How to Boost Your Immune System.
Learn how to make your body resistant to germs
and disease so you can live a longer, healthier
life.
You will need Daily moderate exercise Something
to laugh about Optimism Lots of friends A
healthy diet Seven to nine hours of sleep
per night and a bridge group (optional).
Step 1.
Get moving: Just 30 minutes a day of moderate
exercise will do.
You can even split it into three 10-minute
bursts of activity.
Step 2.
Find something to laugh about every day – even
force it if you have to.
Real or fake, laughter strengthens your immune
system by increasing good-for-you hormones
and reducing stress ones; lowering your blood
pressure; and slowing your resting heart rate.
Step 3.
Train yourself to look at the bright side.
Optimistic people were two and a half times
less likely to develop cancer of any kind
than their pessimistic peers, according to
one study.
Step 4.
Make time for the friends you have and cultivate
new ones.
A study found that seniors with a lot of pals
were 22 percent less likely than their less
social counterparts to die during the decade
when they participated in the study.
Start a bridge group.
Research shows that bridge boosts the body's
defense against infections and illness.
Step 5.
Eat a healthy diet: at least five servings
of fruits and vegetables a day focusing on
the antioxidant powerhouses; complex carbs,
fatty fish, and a few cups of green tea at
least two times a week; a daily handful of
nuts; no more than one glass of alcohol per
day; and a limited amount of meat and sweets.
Eat more mushrooms during cold and flu season:
Research shows that when a virus is present,
mushrooms may rally the immune system to fight
them.
Step 6.
Get at least seven hours of sleep every night,
more if you can.
Did you know The first scientists to prove
that the body defends itself against disease
through the immune system shared the Nobel
Prize in 1908.
