5 Easy Ways To Protect Your Immunity Naturally

There's never been a more important time than now to put the focus on protecting your immune system and a healthy lifestyle can help ensure your immune system defenses are as strong as they can be.

Check out this list of practical tips for supporting optimal immune function year round...

1. Protect your gut health by eating a colourful range of high-fibre plant-based foods

"A healthy diet builds a healthy gut and therefore a strong immune system, which makes our health more robust and our body less susceptible to infections, infection pathogens, viruses and pathogenic bacteria," says Hannah Richards, nutritionist and author of The Best Possible You: A Unique Nutritional Guide To Healing Your Body. To feed your gut flora and support a healthy gut, we need to be eating a varied and colourful diet with plenty of high-fibre, plant-based foods - which is exactly what you can expect from your Craft Smoothie Box.

2. Keep active to support optimal immune function

Just like a healthy diet, regular exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system. According to Professor Arne Akbar, president of the British Society for Immunology, “exercise mobilises white blood cells by increasing your blood flow, so they can do their surveillance jobs and seek and destroy in other parts of the body.”  This means the white blood cells can move through the body freely and do their job efficiently. Exercise also has the positive side effect of reducing stress, which is next on our list of immunity-protecting controls. 

3. Manage stress to protect your immune system by maintaining a healthy routine

In these uncertain times, it’s only natural for people to experience varrying levels of stress due to feelings of fear or anxiety. These feelings can lead to increased production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can compromise immune function. This is why managing stress levels is key. And with more of the global workforce now working from home, managing stress is essential to maintaining a happy, healthy and productive workforce. The best advice to get through this comes back to focusing on what you can control, rather than being worried about what you can’t control.

Being proactive in taking care of your health will help you feel more in control. And by helping others cope with their stress levels, you can also make your community stronger. 
Here's how to get back in control: 

• Establish a healthy routine - this is so important if you're working from home or self-isolating
• Take breaks from social media and reading or watching news stories - follow important updates but don't let the coverage consume you
• Take time out of your day to meditate or practice yoga - deep breathing and stretching will go a long way
• Eat healthy, well-balanced meals - focus on maximizing your intake of plant-based foods
• Exercise regularly and get plenty of sleep - see how to wake up and feel like a million bucks
• Make time to unwind - by reading a book or listening to music
• Connect with others - check in with family and friends to see how they're doing and talk with people you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling
• 
Call your healthcare provider if stress gets in the way of your daily activities for several days in a row

4. Prioritise sleep to enhance your disease-fighting ability

Eating well, keeping active and managing stress can all be linked to a better night's sleep better - which is a bonus because a tired body is more susceptible to infection. A study conducted in 2019 found that lack of sleep impaired the disease-fighting ability of specialised immune cells called T cells.

5. Don't forget your vitamin D for immunity support

Deficiency in vitamin D is associated with increased chance of infection. Vitamin D, which is produced by the body in response to sunlight, is essential to proper functioning of the immune system. So if you're self-isolating or working from home, it's essential to make sure you're making time to get outside every day.

We're proud to be supporting thousands of New Zealanders to keep on top of their health with a convenient breakfast solution that cares about protecting your immunity. If you want to give Craft Smoothie a try, you just need to place an order before midnight on Wednesday for delivery the following week.