Every year, when winter is just around the corner, we often associate it with the flu epidemic or the cold epidemic. A healthy and strong immune system can protect us from these diseases. It is able to kill the pathogens that cause these diseases.
In this guide you will find answers on how to quickly strengthen your immune system. We have answered the most important questions for you and will also show you what you can do besides taking medication and food supplements to strengthen your immune system quickly.
the essentials in brief
- The immune system is a defense system in our body. It serves to protect against pathogenic pathogens.
- There are two types of immune systems: innate and acquired. The acquired immune system refers to the external influences on the body, for example vaccinations.
- There are different ways to quickly strengthen the immune system. You can either make some lifestyle changes, supplement your diet, take supplements, or get booster injections.
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Strengthen the immune system quickly: What you should know
In the following sections you will find helpful answers to the most frequently asked questions about the immune system.
How does the immune system work?
The most important task of the immune system is to protect us from pathogenic and life-threatening pathogens. These include some bacteria, viruses, fungi and germs. It is a defense system made up of different organs, cell types and molecules. It protects us from invading harmful microorganisms as well as from our own body cells if they turn into cancer cells.
The immune system is a network of different organs, cell types and molecules.
There are two types of immune system: the innate immune system and the acquired immune system. The innate immune system includes the external protective function and the internal defense mechanisms. Our skin, for example, offers the greatest external protective function (3). Thanks to its protective acid mantle, it is able to ward off pathogens. Furthermore, our urine, our mucous membrane, eye fluid or saliva also belong to the protective functions.
The acquired immune system is what we get from "outside". For example, vaccination is part of the adaptive immune system (1.2">. Here, a small amount of pathogens is injected into our body so that it is able to produce antibodies against these pathogens. Other types of adaptive immune system also include blood transfusions or tissue transplants.
| immune system | kind |
|---|---|
| Innate | mucous membrane, skin, urine, saliva, eye fluid kit |
| Acquired | Vaccinations, injections, blood transfusion, transplants |
When is it helpful to strengthen your immune system?
As soon as the cold season is just around the corner, we start thinking about strengthening our immune system. Because we often associate winter with the flu season and a wave of colds. Once you have a cold, we take a variety of preparations so that we feel better again quickly. But we don't have to let it get that far.
As soon as it gets colder outside, the probability of getting sick increases. Often it is a cold with a runny nose. You use up a lot of tissues and try to drink a lot of tea. (Image source: Kelly Sikkema / unsplash)
It is helpful to preventively strengthen the immune system beforehand for the colder season. This means that in late summer you can adjust your body to the cold season. As a result, you are not so easily infected by your environment. A strong immune system can kill harmful microorganisms more effectively. Viruses, like the fluctuating temperature between outside and inside, cannot harm the body.
What can I do physically to strengthen my immune system?
There are several things you can do to boost your immune system. One of them, for example, is getting enough sleep every night (4). On average, adults should sleep 6-9 hours. However, this varies from person to person, as there are late risers as well as people who get by very well with little sleep. Sleep has a positive effect on the T-cells in our body. These are defense cells that attach themselves to body cells that are already infected and then kill them.
Sleep, exercise and nutrition play an essential role in the immune system.
Just like sleep, getting enough exercise is important for our immune system (5). This is not about doing high-performance sports every other day, but bringing in some exercise every day. This can be, for example, a walk in the fresh air or a bike ride through the park.
It is not only important what we do with our body to strengthen the immune system, but also what we put into our body (6.7">. We need to consume enough vitamins and minerals to keep our body fit.
There is a saying that one should try to eat the rainbow every day. Lots of fruit and vegetables in different colors ensure a balanced diet and a strong immune system. (Image source: Alexander Schimmeck / unsplash)
The saying that you should try to eat the rainbow every day does not come from anywhere. A balanced and high-fiber diet with lots of vegetables and fruit ensures a strong immune system.
Which foods help me to strengthen my immune system quickly?
There are certain foods that are able to sustainably strengthen our immune system. Above all, vitamins A, B, C and D as well as trace elements such as zinc, iron or magnesium are a must in our diet.
Broccoli, for example, is a true hero when it comes to protecting our immune system. It's high in calcium, and its ingredient sulforaphane can even help fight arthritis or cancer (8).
Other foods like garlic, nuts, mushrooms, or cabbage are also effective for boosting your immune system quickly. These are also able to fight certain bacteria or free radicals.
| Type | ingredients |
|---|---|
| broccoli | Vitamin A, C, E, antioxidants and calcium |
| citrus fruits | vitamin C |
| Red Vegetables | rich in carotenoids |
| Ginger | Potassium, phosphorus, gingerol, magnesium |
| nuts | unsaturated fatty acids |
What can I take to boost my immune system fast?
In addition to the foods mentioned above, there are a variety of supplements that also help boost the immune system (9). Multivitamin preparations in particular cover a large number of different vitamins.
