system but your entire body. Try different methods of soothing your mind; think about calming activities you can take up, like painting, arts and crafts or playing music.
Another great way of balancing your emotions is to practice meditation and mindfulness, and with lots of free tutorials online, there’s something for everyone. As well as lots of guided meditation options on YouTube you can try out, there are also some meditation apps such as Headspace, Calm and Aura that you can try too.
Good hygiene: The first line of defence in supporting your immune system is making sure you’re following good personal hygiene habits. Make sure you’re regularly washing your hands with soap and water and if you do sneeze or cough, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or cough into your elbow rather than your hands.