Is It Possible to Boost Your Immunity?

Lots of factors affect your propensity to get sick.  Of course exposure to a pathogen has to occur but our bodies are amazing in their ability to protect us from these potential sources of illness.  We can affect and in fact boost our natural immunity in a couple of ways. The first is with exercise.  According to nutritionfacts.org, moderate exercise defined as 30 minutes a week, 3 times a week, increases IgA levels. IgA are “antibodies found in areas of the body such the nose, breathing passages, digestive tract, ears, eyes, and vagina. IgA antibodies protect body surfaces that are exposed to outside foreign substances. This type of antibody is also found in saliva, tears, and blood.” (Web MD)  Lower levels of IgA are associated with more infections so boosting IgA through exercise will result in increased immunity.  The second way we can effect our immmunity is through our diet.  Studies have shown that within 2 weeks of a fruit and vegetable deficient diet immune function plummets.  One single serving (1 1/2 cups) of tomato juice can bring a person back to pre-deficient levels (Nutritionfacts.org).  It is remarkable how much we can affect the immune systen with diet.  Plants produce thousands of bioactive compounds that modulate our immune system and contain anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer and anti-stress properties.  What both of these finding suggest to me in a very powerful way is that we can largely affect our chance of getting sick through our lifesytle habits. The old adage “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”  rings just as true today as it did decades ago.