In order to take the right vitamins and minerals that the body needs, it makes sense to consult with your family doctor. He can look at the blood count in order to make concrete decisions about the preparations.
There are build-up injections that can quickly strengthen the immune system.
Another way to quickly strengthen your immune system is through booster injections. Here, different vitamins are supplied to the body. Especially in stressful life situations that require a lot of energy, more vitamins are consumed. As a result, the susceptibility to infection is higher if this is not compensated for. Reconstructive injections are used, among other things, to keep the skin and mucous membranes healthy and thus an intact and strong immune system.
Do your bones a favor
- Our vitamin D3 helps to strengthen
of bones, teeth, muscles and joints at 💪 - It's also vegan 🌿
- Get an automatic 21% discount when you buy now 💸*
*The discount is automatically applied to the product
How to strengthen the immune system in children?
The immune system is not a constant defense system that is strong from the start. It evolves over the years and is subject to a constant learning process. Various environmental influences train our immune system day after day so that it remains intact. Children therefore do not have as strong an immune system as adults and can therefore be more susceptible to pathogens.
Our immune system is under a constant learning process.
There are different ways to train and strengthen this in the child. For example, a diet rich in vitamins and low in sugar is effective. Foods include citrus fruits, broccoli, peppers, or spinach.
Getting enough exercise in the fresh air is also helpful. This promotes muscle growth and boosts metabolism. In addition, if the weather is good and the sun should shine, the important vitamin D is also absorbed.
Instead of resorting to dietary supplements, children can use Schuessler salts, for example (10). This is a homeopathic therapy with mineral salts. The doctor Wilhelm Heinrich Schuessler, to whom the therapy is attributed, assumes that diseases are caused and promoted by a deficit of mineral salts in the body. By balancing the mineral balance, the immune system should be strengthened.
Conclusion
The immune system develops every day. Every day we are confronted with different environmental influences to which our immune system has to adapt. In order for it to be strengthened quickly, you don't have to run straight to the nearest pharmacy to resort to preparations. There are also small changes in life that one can make to strengthen it.
Getting enough sleep and lots of exercise in the fresh air are good starting points. Furthermore, nutrition plays a central role so that we have enough vitamins and minerals to be strengthened. However, if you want it to go faster, you can ask your family doctor about build-up injections.
itemizations
- Xu L, Fan XZ, Zhao QZ, et al. Effects of Vaccination with the C-Strain Vaccine on Immune Cells and Cytokines of Pigs Against Classical Swine Fever Virus. Viral Immunol. 2018;31(1):34-39. doi:10.1089/vim.2017.0010
- Fozza C. Retuning the immune system in myelodysplastic syndromes: from immunomodulatory approaches to vaccination strategies and non myeloablative hemopoietic cell transplant. Crit Rev Oncol Hematol. 2019;133:112-119. doi:10.1016/j.critrevonc.2018.11.001
- Jakasa I, Thyssen JP, Kezic S. The role of skin barrier in occupational contact dermatitis. Exp Dermatol. 2018;27(8):909-914. doi:10.1111/exd.13704
- Gómez-González B, Domínguez-Salazar E, Hurtado-Alvarado G, et al. Role of sleep in the regulation of the immune system and the pituitary hormones. Ann NY Acad Sci. 2012;1261:97-106. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06616.x
- Gani F, Passalacqua G, Senna G, Mosca Frezet M. Sport, immune system and respiratory infections. Eur Ann Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003;35(2):41-46.
- Corley DA, Schuppan D. Food, the immune system, and the gastrointestinal tract. Gastroenterology. 2015;148(6):1083-1086. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2015.03.043
- Estrada JA, Contreras I. Nutritional Modulation of Immune and Central Nervous System Homeostasis: The Role of Diet in Development of Neuroinflammation and Neurological Disease. nutrients. 2019;11(5):1076. Published 2019 May 15. doi:10.3390/nu11051076
- Finley JW, Ip C, Lisk DJ, Davis CD, Hintze KJ, Whanger PD. Cancer-protective properties of high-selenium broccoli. J Agric Food Chem. 2001;49(5):2679-2683. doi:10.1021/jf0014821
- Brambilla D, Mancuso C, Scuderi MR, et al. The role of antioxidant supplement in immune system, neoplastic, and neurodegenerative disorders: a point of view for an assessment of the risk/benefit profile. Nutr J. 2008;7:29. Published 2008 Sep 30. doi:10.1186/1475-2891-7-29
- Helmstädter A. The "biochemical" healing system according to Wilhelm Heinrich Schüssler and its further development by Dietrich Schöpwinkel [Wilhelm Heinrich Schüssler's healing system "Biochemistry" and its further development by Dietrich Schöpwinkel]. Gesnerus. 2006;63(3-4):240-258.