Guidelines for Nurturing and Maintaining Immunity

Guidelines for Nurturing and Maintaining Immunity

There is much you can do to help foster a healthy immune system. The following
are guidelines that you can incorporate into your daily life.

Slash Your Stress

Along with diet and exercise, stress management is essential to staying well and
maintaining a vigilant immune system. Struggling with depression, anxiety, and
panic is exhausting to our minds and bodies. Work with a qualified health care
provider to examine food sensitivities, nutrient insufficiencies, and drug-nutrient
interactions to assess the metabolic effects of unrelenting stress and what you can do
about it.

Once you’ve ruled out or dealt with metabolic issues, try some of the many
simple and cost-free techniques to reduce stress and anxiety. Guided imagery
involves focusing on mental images, such as a serene setting. Tai chi and some
forms of yoga, combining both mental and physical exercise, can help heal mind
and body. Consider using biofeedback, a process in which you monitor certain
functions of the body, such as blood pressure, and learn to alter these functions
through reinforced relaxation. Other simple techniques include deep-breathing
exercises or taking a walk and appreciating the beauty in the world around you.

One intriguing study looked at the effects of massage on women who were in
active breast cancer treatment. Women diagnosed with breast cancer received either
massage therapy three times a week for five weeks or just standard treatment. By the
end of the study, the massage-therapy group reported feeling less depressed, less
angry, and more energetic. The levels of NK cells also increased from the first to
the last day of the study for the massage therapy group (Hernandez-Reif et al. 2005).