The immune system. We hear a lot about it, but what exactly is it?
You can compare your immune system to a small army that protects your body against external bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Your immune system consists of your skin, mucous membranes, airways, blood, and lymphatic system. The function of your immune system is to recognize and neutralize bacteria, fungi, viruses, foreign substances, and other dangers to ensure your health.
Energy
It's never entirely possible to prevent getting a flu or cold, but it is important that your immune system always has enough energy to work on your recovery. There are factors that boost your immune system, but there are also factors that weaken it. If you are often sick or tired, it could well be that you have reduced resistance – your immune system is then no longer functioning optimally.
Symptoms
Symptoms of reduced immunity are:
- Frequent illness
- (Chronic) fatigue
- Many infections
- Slow recovery and healing
- Allergies or sensitivities
This weakens your immune system
As mentioned earlier, there are several factors that contribute to low resistance or a poorly functioning immune system. These include:
- Insufficient sleep
- Too much stress
- Alcohol, smoking and/or drug use
- Surgery and/or medication use
- Lack of exercise
- Toxins
- Anxiety and depression
You can probably imagine that when your body is busy trying to stay balanced due to the above factors, your immune system will eventually become overloaded. This comes at the expense of your immune system.
Strengthening your immune system
It is therefore essential to support your immune system as best as possible. You support your immune system by, among other things, getting enough sleep and relaxation, exercising regularly, and drinking enough water and herbal tea. But nutrition also plays an incredibly large role in obtaining and maintaining a strong immune system. A varied diet with sufficient vitamins and minerals, proteins, healthy fats, and fiber is important. Because our food nowadays no longer contains sufficient nutrients, partly due to soil depletion and the use of pesticides, supplementation is necessary in (very) many cases to support your health and immune system.
*We advise that, before starting to take supplements, you seek advice from one of our therapists. They can help you with the correct dosages, combinations, and any specific considerations when using medication. This can be done via a (telephone) supplement consultation; more information about this can be found on our website.
