How to Boost Immunity – Practical Tips and Advice

Let’s be straight - there’s a lot of nonsense written about immunity - usually because people are selling some ‘immune-boosting’ product. At AdMac Fitness we don’t do that - we believe in evidence-based advice and guidance and the blog is no different.

In this article we’re going to address immunity, cutting through the noise to tell you what works. We’ll show you the evidence behind each one of our claims, so you know this isn’t an opinion, it’s a fact backed by scientific research.

Whilst we can’t promise you’ll be immune to everything in the world by following this advice, you’ll certainly be giving your immune system a massive helping hand!

Immunity is an ever-changing picture

We know that immune responses to disease fluctuates depending on a number of factors. These include the viral ‘load’ (frequency and duration of our exposure to infection), the state of our immune system and the time of year. That’s why supplementation, sleep and food choices can and should vary throughout the year.

Whilst there are undoubtedly seasonal variations in illness (for example peak transmissibility of covid and the common cold is at lower temperatures), the reality is we’re exposed to a lot of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses all year round. 

We tend to experience ‘seasons’ of viruses because of some these factors. Take ‘flu season’ for example. In the winter we have closer contact with others through being indoors more, which increases frequency and duration of exposure to bugs. This increased viral load is part of the reason colds and flus can spread quickly and easily in the winter months.

We’re also likely to have lower vitamin D levels during the autumn and winter. This has the effect reducing immune function. There’s also other lifestyle factors over the winter such as Christmas parties, higher stress levels and reduced sleep can also make us more vulnerable generally.

What we should be looking to do is maintain a highly functioning immune system all year round, making us less vulnerable generally. 

Lifestyle factors that weaken our immune function

We look at immunity back to front. Rather than seek to enhance our immune system, we should first look to reduce the factors that weaken it. By giving our bodies a rest and not exposing it to immune-compromising elements, we at least give ourselves a fighting chance against illness

Here are the fundamental aspects of reduced immunity…

Excess Alcohol Consumption

It’s quite an obvious point to make, but research is clear that excess alcohol consumption has a negative effect on immunity and recovery rates from illness. In practical terms this means not only are you more susceptible to illness in the first place, you’re also less likely to recover quickly from the diseases you catch.

It’s important to note also that it’s not just chronic alcohol consumption that affects immunity – binge drinking can do just the same. You may think “it’s only a few parties, it doesn’t matter”, but it’d be wise to dial up other means of protection in the before and after of the parties.

Sleep Deprivation

Again, this one is unlikely to surprise many, but the evidence around sleep deprivation and reduce immunity is simply too powerful to ignore. Chronic sleep deprivation has been shown across multiple studies to have an immediate and significant impact on immunity, making us more susceptible to infection. 

Sleep deprivation can also reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, so there really isn’t a get out here. We have to sleep effectively to have any chance of maintaining a healthy and effective immune system. There’s plenty of reasons why a lack of sleep makes you feel like crap it would seem…

Stress

Your exposure to stressful situations can have a marked effect on your immunity. In this meta-analysis of 30 years of research on the topic, researchers concluded that stress and exposure to stressful situations reduces immunity and disease resistance. There is no doubt that based on the overwhelming body of evidence, long term exposure to stress will reduce immune function.

At a cellular level, all stress looks largely the same. Taking steps to actively reduce stress, whether that is through meditation, time with friends, counselling etc will certainly be helpful.

Dietary Deficiency

Anecdotally there has been a lot of advice around diet and disease for millennia. Thanks to more modern approaches to research, we can be far more specific. Where many people advise a blanket approach to vitamin and mineral supplementation, what research is showing is that Vitamins A and D are particularly useful when it comes to supporting immune function.

A lot of people don’t believe in taking a broad-spectrum multivitamin supplement, but on balance it’s worth it mostly because of the minerals which have been shown to boost immunity. If nothing else it offers a back stop level of insurance nutritionally.

Boosting your immunity - evidence based advice

There is a lot of advice around boosting immunity, much of which is actually fairly robust from a scientific standpoint. There’s also a lot of nonsense, one of the most famous being to drink a ‘hot toddy’ to see off a cold. What we’re going to do here is look at how we can boost immunity with practical tips. 

Exercise

Add this one to the ‘obviously’ column. There are very few physiological processes that aren’t enhanced by exercise. There is a word of caution here though – prolonged exposure to extreme training loads have been tentatively linked to compromised immunity, so whilst exercise is great, manage your training loads and don’t overtrain. 

Don’t rush back after illness, or if you are around people who are (or have been) ill, don’t go hitting the gym super hard.

Dietary Advice

Here you have to follow the obvious advice – plenty of good quality protein, lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, a lot of water and little booze. Nothing mind-blowingly new to report. What is important (and possibly new to you) is that if you live in an area with low winter sun exposure (basically anyone in northern Europe), vitamin D supplementation has been shown to boost immunity.

If you’re able to get away, a bit of winter sun will do you the world of good - both mental and physical.

Sleep More

If you’re not achieving a solid 7 hours most nights, it’s time to address your sleep habits. Reduce exposure to bright light before bed, cut down caffeine consumption, don’t exercise too late and try not to go to bed straight after a large meal. All the obvious tips, but make sure you follow them!

If we know that impacted sleep reduces immunity and makes us unwell, take steps to improve your sleep.

RELAX!

We know stress is a huge factor when it comes to immunity, so incorporate some kind of stress-reduction practice to your life. Whether that’s an exercise, a hobby, a mindfulness practice or even buying a pet, do something to reduce your stress levels. Doing so will keep you healthier.

Reduce Viral Load

This one is a huge step to avoiding illness. Viral load is essentially the amount of exposure you have to a virus – the higher the viral load, the more likely you are to pick up a bug. 

A good analogy is the candle one - you can run your hand through the flame of a candle quickly and not suffer any damage. Hold your hand immediately above the flame for a while and it’s a completely different story. Viral load is a similar thing.

Spread yourselves out in offices, work from home if you can, reduce public transport use, try to walk more. All good tips.

Boosting Immunity – Concluded

Where there’s a lot of nonsense around immunity, by following a few practical and simple tips you can reduce your chances of catching a virus or disease dramatically. At a time when health and disease is at the forefront of our minds, maybe now is the time to start boosting your immune function.

At AdMac Fitness personal training studio in Bow, E3, we operate under strict health and safety protocols. We clean all of our gym equipment daily, we’re respectful of space, we have sanitiser around the gym too.

We do everything we can to keep our personal training clients safe and secure in the gym.

If you want your health and fitness journey to be guided by the best personal training team in East London, get in touch with us at AdMac Fitness. We operate from our private personal training studio in Bow, E3. Contact us on 07921465108 or email us at admacfitness@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you.