Secret of making Your Immune System stronger (Part 2)

This is second part of my blog on Secret of making Your Immune System stronger

In first part we learned that how our Immune System stronger can become stronger when we manage our stress, quit smoking and exercise regularly. I  this part of blog you will get more information about getting enough sleep ,drinking less and eating only when you are hungry.

Part 1-Secret-of-making-your-immune-system very Strong

4. Getting Enough Sleep

This is nice key to stimulates and energizes the immune system.We get opposte effect if we are deprived of sleep. According to authors of a sleep study published in 2001 in the journal Seminars in Clinical Neuropsychiatry, significant detrimental effects on immune functioning can be seen after a few days of total sleep deprivation or even several days of just partial sleep deprivation. According to the National Institutes of Health, the average adult needs between 7 and 8 hours a night, although some people may need as few as 5 hours or as many as 10 hours. To make sure you are getting enough quality sleep, avoid caffeinated drinks (and other stimulants), decongestants, tobacco and alcohol. Alcohol can assist falling into a light sleep, but it interferes with REM and the deeper stages of sleep, which are restorative.

5. Consuming Alcohol/Wine a Little

Chronic alcohol abuse is defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as the use of alcoholic beverages despite negative consequences. Besides the social and economic consequences of chronic alcohol abuse, a 1998 article in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and

 Experimental Research states that alcohol abuse can also cause lead to immunodeficiency, making you more susceptible to bacterial pneumonia, tuberculosis, and other communicable diseases. But the moderate use of alcohol (one drink daily for women, and two for men) has not been associated with negative effects on the immune system. In fact, according to a 2007 article in the British Journal of Nutrition, there is an increasing body of evidence linking health benefits linked with moderate consumption of poly phenol-rich alcoholic beverages, like wine or beer. The article states that, while heavy alcohol use can suppress the immune response, “moderate alcohol consumption seems to have a beneficial impact on the immune system compared to alcohol abuse or abstinence.” So for the time being, the advice remains: everything in moderation

6. Eating Right when hungry

In theory, this one is pretty simple: Eat just enough of the right foods when you feel hungry. Unfortunately, this isn’t as simple to put into practice. We’re tempted by unhealthy options everywhere we turn, we eat for emotional reasons, or we don’t even know what the “right” foods are. For those of us who struggle in this area, this may take some work. Avoid eating too much, which can lead to weight gain and harm the immune system. Research performed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine has shown that obesity prevents the immune system from functioning properly, increasing its vulnerability to infection. In the study, obese mice were found to be 50 percent less capable of killing the flu virus, compared to lean mice. The researchers believe that the same holds true in humans.

Just as important as how much you’re eating, is what foods you’re eating. Some nutrients and foods that have been found to enhance the immune system include:

Vitamin C-rich foods, like citrus fruit and broccoli

Vitamin E-rich foods, like nuts and whole grains

Zinc-rich foods, like beans, turkey, crab, oysters, and beef

Bioflavanoids, which are found in fruits and vegetables

Selenium-rich foods, like chicken, whole grains, tuna, eggs, sunflower seeds, and brown rice

Garlic

Carotenoid-rich foods, like carrots and yams

Omega-3 fatty acids, found in nuts, salmon, tuna, mackerel, flax seed oil and hemp seed oil.

Of course, you can find these nutrients in pill form, but food is always the best and most usable source of vitamins and minerals. Supplements can be shady, since no regulating body ensures that they contain what they claim to, or that they’ll be absorbed as well as nutrients you get from food.

Some immune system all-stars that have recently garnered a lot of attention in the scientific community are :

 vegetables from the brassica family, like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage.

According to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and published online in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, a chemical produced when these vegetables are eaten can stop the growth of cancer cells and boost the production of certain components of the immune system. Turns out, Mom was onto something when telling you to each your broccoli!