When the cold weather arrives, people stay inside more and homes, classrooms, and offices become petri dishes of bacteria and viruses. For the immune system, winter, a.k.a Cold and Flu Season, is go time. It’s the battle that it’s been training for―the invasion of germs in your body.
Your immune system can’t fight the attack all by itself. It needs some help from you to be battle-ready and be as strong as it can possibly be. One of the most surprising ways to boost your immune system is with a trip to the chiropractor. When most people think about seeing a chiropractor, they think about back pain. Sure, a chiropractor can relieve pain all over your body but a chiropractor can also give your immune system a boost. By adjusting your spine so it is in proper alignment, your central nervous system becomes aligned as well so it can function the way it should. The central nervous system communicates with the brain and immune system and when the messages can get through, the immune system can better fight off invaders. If nerves are compromised, your brain won’t be able to receive messages effectively.
Other Ways to Boost Your Immune System
- Wash your hands. Obviously, you should be washing your hands after you use a bathroom or are about to eat, but you should wash them more often like after you touch commonly touched things like door handles, railings, and shopping carts.
- Eat a healthy diet. Be sure to include foods rich in vitamin C like citrus fruits, leafy greens, and tomatoes and foods with lots of antioxidants such as blueberries, watermelon, wheat germ, tea, and ginger.
- Exercise more. A study in the American Journal of Medicine found that walking regularly increased the number of white blood cells in the body. White blood cells fight infections.
- Don’t smoke. Quitting smoking with boost immunity by improving circulation, lowering inflammation, and increasing oxygen in the body.
- Get enough sleep. Studies show that people who don’t get enough sleep are more likely to get a cold or virus.
- Relieve stress. Stress weakens the immune system. Find ways to relieve your stress by delegating work to others, meditation, yoga, reading, and relaxing. The good news is that most of the things on this list to help your immune system also are great stress-relievers, including seeing your chiropractor!
By giving your immune system the weapons it needs to fight, it’ll be ready to push back those invaders into retreat and win the battle against colds and viruses this winter.
At North County Pain Relief, we take a holistic approach to your health. Upon your initial consultation and exam, we’ll come up with a plan to treat your pain and ailments to improve your whole health as well as boost your immune system. If you’re from the St. Louis area, call North County Pain Relief today at (314) 731-4201 to schedule a free initial consultation. We’re here to help improve your health.
